Conduct Disorder

Conduct disorder is a persistent pattern of behaviour that violates other people’s rights or major age-appropriate social rules. The diagnosis is not made from one fight, one episode of lying, or a teenager’s general dislike of authority. DSM-5 criteria require at least 3 of 15 specified behaviours during a 12-month period, with at least 1 behaviour occurring in the preceding 6 months. The behaviours fall into four clinically useful clusters: - aggression toward people or animals - destruction of property - deceitfulness or theft - serious violations of rules The pattern must be considered in the child’s developmental and social context. A behaviour that is highly concerning in a young child may have a different meaning in an older adolescent, while repeated serious aggression or cruelty is concerning at any age. The nurse looks for frequency, severity, intent, consequences, and whether the behaviour occurs across settings. Conduct disorder does not have one proven brain lesion or one single cause. Vulnerability in emotion regulation, impulsivity, threat interpretation, and reward processing may interact with trauma, inconsistent caregiving, parental substance use or mental...