case study of child with behavioural problems

Module 13: Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence

Case studies: disorders of childhood and adolescence, learning objectives.

• Identify disorders of childhood and adolescence in case studies

Case Study: Jake

Jake was born at full term and was described as a quiet baby. In the first three months of his life, his mother became worried as he was unresponsive to cuddles and hugs. He also never cried. He has no friends and, on occasions, he has been victimized by bullying at school and in the community. His father is 44 years old and describes having had a difficult childhood; he is characterized by the family as indifferent to the children’s problems and verbally violent towards his wife and son, but less so to his daughters. The mother is 41 years old, and describes herself as having a close relationship with her children and mentioned that she usually covers up for Jake’s difficulties and makes excuses for his violent outbursts. [1]

During his stay (for two and a half months) in the inpatient unit, Jake underwent psychiatric and pediatric assessments plus occupational therapy. He took part in the unit’s psycho-educational activities and was started on risperidone, two mg daily. Risperidone was preferred over an anti-ADHD agent because his behavioral problems prevailed and thus were the main target of treatment. In addition, his behavioral problems had undoubtedly influenced his functionality and mainly his relations with parents, siblings, peers, teachers, and others. Risperidone was also preferred over other atypical antipsychotics for its safe profile and fewer side effects. Family meetings were held regularly, and parental and family support along with psycho-education were the main goals. Jake was aided in recognizing his own emotions and conveying them to others as well as in learning how to recognize the emotions of others and to become aware of the consequences of his actions. Improvement was made in rule setting and boundary adherence. Since his discharge, he received regular psychiatric follow-up and continues with the medication and the occupational therapy. Supportive and advisory work is done with the parents. Marked improvement has been noticed regarding his social behavior and behavior during activity as described by all concerned. Occasional anger outbursts of smaller intensity and frequency have been reported, but seem more manageable by the child with the support of his mother and teachers.

In the case presented here, the history of abuse by the parents, the disrupted family relations, the bullying by his peers, the educational difficulties, and the poor SES could be identified as additional risk factors relating to a bad prognosis. Good prognostic factors would include the ending of the abuse after intervention, the child’s encouragement and support from parents and teachers, and the improvement of parental relations as a result of parent training and family support by mental health professionals. Taken together, it appears that also in the case of psychiatric patients presenting with complex genetic aberrations and additional psychosocial problems, traditional psychiatric and psychological approaches can lead to a decrease of symptoms and improved functioning.

Case Study: Kelli

Kelli may benefit from a course of comprehensive behavioral intervention for her tics in addition to psychotherapy to treat any comorbid depression she experiences from isolation and bullying at school. Psychoeducation and approaches to reduce stigma will also likely be very helpful for both her and her family, as well as bringing awareness to her school and those involved in her education.

Candela Citations

• Case Study: Childhood and Adolescence. Authored by : Chrissy Hicks for Lumen Learning. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• A boy with conduct disorder (CD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), borderline intellectual disability.... Authored by : Gerasimos Kolaitis, Christian G. Bouwkamp, Alexia Papakonstantinou, Ioanna Otheiti, Maria Belivanaki, Styliani Haritaki, Terpsihori Korpa, Zinovia Albani, Elena Terzioglou, Polyxeni Apostola, Aggeliki Skamnaki, Athena Xaidara, Konstantina Kosma, Sophia Kitsiou-Tzeli, Maria Tzetis . Provided by : Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. Located at : https://capmh.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13034-016-0121-8 . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Angry boy. Located at : https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-jojfk . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
• Frustrated girl. Located at : https://www.pickpik.com/book-bored-college-education-female-girl-1717 . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
• Kolaitis, G., Bouwkamp, C.G., Papakonstantinou, A. et al. A boy with conduct disorder (CD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), borderline intellectual disability, and 47,XXY syndrome in combination with a 7q11.23 duplication, 11p15.5 deletion, and 20q13.33 deletion. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 10, 33 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-016-0121-8 ↵

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Download Free PDF

Understanding Troubled Young Adolescents Who Have Problems at School: Case Studies

This document contains case studies of troubled adolescents and is intended for use by educators for discussions, especially in in-service and graduate programs. Case studies of 10 young adolescents are presented, each followed by a set of questions drawn from a psychological theory. To help new practitioners who may have difficulty connecting theory with practice when they begin to counsel, evaluate, or teach adolescents, this document shows how five psychological approaches can be used to understand and help adolescents who are experiencing emotional and behavioral problems at school. The first chapter presents a case study and provides Rn

Related papers

We dedicate this text to two groups of students with whom we have been privileged to work.

