A Study of Personality Dimensions, Perception of Parents and Parenting Style in Conduct Disorder Children

The present study involved an in-depth probe into the selected personality variables of children with conduct disorder (CD) and comparison to their normal counterparts (NC) to provide a better understanding of their psychopathology. A sample of 16 children with conduct disorder and 16 children without any behavioral problems between 9 and 13 years of age and their respective parents, either mother or father were studied based on their availability. Child Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ) was used as a screening tool for selecting the control group of children without Conduct Disorder. Personality dimensions of children were assessed on Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ), children's perception of the parents was evaluated by using Parent-Child Relationship Scale (PCRS) and parenting style of the parents of these children was measured through Multidimensional Parenting-Scale (MDP-Scale). The mean values and standard deviations of the variables for each group were calculated. Student's t-test was used to assess the differences between patients and their control counterparts. The children with conduct disorder were found to have the higher predisposition for neuroticism, psychoticism and lie scale. The CD children perceived their parents negatively compared to the normal children. Parents of CD group also showed significantly negative parenting style. The CD children's negative appraisal of the parents reflects poor parent child bondage.