Return to Specialty Areas Main page

Conduct Disorder (CD)

Conduct Disorder often looks like Oppositional Defiant Disorder (described on another page), only worse. It is a very serious condition among adolescents because of its potential for harm to the individual and society; in fact, it is considered to be one of the most serious and prevalent mental health conditions among young people, affecting about 8% of boys and 2% of girls.

Here is a characterization of the problem, adapted from the American Psychiatric Association:

A persistent behavioral pattern in which the basic rights of others are violated, including:
Cruelty to animals, bullying or intimidating other people, destruction of property, stealing, use of weapons, running away, fighting, defiance of parental authority, fire setting, and truancy.

A thorough evaluation by a qualified mental health professional is a prerequisite for making the diagnosis.

It is very common for adolescents with CD also to have anxiety disorders, depression, attention deficit disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome, substance abuse, or bipolar disorder.

Individual therapy, psychiatric evaluation, family therapy, couples therapy, and possibly more intensive interventions such as specialized, temporary foster placements are often required, and even then progress may be difficult to obtain. About 70% of adolescents diagnosed with CD will not carry the problem into adulthood; still, even these individuals often have other psychiatric problems which impair their social and occupational functioning to a significant extent.