|
Excessive Tantrums: A sign of
serious mental health problems? Page #2
 The
first behavior of concern is when children become extremely aggressive during a
tantrum. Whenever a toddler displays aggression directed toward a caregiver or
violently destructive behavior directed toward something such as a toy during
their tantrums, this should be a sign of concern to the parent. The study
concluded that these children tend to have a diagnosis of ADHD, oppositional
defiant disorder or other disruptive disorders.
A second behavior of concern
noted by the researchers is when children exhibit self-destructive behaviors
such as scratching until their skin begins to bleed, biting themselves or
banging their head.
Dr. Belden stated that "it
doesn't matter how long these types of tantrums last or how often they occur,
self injurious behavior almost always was associated with a psychiatric
diagnoses in this study." Dr. Belden went on to say "Children with major
depressive disorder tended to hurt themselves. We didn't see that in normal
kids or those with ADHD and other disruptive disorders. It really surprised us
that this type of behavior was emerging at such a young age."
Another behavior of concern
is when children have more than five tantrums a day for several consecutive
days. When children have very long tantrums that is a definite concern. Normal
children seem to have tantrums of 10 or 11 minutes while he was found in the
study that those with disruptive disorders average more than 25 minutes per
episode.
Finally, when children were
unable to calm themselves after a tantrum episode, they appeared to be at much
higher risk for future psychiatric disorders. Dr. Belden stated that "If a
child is having tantrums and parents always have to bribe the child with cookies
or other rewards to calm him or her down, this may be something more serious
than normal toddler volatility."
Researchers have stated that
it is important to replicate these findings in future studies of other children,
and also to classify the types of behavior that may be considered to be
problematic in a more rigorous fashion. While this study relied upon parent
reports of children's tantrum behavior, future studies may include video
analysis.
Dr. Belden became interested
in tantrum behavior when observing the different tantrum styles displayed for
each of his two children. He stated that parents should usually not be worried
when their children have tantrums but should pay attention to the behavior
exhibited during the tantrum. He concluded in stating that "The best news from
this paper is that it's normal for children to display excessive behavior
sometimes." He went on to say that "If a child lashes out at you, it doesn't
mean, ‘oh my gosh! They're doomed’ but if they lash out and hit you every time,
there might be a problem. And if they hurt themselves intentionally, I think
it's best to consult a pediatrician or mental health professional."
Information adapted from a
report titled Excessive
Tantrums In Preschoolers May Indicate Serious Mental Health Problems.
ScienceDaily
(December
19, 2007)
Additional information and
webpage by
Paul Susic MA Licensed Psychologist Ph.D Candidate (Health
Psychology
|
