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4. CAUSES CONNECTED TO THE INDIVIDUAL (BIOLOGICAL FACTORS) Brain Disorders Many individuals who have brain disorders experience problems with emotions and behavior. Brain disorders are the result of either brain dysgenesis (abnormal brain development) or brain injury (caused by traumas or deceases that alter the structure or function of a normally developing brain). Procházková in Vítková (2004) emphasizes that one third of all clients of juvenile residential care institutions are children with diagnosed organic brain disorders, mostly with Minimal Brain Damage. The diagnosis of Minimal Brain Damage is not the reason for placing a child into a residential care. However, when a child is not assessed and treated early enough, his/her behavior may result in antisocial conduct and subsequent placement in specialized institution. Genetics There is evidence of a genetic link to some forms of emotional and behavioral disorders. The disorder with the strongest research support for genetic risk factor is schizophrenia. However, according to the current Czech perspective, such a child would be viewed as having health disadvantage not EBD. Temperament Some researchers believe that all children are born with biologically determined temperament, but it is generally conceived to be a person’s behavioral style or typical way of responding to situations. There is some research evidence showing that an easy or positive temperament is correlated with resilience to stress and that a difficult temperament at an early age increases the likelihood of behavior problems in adolescence. Although a child’s inborn temperament may not in itself cause a behavioral problem, it may predispose the child to problems. Thus, certain events that might not produce abnormal behavior in a child with easygoing temperament might result in disordered behavior by the child with a difficult temperament.
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