Conduct disorder is a mental health disorder diagnosed in childhood or adolescence that involves repetitive and persistent behaviors that violate the rights of others or social norms. Children with conduct disorder often have trouble following rules and behave in socially inappropriate ways, such as aggression, destruction of property, deceitfulness, and violation of rules. It is caused by genetic and neurological factors as well as environmental influences like child abuse, dysfunctional families, and poverty. Those at highest risk include males, those living in urban or impoverished areas, and those with family histories of conduct disorder or other mental illness.

1. By Aisha Shakeel

2. Conduct Disorder
• Conduct disorder (CD) is a mental
disorder diagnosed in childhood or
adolescence that presents itself through a
repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior
in which the basic rights of others or
major age-appropriate norms are violated.
These behaviors are often referred to as
"antisocial behaviors."

3. • Conduct disorder is a group of behavioral and
emotional problems that usually begins during
childhood or adolescence.
• Children and adolescents with the disorder have a
difficult time following rules and behaving in a socially
acceptable way.
• They may display aggressive, destructive, and deceitful
behaviors that can violate the rights of others.
• Adults and other children may perceive them as “bad”
or delinquent, rather than as having a mental illness

4. • Conduct disorder (CD) is one of the most
difficult and intractable mental health
problems in children and adolescents.
• CD involves a number of problematic
behaviors, including oppositional and defiant
behaviors and antisocial activities (eg, lying,
stealing, running away, physical violence,
sexually coercive behaviors)

5. • A conduct disorder refers to any of a group of
serious emotional and behavioral problems in
children and adolescents.
• Children with conduct disorders frequently
behave in extremely troubling, socially
unacceptable, and often illegal ways, though they
feel justified in their actions and showing little to
no empathy for their victims. Others may view
these children as simply “bad boys” or “bad girls,”
without realizing they have a mental disorder.

6. • Conduct disorder may be diagnosed in
adulthood, but symptoms most commonly
begin by the age of 16. Some children who
have conduct disorder go on to develop a
similar condition known as antisocial
personality disorder as adults

7. • The essential feature of Conduct Disorder is a
repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior by a
child or teenager in which the basic rights of
others or major age-appropriate societal norms
or rules are violated.
• These behaviors fall into four main groupings:
aggressive conduct that causes or threatens
physical harm to other people or animals,
nonaggressive conduct that causes property loss
or damage, deceitfulness or theft, and serious
violations of rules time and time again.

8. Specific Symptoms of Conduct Disorder
• Conduct Disorder is characterized by a
repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior
in which the basic rights of others or major
age-appropriate societal norms or rules are
violated, as manifested by the presence of
three (or more) of the following criteria in the
past 12 months, with at least one criterion
present in the past 6_months:

9. Aggression to people and animals
• often bullies, threatens, or intimidates others
• often initiates physical fights
• has used a weapon that can cause serious physical
harm to others (e.g., a bat, brick, broken bottle, knife,
gun)
• has been physically cruel to people
• has been physically cruel to animals
• has stolen while confronting a victim (e.g., mugging,
purse snatching, extortion, armed robbery)
• has forced someone into sexual activity

10. Destruction of property
• has deliberately engaged in fire setting with
the intention of causing serious damage
• has deliberately destroyed others’ property
(other than by fire setting)

12. Deceitfulness or theft
• has broken into someone else’s house,
building, or car
• often lies to obtain goods or favors or to avoid
obligations (i.e., “cons” others)
• has stolen items of nontrivial value without
confronting a victim (e.g., shoplifting, but
without breaking and entering; forgery)

13. Violation of Rules
• often stays out at night despite parental
prohibitions, beginning before age 13 years
• has run away from home overnight at least
twice while living in parental or parental
surrogate home (or once without returning for
a lengthy period)
• is often truant from school, beginning before
age 13 years

14. • For a diagnosis of conduct disorder, at least
three of these behaviors must have occurred
within the past year, with at least one of them
occurring within the past six months. The
number of symptoms exhibited, and the
degree of injury or damage done, determines
whether it is a case of mild, moderate, or
severe conduct disorder.

15. Types of Conduct Disorder
• There are three types of conduct disorder.
They’re categorized according to the age at which
symptoms of the disorder first occur:
• Childhood onset occurs when the signs of
conduct disorder appear before age 10.
• Adolescent onset occurs when the signs of
conduct disorder appear during the teenage
years.
• Unspecified onset means the age at which
conduct disorder first occurs is unknown.

16. Severity of Symptoms
• Mild
• If your child has mild symptoms, it means they
display little to no behavior problems in excess
of those required to make the diagnosis.
Conduct problems cause relatively minor
harm to others. Common issues include lying,
truancy, and staying out after dark without
parental permission.

17. • Moderate
• Your child has moderate symptoms if they
display numerous behavior problems. These
conduct problems may have a mild to severe
impact on others. The problems may include
vandalism and stealing.

18. • Severe
• Your child ha severe symptoms if they display
behavior problems in excess of those required
to make the diagnosis. These conduct
problems cause considerable harm to others.
The problems may include rape, use of a
weapon, or breaking and entering

19. Causes
• Genetic Causes
Damage to the frontal lobe of the brain has
been linked to conduct disorder.
The frontal lobe is the part of your brain that
regulates important cognitive skills, such as
problem-solving, memory, and emotional
expression. It’s also home to your personality.

20. • The frontal lobe in a person with conduct
disorder may not work properly, which can
cause, among other things:
• a lack of impulse control
• a reduced ability to plan future actions
• a decreased ability to learn from past negative
experiences

21. • The impairment of the frontal lobe may be
genetic, or inherited, or it may be caused by
brain damage due to an injury.
• A child may also inherit personality traits that
are commonly seen in conduct disorder.

22. Environmental Factors
• The environmental factors that are associated
with conduct disorder include:
• child abuse
• a dysfunctional family
• parents who abuse drugs or alcohol
• poverty

23. Who Is at Risk for Conduct Disorder?
• The following factors may increase your child’s risk of
developing conduct disorder:
• being male
• living in an urban environment
• living in poverty
• having a family history of conduct disorder
• having a family history of mental illness
• having other psychiatric disorders
• having parents who abuse drugs or alcohol
• having a dysfunctional home environment
• having a history of experiencing traumatic events
• being abused or neglected

24. Thank you..!!