Journal of High Institute of Public Health, 2019

Background & Objective(s): Emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents represent a considerable public health problem in developing countries. These problems are considered a source of stress for adolescents as well as their families, schools and community. Emotional health and well-being of young people have implications on their self-esteem, behavior, school attendance, educational achievement, social cohesion and future health and life chances. To estimate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems and to determine the association between these problems and socio-demographic variables among adolescent students in Assiut district. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in randomly selected secondary schools (2 urban and 2 rural) in Assiut district, and 400 students were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect study data which included: personal data, socioeconomic status scale and self-reported version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Arabic version) which included 25 items divided into 5 subscales (conduct problems, hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, peer problems and prosocial behavior) Results: About 45 % of adolescents were identified with emotional and/or behavioral problems using the SDQ. These problems included conduct, emotional, peer problems, prosocial and hyperactivity difficulties (36.0%, 42.3%, 5.0%, 28.5% and 24.8% respectively). Emotional difficulties were significantly higher (p value= 0.02) among females (40.4%), while conduct difficulties were more prevalent among males (47.5%). The majority of students with emotional/ behavioral problems (90%) reported high negative impact of such problems that was significantly associated with female sex, rural residents, students of low socioeconomic level and whose mothers were housewives. Conclusion: Screening secondary school adolescents in Assiut district revealed high prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems that was associated with perceived enormous negative impact. Further studies and intervention programs are greatly needed to address adolescent mental health needs.

Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1993

We created a 40-item teacher rating scale to assess learning, social, and personal problems among students with serious emotional disturbance and no known handicaps. Special and regular educators completed ratings on 269 students with emotional disturbance and 49 nondisabled pupils aged 12-17 across the U.S. We categorized all subjects by race, gendel, population density of residence, family status, and age, and students with serious emotional disturbance were also classified by type of placement, length of time bz special education, and use of prescriptive medication. Results indicated that (a) adolescents with emotional disturbance had significantly more learning, social, and personal problems than nondisabled peers; (b) both males and females with emotional disturbance had more problems than similar gender nondisabled youth; (c) younger females had more problems than older ones; (d) youth with emotional disturbance in more restrictive placements had more problems than those in less restrictive educational settings; and (e) subjects with emotional disturbance on psychotropic medication had more personal problems than others taking stimulants o1" no prescription drugs. We discuss the findings related to other similar studies and the need for additional information on the interaction between learning, social, and personal difficulties among students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed.

International journal of Indian psychology, 2021

Background: Emotional and behavioural functioning during adolescence is an important developmental outcome which acts as a strong predictor of future adjustment of the individual. It is important to identify emotional and behavioural problem at an early stage for treatment and promotion of mental health services. Objectives are 1. To describe the emotional and behavioural problems of school going adolescents 2. To determine the association between emotional and behavioural problems with selected socio-demographic variables. 3. To establish the extent to which selected socio-demographic variables predict the variability in the emotional and behavioral problems of school-going adolescents. Methods: The present study was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Eighty adolescents studying in government schools in the age group 13-16 years were selected purposively for the study. Written informed consent was taken from parents and teachers and assents from the participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The study was undertaken with the permission of the Research Advisory and Institute Ethics committees (IEC). Strength & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was administered to assess the emotional and behavioural problems. Collected data were analyzed using the software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS, 25.0 versions). Results: The prevalence rate of emotional and behavioural problems on the basis of the Total Difficulties Score (TDS) which was found to be 3.8%. The prevalence rate of emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity problems, peer problems and pro-social behaviour was found to be 1.3%, 18.8%, 5.0%, 6.3% and 12.5%, respectively. Socio-demographic variables [Gender, home environment, types of family, Socio Economic Status (SES)] significantly predicts the emotional and behavioral problems [(TDS) (f (5, 79) = 7.976, p=.000]. Conclusion: Knowledge of the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems can be used to design effective intervention strategies in the school setting.

