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The Overt Aggression Scale in a study of lithium in aggressive conduct disorder.
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1994
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Social SciencesPsychologyPersonality DisorderAggressive BehaviorAggressive Conduct DisorderClinical PsychologyOvert Aggression ScaleBehavioral IssueBehavioural ProblemExperimental PsychopathologyChild PsychologyBehavioral SciencesPsychiatryOpen StudyLithium CarbonatePsychiatric DisorderChild DevelopmentAddictionPsychological ViolencePediatricsMood DisordersMedicineChild PsychiatryAggressionPsychopathology
This article describes an open study of lithium carbonate in conduct-disordered children. The objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of lithium in reducing aggression and the usefulness of the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS), as a measure of treatment effect. The subjects, 8 children, ages 9.2 to 16.9 years (mean +/- standard deviation [SD] = 12.48 +/- 2.97), were treated for 4 weeks with lithium. Optimal dosages ranged from 1200 to 1800 mg/day (mean = 1350 +/- 227) with corresponding serum lithium levels ranging from 0.86 to 1.39 mEq/L (mean = 1.05 +/- 0.17). OAS results indicated that aggression decreased significantly over time. The findings from the OAS agreed with findings from a more general measure, the Global Clinical Consensus Rating, leading to the conclusion that the OAS is a promising outcome measure for treatment studies of aggression in children. Further placebo-controlled studies of lithium carbonate in reducing aggressive behavior in conduct-disordered children, employing a specific measure such as the OAS, are warranted.