Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: Symptoms And Treatment
Irritability and fits of rage in minors are one of the most recurrent reasons in consultations and psychology centers. Although these reactions are relatively common in these stages, their chronicity and intensity must be controlled.
When these attacks are too pronounced and occur too frequently, they can be diagnosed as a Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder Below we talk about its symptoms and treatment, as well as the controversy surrounding this concept.
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is a relatively new term in clinical psychology and psychiatry which refers to a disturbance of the child’s mood During this, the child shows signs of chronic irritability and mood swings that are disproportionate to the situation.
Although these symptoms can also be seen in a wide variety of childhood psychological disorders such as bipolar disorder, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the idea of ​​creating a new concept like ADHD was founded with the objective of being able to include tantrums and outbursts of anger in the diagnosis.
The incorporation of this new label for child behavior into the DSM-V has been widely criticized by both psychology and pedagogy professionals, as well as researchers in behavioral sciences. One of these criticisms is the questioning of Is it really necessary to create more labels for child behavior? since these tend to create a stigma in the child both on a personal and social level.
On the other hand, the diagnostic criteria They do not take into account the family, school or social context of the minor which can exert a great influence on both your mood and your behavior, and may be the real cause of these explosions of anger and anger.
Finally, it has been questioned whether this disorder was substantially different from the others already discussed. However, according to certain studies, there is a disparity in both etiology, evolution and neurobiological bases.
Differences with pediatric bipolar disorder
There are many cases of supposed disruptive mood dysregulation disorders that, due to the similarity between the symptomatology of both conditions, have been diagnosed as pediatric bipolar disorder.
The main difference between the two is that, just as in bipolar disorder the minor presents well-defined episodes of depressed mood and mania, children diagnosed with ADHD they do not experience these different episodes as precisely or delimited.
In bipolarity, specific episodes are interspersed with moments of euthymia, while in TDDEA the periods of change are much more persistent and random.
Symptoms of TDDEA
In order to make a satisfactory diagnosis of ADHD, without the need to burden the child with unnecessary labels, the fifth volume of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) describes the diagnostic criteria for this disorder, including its symptoms and its exceptions. These criteria are:
It is necessary to specify that this diagnosis in no case can be made before 6 years of age, since in these stages both tantrums and explosions of anger are common and normative.
On the other hand, the DSM-V specifies the impossibility of this disorder occurring at the same time as bipolar disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, or intermittent explosive disorder.
Effects and consequences of TDDEA
According to evaluations and studies in the field of child psychology, it is seen that approximately 80% of children under 6 years of age show tantrums on a more or less recurrent basis, becoming severe in only 20% of the cases.
So that this anger or aggressiveness can be considered pathological It must interfere with the minor’s daily life, as well as their academic performance and daily family dynamics. Regarding the family environment, this disorder tends to generate great helplessness and a feeling of disorientation in the parents of affected children, since they are incapable of managing or controlling the child’s behavior and actions; fearing imposing punishments that are too rigid or, on the contrary, too lax.
As far as the child is concerned, irascible behavior ends up affecting his relationship with his colleagues or equals , who do not understand the reason for their behavior. Furthermore, the levels of frustration he feels are so high that his attention span ends up decreasing, hindering his academic progress.
Treatment
Due to the novelty of the concept, the treatment of TDDEA is still in the process of research and development by clinical professionals. However, the main protocol for intervention in these cases includes the combination of drugs with psychological therapy.
The medication of choice is usually stimulant drugs or antidepressant medications, while Psychotherapy consists of applied behavioral analysis Furthermore, the active role of parents in the treatment is highlighted, since they must learn to manage changes in the child’s mood in the best possible way.
The pharmacological treatment of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder is another point for which this condition has received numerous criticisms, questioning the real need to medicate children.