Students with emotional/behavioral disorders have identified disruptive behaviors that negatively impact their academic performance. The US Department of Education and the American School Counselor Association have supported the use of school-wide Multitiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to reinforce pro-social behaviors for all students, but to also ensure the development of targeted and intensive interventions for students who need more support. As stakeholders, school counselors are often involved in the development and implementation of MTSS’s tiered interventions to provide support to all students, especially those with disabilities. Using consensual qualitative research study, the research team aimed to examine elementary school counselor’s perspective in developing, implementing, and assessing behavioral plans within an MTSS framework and working with students with EBD. The results, implications, and suggestions for future research will also be presented

Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2017

Teachers are a primary source of referral to mental health services for children and adolescents. However, studies find that students identified by teachers differ from those identified by standardized screening scales. This suggests possible discrepancies in conceptualizations of student emotional and behavioral challenges. The current article describes results of a study that explores how teachers conceptualize the emotional and behavioral challenges of adolescents. Middle and high school teachers across the U.S. were identified using a stratified random sampling process and recruited for participation. Twenty-nine teachers (26% of those recruited) were interviewed and asked to describe markers that indicated to them that a student was experiencing emotional and behavioral challenges. Themes in teacher responses were identified and coded. Teachers identified multiple, diverse markers that they perceived were indicators of emotional and behavioral challenges among their students. Markers described by teachers were compared to those typically measured by standardized screening scales. Discrepancies between markers identified by teachers and screening scales are highlighted as potential areas for professional development and enhanced school-based intervention efforts. These findings underscore the importance of integrating teacher perspectives in understanding the referral process for students.

Present study was conducted to find the profiles and patterns of emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents from general population who had never been reported or diagnosed. A sample of 300 adolescents from public and private schools of Lahore, (13 to 17 years old, Mean=14.8) participated in the study. Participants completed the self-report standardized questionnaires, Youth Self-Report (YSR: Achenbach, & Rescorla, 2001) in Urdu language. The study revealed that majority of the adolescents was found to have normal behavior but a noticeable number of adolescents show emotional and behavioral problems. About 2 to 15% adolescents were found in clinical range and 3 to 10% in border line range of problems. Findings also suggest that in broadband scales externalizing problems were most prevalent in adolescents i.e. 15% and among DSM oriented problems conduct problem and anxiety problem were found most common in adolescents.

Revija za elementarno izobraževanje, 2021

Employees in education, especially in residential treatment centres, face crisis situations as a result of emotional and behavioural problems/disorders of children and adolescents. They most often face various types of violence, self-aggression, use of illicit substances and abuse. Cases of children and adolescents with mental health problems are frequent. Crisis interventions differ with the complexity of the situation, and regardless of the approach, an appropriate relationship is crucial to any solution. The purpose of this article is to present and elaborate the most common crisis situations and some successful interventions in such cases.

Adolescents are highly vulnerable to psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and patterns of behavioural and emotional problems in adolescents. It was also aimed to explore associations between socio environmental stressors and maladaptive outcomes. A school based cross-sectional study was conducted between January and July 2008. A stratified random sampling was done. 1150 adolescents in 12 to 18 year age group in grades 7 to 12 in 10 co-educational schools (government run and private) were the subjects of the study. Behavioural and emotional problems were assessed using Youth Self-Report (2001) questionnaire. Family stressors were assessed using a pre-tested 23 item questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was also done.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2024

Tempo [online], 28, 2, pp. 43-58, 2022

Asian Perspectives, 2006

in Damián Fernández, Molly Lester, and Jamie Wood (eds), Rome and Byzantium in the Visigothic Kingdom: Beyond "Imitatio Imperii" (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2023), pp. 223-51., 2023

IV Jornadas Científicas sobre Documentación sobre documentación de Castilla e Indias en el siglo XVI, 2005

Anthropology News, 2005

American Journal of Public Health, 2014

Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 2012

Asian Journal of Surgery, 2006

Medicine, 2018

Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2020

Epilepsia, 2008

HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care, 2012

Related topics

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024