Characteristics of Conduct-Disordered Children and Their Families: A Review

Conduct disorder is a serious and pervasive problem which greatly disrupts the lives of the children affected, their families, and significant others in the children's environment; is often associated with additional adjustment difficulties (such as peer rejection and academic problems); is stable both within families and over time (i.e., children have a poor prognosis); and is financially very costly to society. The current paper summarises and critically evaluates the research literature conceming risk factors for the development of conduct disorder, which include the characteristics of conduct‐disordered children, their parents and families (e.g., children's problem‐solving skills, parental psychopathology, family communication and interactions). The research conducted to date has many methodological limitations, which are extensively discussed in the current paper. Future directions for investigation are suggested, including the identification of protective factors and the combinations of risk factors exhibited by subgroups of conduct‐disordered children, as well as more extensive studies of parent‐child interactions. It is crucial to the enhanced effectiveness of future interventions that risk factor research is utilised to guide the development of both a theory of development of, and treatments for, conduct disorder.