What causes behavior disorders? In recent decades more and more research is being done on the causes of behaviors disorders to help parents, teachers and researchers learn more about what can be done to prevent the causes of behavior disorders to prevent them from affecting young children who carry those disorders into adulthood.

Knowing what causes behavior disorders in the first place, can help those parents, educators and medical experts learn about the causes of behavior disorders so measures can be taken to prevent behavior disorders from manifesting in young children as well as how to treat those children, teens and adults that currently have behavior disorders. 

What Causes Behavior Disorders:

In recent years, behavior disorders like Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are on the rise and more and more children are being diagnosed with having symptoms of these disorders. As a result, medical professionals are looking into what causes these behavior disorders so they can learn how to treat the problems early on for easier behavior disorder management. Through this increase in knowledge about knowing what causes behavior disorders, parents can work on preventing behavior disorders in their own children. However, because so many of the causes of behavior disorders are genetic or inherit, it can be difficult to try avoiding the causes of behavior disorders altogether. 

Risk Factors of Behavior Disorders:

While many of the causes of behavior disorders are passed through genetics, there are other factors that can contribute to behavior disorders worsening or manifesting in a more severe manner. Other risk factors that might contribute to the severity of behavior disorders include: child abuse, fetal exposure to alcohol, tobacco or drugs, lack of supervision, neglect, poor social skills, stressful home or school environment, parental substance abuse, violence, harsh discipline, family history of mental illness or behavior disorders, physical or sexual abuse. Male children are also more likely to develop a behavior disorder compared with their female peers. All of these factors can make already-existing behaviors disorders in young children even worse. If the behavior disorders are not treated, or if the child does not learn how to manage their disorder, they are more likely to struggle academically, in extra curricular activities, in work and in relationships with others. This can make living life become much more difficult than it needs to be for the person with the behavior disorders. While some children might outgrow some of these childhood behavior disorders, there are plenty of individuals that struggle in their teen years because of it and carry those struggles into their adult lives. That is why it is so important for parents to recognize what the risk factors are that might make their child's behavior worse and what can be done to reduce those risks and more effectively manage behavior disorders.

How to Reduce the Risk of Behavior Disorders:

Reducing many of the risk factors like drug use, neglect and abuse, parents can work with their children to build a loving and stable home where their child's risk of developing severe behavior disorders is reduced. It is important for parents to allow their children to make concrete but limited decisions like what they are going to wear to school between two choices. Keeping choices available, but limited can help children learn to effectively limit their own choices in life so as to not become overwhelmed. 

It is also helpful when parents develop a clear system of rewards and consequences for proper and improper behaviors. Getting your child involved in fun learning activities is also a good way to keep them entertained through fun and productive ways of being busy. Set clear expectations, reducing stress at home and choosing your battles wisely are all good ways to help reduce the risk of behavior disorders and reducing the severity of those behaviors. 

Understanding the symptoms of a behavior disorder like frequently acting out, hostility, aggression, defiance, disruption and a shorter-than-normal attention span can help parents realize early on if their child might be struggling with a behavior disorder. There are also child psychologists that specialize in treatment for these types of disorders to help provide the children at a young age with the coping skills to learn how to manage their own misbehaviors. 

Sources: bettermedicine.com

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