PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING OF CHILDREN WITH DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR DISORDERS

Abstract

The present research focused on studying disruptive behaviour disorders i.e., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder (CD) in Pakistani children. The research is consisted of two Parts. Part I is carried out in the school setting to study gender and grade wise prevalence rate, academic performance, social competence, antisocial behaviour, and perceived parenting styles of screened out children via teachers ratings on Disruptive Behaviour Disorder (DBD) rating scale. Part II is designed to examine pervasiveness of DBD symptoms at home and school settings. Moreover, internalizing behaviour disorders and Callous Unemotional traits in screened out children were also assessed. In Study I of Part I, DBD rating scale by Pelham, Gnagy, Greenslade, and Milich, (1992) was translated into Urdu language and its psychometric properties were determined. Sample includes 280 children (Mean age = 9.65, SD =1.29).Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of DBD rating scale (χ 2 = 791.60, CFI = .980, RMSEA = .024) indicates this model fits the data. Study II of Part I investigatedsocial competence and antisocial behaviour of (N = 806; Mean age = 9.55, SD = 1.27) children. Results indicate children screened out as ADHD-I and ADHD-C have lowest social competence as compared to comparison group. Whereas, comorbid group showing high antisocial behaviour as compared to all other DBD groups.Study III investigates role of parenting styles and demographic factors in prediction of DBD symptoms. Sample includes children of 9 to 13 years (N = 635; Mean age = 9.99, SD = 1.27). Multiple regression analysis indicates paternal authoritarian, and maternal authoritative and authoritarian styles proved significant predictors for childhood behaviour problems. Part II consists of four studies that focus on translation of Spence Child Anxiety Scale (SCAS-P: Spence, 1999), pervasiveness of DBD symptoms, validation of DBD rating scale and SCAS-P through Child Behaviour Checklist/6-18 (Urdu version: Khan&Awan, 2011), and assessment of Callous Unemotional Traits through Inventory of Callous Unemotional Traits (Parent version) (ICU-P) (Frick, 2004) respectively. In Study I of Part II, SCAS-P (Spence, 1999), was translated into Urdu language and its psychometric properties were determined. Study II investigates pervasiveness of DBD at home and school settings, it includes academically low performing children (N = 245; Mean age = 9.68, SD = 1.56) within age range 7 to 13 years. Mothers of selected children with age range 26 to 55 years (N = 245; Mean age = 35.96, SD = 4.87) and teachers (N = 82) rated these children. Findings of paired sample t - test indicates teachers have high mean scores as compared to mothers on DBD rating scale. In Study III, validation of DBD rating scale and SCAS- P through CBCL/6-18 (Urdu version: Khan&Awan, 2011) was performed, In Study IV, Multiple regression analysis indicates Callous and Uncaring traits are significantly predicting childhood behaviour problems. Scales translated into Urdu language i.e., DBD Rating scale, SCAS-P, and ICU-P will prove useful for future researchers working in the area of developmental psychopathology and clinical psychology. The present research for the first time provided detailed analysis of disruptive behaviour disorders of children in exclusive home setting; and in home and school settings simultaneously that will prove useful in understanding DBD and its causes and correlates in Pakistani context.