[Children with conducts disorder and using psychoeducational services: a social, psychological and family portrait]

Contemporary studies suggest that most of the children who manifest conducts disorder also present personal as well as family problems. This is particularly true for children whose disorder is precocious. The identification of personal characteristics as well as social and family risk and protection factors associated with children with such problems are of great use for intervention planning and service organization for them and their families in Québec. In consequence, the objectives of this study are to identify the social, family and psychological factors that characterize children presenting conducts disorder. To do so, 62 children in treatment between the ages of 7 and 12 and with a diagnosis of conducts disorder are compared with 36 children of the same age without such diagnosis. Results show that children with conduct problems come from less stable and cohesive families as well as a lower socio-economic level. Moreover, their network of social support is less developed. The study reveals that the parents of children with conducts disorder use punishment more often. Finally, the research demonstrates that the children of this group have a much higher probability of presenting an exteriorized disorder (66 %) than the children of the other group (8 %). All these distinctive characteristics allows to correctly classify 93,8 % of the children of this study in the 2 groups. The results indicate the need to improve the parents'educational practices, increase the child's social network as well as reduce the conducts of opposition and inattention of the child. Finally, the complexity of the problems raised with the child and families commands a concerted professional intervention.