An update on interventions for conduct disorder

Children with conduct disorders (persistent disrup­ tive, deceptive and aggressive behaviours) are highly likely to require clinical intervention. Such inter­ ventions offer an important opportunity to prevent a burden of poor health and social maladjustment in adulthood. Conduct problems cause children, families and schools considerable distress, and they result in social and educational impairment (Lahey et al, 1997). Negative outcomes in adulthood include antisocial personality disorder, criminal and violent offending, and incarceration. Childhood conduct problems further predict risk for numerous problems in adulthood: serious difficulties in education, work and finances, homelessness, abuse, dependence on tobacco, alcohol and drugs, and even poor physical health, including injuries, sexually transmitted infec­ tions, compromised immune function, dental and respiratory problems, as well as a variety of mental disorders and suicidal behaviour (Moffitt et al, 2002). Adults with substance, affective, anxiety and eating disorders, and even individuals with schizophrenia­ spectrum disorders and mania, are more likely to have a history of conduct disorder (Kim­Cohen et al, 2003). This long list of negative long­term outcomes highlights the value of successful treatment of conduct problems during childhood.