Abstract
With juvenile crime on the rise, understanding and preventing juvenile delinquency is one of the greatest challenges facing mental health professionals today. Recognizing early signs of conduct disorder (CD) can be difficult, but identifying risk factors is an important step in preventing a child's progression to CD or Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD). This paper focuses on various risk factors for CD and APD, such as intrinsic individual differences, psychosocial/environmental factors, genetic and neurochemical factors. Early recognition and intervention may prevent the progression from aggressive and maladaptive behaviors to CD and later APD.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: OJJPD Statistical Briefing Book. [On-line]. Available at: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.ord/ojstatbb/index.html, 1999.
Loeber, R.: Disruptive and antisocial behavior in childhood and adolescence: Development and risk factors. In Hurrelmann, K. & Loesel, F. (Eds.), Health hazards in adolescence. Prevention and intervention in childhood and adolescence (pp. 233–257). Berlin, Germany: Walter De Gruyter, 1990.
Mandel, H.P.: Conduct Disorder and Under-Achievement: risk factors, assessment, treatment, and prevention. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997.
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author, 1994.
Rutter, M., Giller, H., & Hagell, A.: Antisocial Behavior by Young People. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Hinshaw, S.P., Lahey, B.B., & Hart, E.L.: Issues of taxonomy and comorbidity in the development of conduct disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 31–49, 1993.
Dykman, R.A., & Acherman, P.T.: Behavioral subtypes of Attention Deficit Disorder. Exceptional Children, 60, 132–141, 1993.
Loeber, R.: Behavioral precursors and accelerators of delinquency. In Buikhisen, W. & Mednick, S.A. (Eds.), Explaining crime (pp. 51–67). London: Brill, 1988.
White, J.L., Moffitt, T.E., Earls, F., Robins, L., & Silva, P.A.: How early can we tell? Predictors of childhood conduct disorder and adolescent delinquency. Criminology, 28, 507–33, 1990.
Caspi, A., Moffitt, T.E., Silva, P.A., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Krueger, R.F., & Schmutte, P.S.: Are some people crime-prone? Replications of the personality-crime relationship across countries, genders, races and methods. Criminology, 32, 163–95, 1994.
Caspi, A., Henry, B., McGee, R.O., Moffitt, T.E., & Silva, P.A.: Temperamental origins of child and adolescent behavior problems: From age 3 to age 15. Child Development, 66, 55–68, 1995.
Parker, J.G., & Asher, S.R.: Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk? Psychological Bulletin, 102, 357–89, 1987.
Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M.: Prediction. In Quay, H.C. (Ed.), Handbook of juvenile delinquency. New York: Wiley, 1987.
Hinshaw, S: On the distinction between attentional deficits/hyperactivity and conduct problems/aggression in child psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 443–463.
Hinshaw, S.P: Stimulant Medication and the Treatment of Aggression in Children With Attentional Deficits. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 20(3): 301–312, 1991.
Loney, J: Hyperactivity and aggression in the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder. In Lahey, B.B. & Kazdin, A.E. (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology, New York: Plenum, 10: 99–135.
Barkley, R., Fisher, M., Edelbrock, C.S., Smallish, L.: The adolescent outcome of hyperactive children diagnosed by research criteria: I. An 8–year old prospective follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 546–557, 1990.
Asher, S.R., Erdley, C.A., & Gabriel, S.W.: Peer relations. In Rutter, M. & Hay, L. (Eds.), Development through life: A handbook for clinicians (pp. 456–87). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific, 1994.
Coie, J.D., & Dodge, K.A.: Aggression and antisocial behavior. In Damon, W. & Eisenberg, N. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology, vol. 3: Social, emotional, and personality development, 5th ed. (pp. 779–862). New York: Wiley, 1997.
Olson, S.L.: Development of conduct problems and peer rejection in preschool children: A social systems analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20, 327–350, 1992.
Biederman, J., Newcorn, J., & Sprich, S.: Comorbidity of ADHD with conduct, depressive, anxiety, and other disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 564–577, 1991.
Keller, M.B., Lavori, P.W., Beardslee, W. R., Wunder, J., Shwartz, C.E., Roth, J., & Biederman, J.: The disruptive behavioral disorder in children and adolescents: Comorbidity and clinical course. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 204–209, 1992.
Mandel, H.P., & Mandel, D.E. (Eds.).: Along the path: Case histories of differentially diagnosed underachievers (2nd ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: York University, Institute on Achievement and Motivation, 1995.
Mandel, H.P., Marcus, S.I., & Dean, L.: Could do better: Why children underachieve and what to do about it. New York: Wiley, 1995.
Maguin, E., & Loeber, R.: Academic performance and delinquency. In Tonry, M. & Farrington, D.P. (Eds.), Crime and justice, vol. 20 (pp. 145–264). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Howlin, P., & Rutter, M.: The consequences of language delay for other aspects of development. In Yule, W. & Rutter, M., (Eds.), Language development and disorders (pp. 271–95). London: MacKeith, 1987.
Stattin, H., & Klackenberg-Larsson, I.: Early language and intelligence development and their relationship to future criminal behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 369–78, 1993.
Meltzer, L.J., Levine, M.D., Karniski, W., Palfrey, J.S., & Clarke, S.: An analysis of the learning style of adolescent delinquents. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17, 600–608, 1984.
