Do Childhood Conduct Problems Predict Negative Outcomes in Adolescence? A Longitudinal Analysis

The primary purpose of this study was to conduct a prospective ­­­examination of the relationship between childhood conduct problems and five outcomes in adolescence– namely, Physically violent offenses; Non-violent offenses; Deviant lifestyle; Consumption of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol; and Meeting the symptom count diagnostic criteria for Conduct Disorder (CD) – while controlling for a series of sociodemographic factors, family characteristics and adolescent experiences. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine if childhood conduct problems in the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) Cycle 1 contributed to negative outcomes in adolescence in NLSCY Cycle 4. This was a prospective, population-based study of 3,725 adolescents (12-15 years old) in the NLSCY Cycle 4 (2000-2001) who were 6-9 years old in NLSCY Cycle 1 (1994-95). Childhood conduct problems were found to be associated with Non-violent offenses and Consumption of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol in adolescence, but they were not found to be associated with Physically violent offenses or Deviant lifestyle in adolescence. Furthermore, children with conduct problems before the age of 10 were more likely to meet the symptom count diagnostic criteria for CD in adolescence.

A long-term look at “early starters”: Predicting adult psychosocial outcomes from childhood conduct problem trajectories

Current evidence suggests that multiple pathways of “early-starting” conduct problems exist, including persisting and declining trajectories. Since relatively little is known about the early onset-declining pathway, this study examined the long-term outcomes of different childhood conduct problem trajectories in a disproportionately high-risk sample (N = 754). Parents reported on children's conduct problems at six time points (kindergarten to grade 7). At age 25, psychosocial outcomes were assessed across five domains (psychopathology, substance use, risky sexual behavior, antisocial behavior, and adaptive outcomes). Four childhood conduct problem trajectories were identified: extremely high increasing (EHI; 3.7%), high stable (HS; 22.0%), moderate decreasing (MD; 38.8%), and low decreasing (LD; 35.5%). The EHI and HS groups displayed the poorest psychosocial functioning at age 25, whereas the LD group exhibited the most positive adjustment. Although individuals in the MD group displayed relatively positive adjustment on some outcomes, they displayed more psychopathology and lower well-being in adulthood than the LD group. These findings suggest that there are diverse pathways of early-starting conduct problems, and that all early starters are at risk for later maladjustment. However, the degree and type of risk is related to the severity of conduct problems throughout childhood.