Disruptive children could have smaller brains than their well-mannered classmates, new study reveals
A new study has revealed disruptive children could have smaller brains than their well-mannered classmates.
Instead of just being badly behaved, these children have smaller areas of the brain which regulate their behaviour and emotions.
Researchers at the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that youngsters who lie, steal, fight, bully and are cruel to animals have smaller surface areas in 26 of 34 regions of the brain.
Disruptive behaviour in children is called conduct disorder and affects seven per cent of boys and three per cent of girls aged between five and 10.
But it is often more than just youthful rebelliousness, as the findings published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal show.
A new study has revealed disruptive children could have smaller brains than their well-mannered classmates. Stock image
Children with the disorder had lower total surface area across the outer layer of the brain and in the amygdala, hippocampus and thalamus - all of which help regulate behaviour.
The highest number of changes in the brain showed up in children who displayed low levels of empathy, guilt and remorse.
Although it's still not known what causes the brain regions to change in misbehaving children, researchers said it would be caused by childhood adversity and/or maltreatment.
Speaking to The Times, lead author Dr Yidian Gao said: 'We know very little about this disorder, even thought it can carry a high burden for families and societies.
'It provides the most compelling evidence to date that conduct disorder is associated with widespread structural brain differences.'
It follows experts warning children are becoming more violent at school as lockdown caused a 'delay in their social and emotional development' and created a 'background of fear'.
It comes as a survey commissioned by the BBC found one in five teachers have been hit by pupils this year, with many reporting a rise in violent behaviour compared to two years ago.
Children with the disorder had lower total surface area across the outer layer of the brain and in the amygdala, hippocampus and thalamus - all of which help regulate behaviour. Stock pic
Spitting, swearing, fighting, pushing and chair-throwing were among things happening more frequently in schools across the country, according to the new survey.
Erica Bowen, Chartered Coaching Psychologist & Registered Forensic Psychologist, told MailOnline that the pandemic restricted opportunities for children to develop social skills.
She said the 'isolation' and 'background of fear' created by Covid will likely have impacted children's mental health leading to 'more acting out'.
Dr Bowen added: 'Research shows that in some studies there is an identifiable lag between the social skills of those children who had online vs face to face teaching during the pandemic. Coming out of lockdown and pandemic restrictions means that for some children there is a delay in their social and emotional development.
'The isolation and background of fear as well as the impact on families who experienced loss during this time will likely also have impacted children’s mental health which then influences behaviour too – leading often to more ‘acting out’ behaviours.
'For some children, there is likely to be a level of trauma that was experienced as a consequence of the pandemic, which may also be relevant to their ability to relate to others, especially with regards to emotion regulation.'
