Aggressive and prosocial behaviours before and after treatment in conduct-disordered children and in matched controls

Aggressive and prosocial behaviours and responses to prosocial acts were examined in groups of conduct-disordered and normal children. The observations were repeated following therapeutic intervention. Before treatment, the clinic groups displayed greater levels of peer-directed aggression and responded inappropriately to social overtures. Following intervention, both clinic groups showed improved responsiveness to their peers' social overtures and the older clinic children reduced their aggression while the younger children did not. Independent evaluations of each child's medical file and case disposition revealed that the observational data served as a sensitive index of the status of the two clinic groups.