What is maladaptive patterns of behavior?
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Maladaptive behavior is behavior that interferes with an individual’s ability to function in daily life or adjust to difficult situations. It is significantly different from what is expected for the individual’s developmental level. Show
These behaviors are often disruptive and dangerous. They are usually seen as misbehavior or bad behavior in children. Thus, children are often reprimanded rather than helped to change their behaviors. How Do They DevelopScientists have found that maladaptive behaviors generally serve some psychological functions1. There are generally two types of maladaptive behavior. Goal-DirectedMost maladaptive behaviors are coping mechanisms intended to reduce difficult feelings and increase positive emotions, but in reality, they usually don’t work2. A child chooses a strategy from the available repertoire and learns through observing the consequences. A strategy that helps them meet the goal of removing uncomfortable feelings or increasing positive feelings is reinforced. A strategy that fails to achieve such a goal will have a lower chance of being repeated. This type of emotion-driven reinforcement learning process usually has other negative ramifications3. HabitualOver time, rewarded behaviors become habits and the chronic maladaptive behaviors can be triggered by cues such as emotions or environments4. The process is often self-reinforcing, so the circumstances that initiated the behavior do not need to be present to trigger it anymore5. As a result, it usually follows a self-destructive pattern. Maladaptive Behavior ExamplesMaladaptive coping mechanisms in children may include a wide range of actions, from mildly disruptive to dangerous. Here are some common examples. Antisocial behavior
AvoidanceSome children avoid anxiety-provoking situations such as
Addiction
Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)Researchers have found that self-harm typically follows negative feelings such as feelings of distress. Self-harm seems to provide some relief from the mental pain experienced by some children9. Maladaptive daydreamingEveryone engages in occasional daydreaming but some children spend much of their time daydreaming with well-developed plots and characters. Extensive fantasy activity can interfere with academic or interpersonal functioning by replacing human interaction. Excessive amounts of daydreaming are a mental health condition that must be addressed10. Eating disorders
Delinquency
Maladaptive Behavior CausesA variety of stressful situations and events can lead to maladjustment. Here are some categories of causes of maladaptive behavior. Lack of emotional regulationA child’s inability to regulate their emotions and behavior is one of the biggest causes of maladaptive behavior. Children cannot calm their emotions when under extreme stress13. TraumaIndividuals who have experienced trauma feel threatened, endangered, or hurt. They tend to develop maladaptive coping strategies following traumatic events14. Life adversity can take many forms and occur at any point in a person’s life. Examples of trauma include physical, mental, or sexual abuse, natural disaster, and life-threatening attack. Internalizing problemsChildren with mental health issues and internalizing problems often develop inappropriate behaviors.
Externalizing problemsExternalizing issues that will cause problematic behaviors.
Personality disordersChildren suffering from personality disorders tend to have maladaptive regulation strategies.
Developmental disorders
How to Treat Maladaptive BehaviorUntreated maladaptive behavior can negatively impact children’s and families’ quality of life. While serious misbehavior requires the help of mental health professionals, many mild behavioral problems can be dealt with at home by parents. The first thing to remember is that children will often misbehave when faced with overwhelming stress because they do not know how to handle it. Instead of punishing them, help your child develop adaptive behavior that can be used in place of the maladaptive behavior. Adaptive skills such as taking deep breaths, doing exercise, and meditating are alternative behaviors that can help reduce psychological distress in negative situations. Besides teaching new skills, find out what caused the problematic behavior. To reduce feelings of frustration or helplessness, allow autonomy to give them a sense of control and mastery over their environment and themselves. Teach them social skills to alleviate their feelings of anxiety about social engagement. Valid their emotions so that they are confident in expressing their true feelings. Professional help is recommended in severe cases. References
About Pamela Li, MS, MBA Pamela Li is a bestselling author. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Parenting For Brain. Her educational background is in Electrical Engineering (MS, Stanford University) and Business Management (MBA, Harvard University). Learn more When does behavior become maladaptive?Maladaptive behavior can result when a person just does not see a path to their desired future. This can happen with any chronic illness or major lifestyle change. With maladaptive behavior, self-destructive actions are taken to avoid undesired situations. One of the most used maladaptive behaviors is avoidance.
What is an example of maladaptive strategy?In these situations, there are two types of coping strategies – positive (adaptive) and negative (maladaptive). Maladaptive coping generally increases stress and anxiety, with examples including self-harm, binge eating and substance abuse.
What maladaptiveness means?maladaptive. / (ˌmæləˈdæptɪv) / adjective. unsuitably adapted or adapting poorly to (a situation, purpose, etc) not encouraging adaptation.
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