Treatment

As previously discussed in Chapters 1 and 2, conduct disorder (CD) is a behaviorally defined disorder that appears to have multiple etiologic pathways (Patterson & Yoerger, 2002; Pettit et al., 1997; Rutter et al., 1975), thus, a variety of treatment strategies have been developed. Treatment refers to systematic efforts to reduce, eliminate, or alleviate a particular problem or set of problems. Treating children and adolescents who suffer from CD is a difficult task due to the complexity of factors associated with this particular disorder (Frick, 1998a, 2001; Kazdin, 1995). A variety of treatments have been applied to children and adolescents with CD. However, only a small number of treatments have been shown to reduce CD behaviors. Treatment procedures tend to be most effective when the child is young (under 8 years of age) and early in the development of problem behaviors (Frick, 1998a; Kazdin 1996; McMahon & Wells, 1998). In addition, intervention strategies need to include multimodal and multicomponent efforts that are tailored to the needs of the individual (Connor & Fisher, 1997; Kazdin, 1996, 1997; Miller et al., 1998; Shirk & Russell, 1996). The evidence-based recommendations emphasizing prevention, early intervention, and multimodal and multicomponent efforts are consistent with the central tenets of the transactional-ecological developmental model (cf., Sameroff, 2000) described in Chapter 2. This is particularly important given professional perspectives regarding etiological influences are inevitably intertwined with the selection of intervention strategies; thus, both should be evidence based.