ACTION has described current clinical practices in Europe with respect to childhood aggression and identified drawbacks in prevention and intervention of clinical aggression (also known as paediatric conduct disorders). An online semi-structured questionnaire investigating the status of national guidelines (N = 29 academic experts; 23 countries) and an online semi-structured questionnaire exploring clinical practices (N = 94 clinicians; 22 countries) on diagnosing and treating children with severe behavioural problems across Europe were developed. Several countries have official clinical guidelines, while others have at least some unofficial documents. In general, primary and secondary preventions were absent or poorly developed, whereas specific interventions for severe behavioural problems were very diverse across Europe. Improving parent–child interactions, parent/teacher interventions and collaborative approaches were most frequently identified as successful treatment elements. Several needs were listed by experts and clinicians, which will fuel further research within ACTION and beyond. The current findings on co-occurrence of aggression indicates that information on these current drawbacks could also be informative for other psychopathologies.