Farrington, D.P., Gallagher, B., Morley, L., St. Ledger, R.J., & West, D.J.: Unemployment, school leaving, and crime. British Journal of Criminology, 26, 335–356, 1986.
Dishion, T.J., Patterson, G.R., Stoolmiller, M., & Skinner, M.L.: Family, school, and behavioral antecedents to early adolescent involvement with antisocial peers. Developmental Psychology, 27, 172–180, 1991.
Elliott, D.D., Huizinga, D., & Ageton, S.S.: Explaining delinquency and drug use. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1985.
Keenan, K., Loeber, R., Zhang, Q., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & van Kammen, W.B.: The influence of deviant peers on the development of boys' disruptive and delinquent behavior: A temporal analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 715–26, 1995.
Jouriles, E.N., Murphy, C.M., & O'Leary, K.D.: Interspousal aggression, marital discord, and child problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 453–455, 1989.
Widom, C.S.: The cycle of violence. Science, 244, 160–6, 1989.
Webster-Stratton, C.: The relationship of marital support, conflict, and divorce to parent perceptions, behaviors, and child conduct problems. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 417–430, 1990.
Campbell, S.B.: Behavior problems in preschool children: Clinical and developmental issues. New York: Guilford Press, 1990.
Williams, S., Anderson, J., McGee, R., & Silva, P.A.: Risk factors for behavioral and emotional disorder in preadolescent children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 413–419, 1990.
Rutter, M., Tizard, B., & Whitmore, K.: Education, health, and behavior. London: Longman, 1970.
Boswell, G.: Young and dangerous. Aldershot: Avebury, 1996.
Eron, L.D., Huesmann, L.R., & Zelli, A.: The role of parental variables in the learning of aggression. In Pepler, D. & Rubin, K. (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1991.
Widom, C.S.: Child abuse, neglect, and witnessing violence. In Stoff, D.M., Breiling, J. & Maser, J.D. (Eds.), Handbook of antisocial behavior (pp. 159–70). New York: Wiley, 1997.
Lahey, B.B., Hartdagen, S.E., Frick, P.J., McBurnett, K., Connor, R., & Hynd, G. W.: Conduct disorder: Parsing the confounded relation to parental divorce and antisocial personality. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 334–337, 1988.
Mason, D.A., & Frick, P.J.: The Heritability of Antisocial Behavior: A Meta-Analysis of Twin and Adoption Studies. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 16 (4), 301–23, 1994.
Reid, W.H., Dorr, D., Walker, J.I., & Bonner, J.W. (Eds.). Unmasking the psychopath: Antisocial personality and related syndromes. New York: Norton, 1986.
Taylor, E.: Toxins and allergens. In Rutter, M. & Casaer, P. (Eds.), Biological risk factors for psychosocial disorders (pp. 199–232). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Hinshaw, S.P.: On the distinction between attentional deficits/hyperactivity and conduct problems/aggression child psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 443–463, 1987.
Hinshaw, S.P., Henker, B., Whalen, C.K., Erhardt, D., & Dunnington, R.E., Jr.: Aggressive, prosocial, and nonsocial behavior in hyperactive boys: Dose effects of methylphenidate in naturalistic settings. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 636–643, 1989.
Cook, E., Stein, M., & Krasowski, M.: Association of ADD and the dopamine transporter gene. American Journal of Human Genetics, 56, 933–998, 1995.
Klein, R.G., & Mannuzza, S.: The long term outcome of the ADD/hyperkinetic syndrome. In Sagvolden, T. & Archer, T. (Eds.), Attention Deficit Disorder: Clinical and basic research (pp. 71–91). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Kruesi, M.J.P., Hibbs, E.D., Zahn, T.P., Keysor, C.S., Hamburger, S.D., Bartko, J.J., & Rapoport, J.L.: A two-year prospective follow-up study of children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 419–426, 1992.
Halperin J.M., Newcorn, J.H., Kopstein I., McKay, K.E., Schwartz, S.T., Siever, L.J., & Sharma, V.: Serotonin, Aggression, and Parental Psychopathology in Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36:10, 1997 October.
Higley, J.D., Mehlman, P.T., Taub, D.M., et al.: Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine and adrenal correlates of aggression in free-ranging rhesus monkeys. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49: 436–441, 1992.
Brown, G.L., Ebert, M.H., Goyer, P.F., et al.: Aggression, suicide and serotonin: relationships to CSF amine metabolites. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139:741–746, 1982.
Linnoila, M., Virkkunen, M., Scheinin, M., Nuutila, A., Rimon, R., & Goodwin, FK: Low cerebrospinal fluid 5–hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration differentiates impulsive from nonimpulsive violent behavior. Life Sciences, 33:2609–2614, 1983.
Lidberg, L., Tuck, J.R., Asberg, M., Scalia-Tomba, G.P., Bertilsson, L: Homicide, suicide and CSF 5–HIAA. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 71:230–236, 1985.
Castellanos, F.X., Elia J., Kruesi, M.J.P., et al.: Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Psychiatry Research, 52:305–316, 1995.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holmes, S.E., Slaughter, J.R. & Kashani, J. Risk Factors in Childhood That Lead to the Development of Conduct Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 31, 183–193 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026425304480
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026425304480