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The pilot study presented in this article investigated the role of moral-cognitive features in understanding aggressive and rule-breaking behaviours in adolescents with Disruptive Behaviour Disorder (DBD). We collected two samples. The community sample was composed of 85 adolescents, whereas the DBD sample was composed of 30 adolescents. Compared with a community sample, adolescents with DBD are more inclined to use moral disengagement (MD) to legitimize their aggressive and rule-breaking behaviours. Moreover, regression models showed that self-enhancement values and MD foster externalizing behaviours taking into account both gender and the group they belonged to, that is, either clinical or community sample. Instead, self-transcendence values could prevent externalizing problems by inhibiting MD. Implications of these findings for assessment and therapeutic interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood aggression has been conceptualized as a risk marker on the developmental trajectories leading to a variety of negative adolescent outcomes such as delinquency, substance use and poor school adjustment. The contextual social-cognitive model emphasizes parenting processes in the development and escalation of aggressive behavioral problems. Many multi-component treatment models have been found to be efficacious in reducing children's aggressive behaviors. However a major goal in clinical research is to discover predictors of negative treatment outcome. It has been hypothesized that the change in inconsistent or harsh maternal discipline, and the level of maternal depression, may affect the efficacy of a multi-component treatment on child aggressive behavior. The aim of the study is to test this hypothesis in 62 Italian children (mean age 9.6) with disruptive behavior disorders, treated with Coping Power Program. We used the residualized change in a two-wave model to measure the change in aggressive behavior, as an outcome variable; and the change in parenting practices and the level of maternal depression at the beginning of the treatment were the independent variables. Our results show that a decrease in inconsistent discipline, but not in harsh discipline, was associated with a better treatment outcome in children. Furthermore, a higher level of maternal depression predicted a worse treatment outcome in children. According to our findings, change in parenting skill is a key mechanism for promoting a positive treatment outcome. The implications of these findings for the implementation of strategies aimed at preventing aggressive behavior and promoting better treatment outcome after multi-component intervention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last years many studies evaluated the efficacy of group treatment for children with Disruptive Behaviour Disorder (DBD) that foresee sessions for children in small groups and that have the objective of reduce aggressive behaviour in children. In the first part of this article will be discussed general objectives of group intervention for children denominated "Al di là delle nuvole-beyond the clouds", service for diagnosis and treatment on DBD in child and adolescence. Particularly will be discuss a structured intervention model for children of inclusive age among 7 and 12 years old, inspired at model of Coping Power Program, developed by J. Lochman (Alabama University), that it founds on behavioural-cognitive interventions existed and on social-cognitive model by Dodge (Dodge and Crick 1994). This treatment has like principal objectives that to increase some abilities of recognize and modulate physiological signals of anger, to recognize other's point of view and resolve conflict situation. In the second part will be done the hypothesis that after group intervention, can change in subjects, the whole of assumptions and goals, from which would mainly derive scarce respect of the rights of the others and the authorities(Mancini et al 2009; Capo etal. 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]