Definition

 Emotional and behavioral disorders are specific mental health disorders that cause extreme
difficulties with both emotions and behaviors.
 An emotional and behavioral disorder is an emotional disability characterized by the following:
(i) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and/or
teachers. For preschool-age children, this would include other care providers.
(ii) An inability to learn which cannot be adequately explained by intellectual, sensory or health
factors.
(iii) A consistent or chronic inappropriate type of behavior or feelings under normal conditions.
(iv) A displayed pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
(v) A displayed tendency to develop physical symptoms, pains or unreasonable fears associated
with personal or school problems
A pattern of disruptive behaviors and emotions
Intense and often prolonged emotions and behaviors
Inhibited healthy functioning at home, in school, in social situations, and in other settings
Long duration; the behaviors and emotional disturbances must last six months or longer

History

Characteristics
Children with E/BD have distinct traits that set their emotions and behaviors apart from other, less
extreme actions or feelings. These characteristics of the emotional and behavioral disorder can include:
 Impulsiveness
 Short attention span
 Aggression, such as acting out or fighting
 Defiance, refusal to follow rules
 Disrespect for authority
 Arguing
 Difficulty handling frustration
 Blaming others, denying responsibility for actions
 Self-injury
 Withdrawal
 Excessive fear, often in reaction to personal problems
 Immaturity (crying, tantrums, lack of coping skills inappropriate for the age)
 Behaviors that are age-inappropriate
 Learning problems, other problems at school
 Difficulty forming and keeping relationships with other children, teachers, and even family
members
 Pervasive unhappy and/or angry mood

Types
Children can be diagnosed with the following types of emotional and behavioral disorders:

 Anxiety disorders
 Anxiety disorders are common mental illnesses characterized by feelings of anxiety, worry, and
fear. Anxiety can affect everyone, but often people with anxiety disorders experience
unreasonable levels of anxiety.

 Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that is difficult to accurately describe in one or two
sentences. But the most important principle of bipolar disorder is that it is a chronic, lifelong
mental illness that remains a challenging struggle for those who suffer from it.

 Psychotic disorders
Psychotic disorders impair brain function by altering thoughts, beliefs, or perceptions.
People with psychotic disorders may believe that someone is spying on them or following
them, hear voices, or feel that others are manipulating their thoughts.

 Obsessive-compulsive disorder
OCD is a brain disorder that affects behavior and causes severe anxiety in patients. People with
this disorder experience obsessive thoughts that upset them. You may feel the urge to repeat
certain rituals to control your obsessions.

 Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder refers to a hereditary biochemical disorder that impedes a
person's ability to perform to his or her full potential. The symptoms show up in childhood and
often carry on into adolescence and adulthood, causing problems in virtually all areas of life.

 Oppositional-defiant disorder
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a pattern of defiant, hostile, and defiant behavior toward
authority figures. To fit this diagnosis, the pattern must have persisted for at least 6 months and
be outside of normal child misbehavior.

 Conduct disorder
Conduct Disorder usually begins in late childhood or early adolescence and is more common
among boys than girls. In general, children with a conduct disorder are selfish, do not relate well
to others, and lack an appropriate sense of guilt.

Causes\
Six categories are at the source of disorders of behavior and emotion:

 Biological
Biological causes originate within the child or teen. The brain is often the root source of the
development of E/BD. Sometimes there’s a chemical imbalance. Other times, brain development
is affected. Sometimes, too, brain injury leads to problems in the emotional center of the brain.
Experiencing trauma, with or without a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
negatively affects brain processing and can lead to emotional and behavior problems.

 Developmental
Development refers to the lifelong process of changing and maturing.
 Attachment problems, either lack of positive attachment to the primary caregiver or
overattachment leading to clinginess and difficulties separating from the caregiver
A failure to develop trust during infancy and early toddlerhood, resulting in fear and mistrust
Inability to experience some autonomy and instead internalize a sense of shame for exploring
Thwarted attempts to show initiative and instead made to feel guilty for wanting to try new things
Failure to experience a sense of competence, which leads to feelings of inferiority, during the
elementary years

When kids don’t experience success at any one of these developmental tasks, their risk of
developing E/BD increases, and the more developmental problems a child has, the greater the risk
for E/BD.

 Home environment-related
Parents are vital in the healthy development of their children. Some aspects of
parenting or the home environment can contribute to emotional and behavioral
disorders. These include:

 Significant, chronic stress in the home

 Lack of structure
 Authoritarian parenting style with rigid, excessive rules and punishments
 Permissive parenting with few if any expectations, limits, or establishment of
acceptable behaviors
 Inconsistent expectations and discipline
 Disinterested, distant parents
 Abuse
 Violence and general dysfunction in the home
 More negative than positive interactions in the home

Creating and maintaining a healthy, positive, loving environment is healthy for

everyone in the home. Most communities have parenting programs to help parents
and kids thrive.

 Learned
Sometimes, there are no underlying biological or developmental causes of
emotional and behavioral disorders. Instead, children learn that outbursts get them
what they want and need—attention from the adults in their lives. Ways they learn
this include:

 High levels of negativity and pessimism modeled in the home

 Associating punishment for behavior problems with receiving more attention
 Realizing that acting out is the only way to receive a response from parents or
teachers
Treatment

Reference
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disorders