Family therapy may help boys who bully

Aggressive teenage boys can be helped through family therapy to rein in some of their anger and improve their relationships with others, according to new study findings.

Among 44 German boys who were self-described bullies, researchers found that those who underwent 6 months of family therapy showed better anger control, as well as improvements in their social skills and general well-being.

The therapy, according to the study authors, focused on family members' communication, and how their behavior contributed to the boys' bullying ways.

The success of the treatment suggests that including families is an essential part of treating children's aggression, according to the researchers. They are now studying whether family therapy is in fact more effective than treating the child alone, said Dr. Marius K. Nickel of Inntalklinik in Simbach am Inn, Germany.

Nickel and his colleagues report the current findings in the journal Pediatrics.

The study included boys between the ages of 14 and 16 who were screened with standard measures of anger and aggression, interpersonal conflicts and health-related quality of life. Besides their self-reported bullying behavior, two-thirds of the boys also had some behavioral disorder, such as conduct disorder or Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder (a problem related to brain development) that causes hyperactivity (always on the move), impulsive behavior (doing things without any self control), and attention problems (not able to pay attention). ADHD is the most common problem encountered in outpatient child and adolescent mental health settings. It is estimated that ADHD affects between 4 percent and 12 percent of school-aged children, more often boys than girls. Studies suggest that the amount of ADHD seen in the population has risen significantly in recent years. This is partly because of an increased awareness and recognition of the disorder, and partly because the specific things needed to make the diagnosis of ADHD have been more clearly defined during the past 20 years.

Half of the boys were randomly assigned to undergo therapy with their families - weekly sessions at first, then every other week. The other half served as a comparison group.

After 6 months of treatment, boys in the family therapy group showed better anger control, and the improvements were generally sustained when the researchers evaluated them again 6 months later.

They also showed improvements in their relationship problems - including tendencies to control other people and harbor grudges, and difficulty with showing affection and trusting others.