NICE recommends training programmes for parents to tackle children’s antisocial behaviour

New guidance on treating antisocial behaviour in children recommends early intervention to try to prevent problems getting worse—though it admits that it is a challenge to identify which programmes work and with which groups of children.

Published this week by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the guidance says that better identification and earlier intervention are needed.1

One in 20 children between the ages of 5 and 16 years has a conduct disorder, says NICE. Such disorders are commoner in boys than in girls, often occur together with mental health problems such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and are linked to poor …