About Conduct Disorder
What does it look like?
How common is it?
What causes it?
How long does it last?
What treatments are effective?
A review of the evidence
What's new?
Resources
A review of the evidence
Research proves link between conduct disorder in childhood
and serious problems in adulthood
Wood JJ, Piacentini JC, Southam-Gerow M, Chu BC, Sigman M
The Bottom Line:
This 25-year study found a direct link between conduct disorder in middle childhood (ages 7 to 9) and poor psychological and social functioning in later life. It found there was a greater likelihood of being depressed, of having an anxiety disorder or substance abuse, or becoming involved in crime among adults who had a history of conduct disorder. For some of these children, the likelihood of these problems in adulthood was 19 times higher than normal. This is further evidence of the need for greater investment in prevention and interventions for childhood conduct disorder, which can have devastating effects on an individual’s ability to have a fulfilling and productive life. |
What problem is being addressed?
Previous research has found a strong relationship between a history of childhood conduct problems and poor psychological and social outcomes in adulthood. However many of these studies cannot be relied on because the children were followed for only a short period of time, they failed to look at meaningful outcome measures such as mental health, and they looked at only those children with the most severe conduct problems.
What intervention is being tested?
This study followed 973 children over a period of 25 years (from middle childhood into adulthood) to see if having had varying degrees of conduct problems as a child would affect their life quality as adults. The authors looked at teacher and parent reports of the children’s behaviour at 7, 8 and 9 years of age. Interviewing the same participants later when they were adults, they asked about their involvement in crime and substance use, mental health problems, the quality of their relationships, level of education, and ability to obtain and keep a job. They also looked at the influence of social (e.g., income, neighbourhood, etc.), family (single or two parent family, family relationships, domestic violence) and childhood characteristics (parenting style, use of corporal punishment or other harsh discipline) on how well the participants did in adulthood.
What is the real scientific evidence?
The study found children with conduct problems at 7-9 years of age were at increased risk of having problems when adults. Both sexes with a history of conduct problems were at increased risk to develop psychological and social problems during adulthood. All poor outcomes except for education/job instability were related to having had a middle childhood conduct disorder.
The preceding is a summary of:
Fergussion, D.M., Horwood, L.J., & Ridder, E.M. Show me the child at seven: the consequences of conduct problems in childhood for psychosocial functioning in adulthood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2005, 46(8): 837-849.
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