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Conduct Disorder

By

The Manual's Editorial Staff

Reviewed/Revised Oct 2022
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What is conduct disorder?

Conduct disorder is:

  • A behavior problem in which a child repeatedly breaks many laws and rules

  • Misbehavior that's bad enough or frequent enough to cause significant problems for the child or others

Children with conduct disorders:

What are the symptoms of conduct disorder?

Conduct disorder usually begins in late childhood or early adolescence (teen years).

Children with conduct disorder don’t relate well to other people. They may:

  • Act selfishly and not care about other people’s feelings

  • Lie, cheat, and steal

  • Use illegal drugs

  • Bully or threaten others and get into fights

  • Be cruel to animals

  • Assume other people are threatening them and become aggressive

  • Run away from home and skip school

  • Damage property, especially by setting fires

  • Not have an appropriate sense of guilt

Sometimes children with conduct disorder talk about killing themselves. Always take suicidal behavior seriously and immediately take your child to the doctor or a hospital emergency department.

How do doctors tell if my child has conduct disorder?

To tell if your child has conduct disorder, doctors will ask about your child’s behavior. To be considered a conduct disorder, your child’s behavior must be troubling enough that it harms their relationships and performance at school or work for at least 12 months.

How do doctors treat conduct disorder?

Conduct disorder can be hard to treat because children don’t understand that their behaviors are wrong. Treatment may include:

NOTE: This is the Consumer Version. DOCTORS: VIEW PROFESSIONAL VERSION
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