This comprehensive volume reviews and synthesizes a vast body of knowledge on maladaptive aggression and antisocial behavior in youth. Written from a clinical-developmental perspective, and integrating theory and research from diverse fields, the book examines the origins, development, outcomes, and treatment of this serious problem in contemporary society. Major topics addressed include the types and prevalence of aggressive and antisocial behavior; the interplay among neuropsychiatric, psychosocial, and neurobiological processes in etiology; known risk and protective factors; gender variables; and why and how some children grow out of conduct disturbances. Chapters also discuss current approaches to clinical assessment and diagnosis and review the evidence for widely used psychosocial and pharmacological interventions.
Daniel F. Connor, MD, is currently Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is also Director of Pediatric Psychopharmacology at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care. A clinician and clinical researcher in child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Connor is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in the specialty of Psychiatry and the subspecialty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. As a practicing clinician, Dr. Connor evaluates and treats a wide variety of youth with serious emotional and behavioral disturbances, most of whom have troubles with excessive, inappropriate, and maladaptive aggression and related problems. An active clinical investigator, Dr. Connor has authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters on aggression, pediatric psychopharmacology, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and disruptive behavior disorders. As Director of the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Clinical Trials Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, he participates in many multisite clinical drug trials developing new therapies for children and adolescents with ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders.