ABSTRACT

Modelling and coercive family processes have been identified by social learning theory as central to the development and maintenance of conduct problems.

Modelling theory

Bandura and Walters (1959) have taken the position that aggression, characteristic of children with conduct disorders, is learned through a process of imitation or modelling. In some instances it may be the behaviour displayed by the parents that the child imitates. Fathers of aggressive boys typically are aggressive. Mothers of such children are typically rejecting and discourage the expression of their children’s dependency needs. It is this aggression and neglectful hostility that aggressive children are imitating. This position is supported by a large body of evidence, particularly that which points to the intrafamilial transmission of aggressive behaviour (Hill, 2002; Kazdin, 1995). According to modelling theory, treatment should aim to help parents model appropriate behaviour for their children, or provide alternative models of appropriate behaviour in a residential or treatment foster-care setting (Chamberlain & Smith, 2003).