ICHI Interventions for Conduct-Dissocial Disorder (6C91) in Young Children

A child with persistent rule-breaking, aggression or defiance is signalling unmet need — and the ICHI framework gives us a shared vocabulary to map the interventions that help.

In short

The WHO International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) does not name disorders; it classifies interventions by Target, Action and Means. For Conduct-Dissocial Disorder (ICD-11 6C91) in young children, the applicable ICHI families are predominantly psychological and behavioural interventions — parent-management and family-skills training, child-focused behavioural and social-cognitive interventions, caregiver counselling, and educational/environmental support — rather than primary pharmacological action. In young children the evidence base and ICHI mapping centre firmly on parenting and family interventions delivered around the child, not labels applied to the child.

Mapping ICHI to 6C91 in early childhood

ICHI codes describe what is done. For conduct-dissocial presentations the relevant intervention targets cluster as follows:

• Interventions on caregiver/family behaviour — structured parent-management training, behavioural family intervention, and caregiver skills training (consistent limits, positive attention, predictable routines). This is the first-line, best-evidenced tier in the under-7 group.
• Interventions on the child's behavioural and emotional functions — social-cognitive and problem-solving skills training, emotion-regulation and self-control building, delivered developmentally.
• Interventions on social and communication functions — supporting language and social reciprocity, since expressive-language and pragmatic difficulties frequently co-travel with disruptive behaviour.
• Counselling and education interventions — psychoeducation for family and educators, classroom/environmental modification.
• Assessment and care-coordination interventions — structured functional assessment and multi-agency coordination where school, home and health intersect.

A crucial clinical caveat: in very young children, oppositional and aggressive behaviour is common, developmentally bound, and often better understood through co-occurring factors (language delay, ADHD features, attachment disruption, sensory dysregulation). A 6C91 label is applied cautiously and only when the pattern is persistent, pervasive and disproportionate. The ICHI intervention set should therefore be selected against a formulation, not a single code.

When to refer

Prioritise assessment when aggression or rule-breaking is persistent across settings (home and preschool), when there is risk to the child or others, or when caregiver capacity is overwhelmed. Screen actively for co-occurring ADHD, language disorder and adverse experiences — these reshape the intervention mix.

The Pinnacle way

A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, by qualified clinicians under clinical governance — never from a code list, a form or an app. Our behavioural therapy and family-skills pathways translate the ICHI intervention families into a child-specific plan, coordinated with speech and language support where pragmatic-language needs co-occur. Partner with us to align ICHI-mapped interventions with measurable developmental goals.

Trusted sources

WHO International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) beta framework of Target–Action–Means; WHO ICD-11 entry for Conduct-Dissocial Disorder (6C91); NICE guidance on antisocial behaviour and conduct disorders in children, which positions parent-training and child-focused programmes as first-line.

Next step — Map a child's presentation to an evidence-aligned intervention plan: refer to a Pinnacle clinician.

This is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.