Abstract
This research is a quasi-experimental and causal-comparative study, which has been conducted to compare the attentional bias or selective information processing and focus of attention in children with conduct disorder and normal children. Out of the children referring to psychiatric offices and Psychological Services Center in Neishabour, 50 children with conduct disorder (according to diagnostic interview based on DSM-IV and interview using KSADS) were selected through voluntary and available sampling. Normal sample was selected through multistage cluster sampling from among the school students of Neishabour City. Questionnaires on attentional bias, Stroop Test and Recognition test were applied for data collection. Data was analyzed in independent groups using t-test. The results indicated that there is a significant difference between children with conduct disorder and normal children in terms of attentional bias or selective information processing and focus of attention (p< 0.05). DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3s3p143
Highlights
Conduct disorder is among the complex disorders since it revolves around fear of unobservable events such as negative evaluation, criticism or rejection by others (Houghton & Salkovix, 1997; cited in Qasemzadeh, 1997)
This study was conducted in order to compare the focus of attention and attentional bias or selective attention in children with conduct disorder and normal children
The first hypothesis stated that “self-focused attention in children with conduct disorder is different from normal children”
Summary
Conduct disorder is among the complex disorders since it revolves around fear of unobservable events such as negative evaluation, criticism or rejection by others (Houghton & Salkovix, 1997; cited in Qasemzadeh, 1997). The symptoms of this disorder should persist for at least 6 months (Toozandehjani, 1996) This pattern of behavior is accompanied by emotional and social turmoil (House, 1999), aggressive and coercive behavior towards parents and teachers (Gary, 2002), poor academic performance (Meadows et al, 1994), low selfesteem (Salimi & Calias, 1996) and impaired social and non-verbal skills (Mathur et al, 1992) and reveals a complex image of conduct disorder. Considerable emphasis has been placed on information processing patterns, that is, the way people perceive environmental stimuli and it is believed that “bias” in the processing of emotional information underlies conduct and anxiety disorders and this bias exists in all stages of information processing, namely attention, interpretation and memory (Beck &Clark, 1997; Beck et al, 1985; Mathews & Macleod, 1994; cited in Ostovar, 2006). Given that little research has been done in our country on focus of attention and selective information processing or selective attention in children with conduct disorder, performing the present study seems essential in order to better understand cognitive biases, focus of attention, selective information processing and persistence of conduct disorder in these children
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