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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an association exists between neuropsychological deficits and conduct disorder (CD) with and without concurrent attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, we explored the differential neuropsychological performance of aggressive and nonaggressive CD adolescents and the combined effect of this behavioral status and ADHD on performance. Fifty-nine adolescents (mean age of 15.4 years) who met the criteria for CD were compared with 29 controls comparable in age, gender, and socioeconomic status. A neuropsychological battery of current tests measuring executive functions and a battery of language tests were used in the study. Multivariate analyses showed that, compared with controls, CD adolescents had significantly lower verbal skills but did not differ on executive function measures. However, the lower verbal performance of CD adolescents is not explained by the existence of a CD subgroup with concomitant ADHD or aggressiveness. The study confirms with a sample of CD adolescents the association between verbal deficits and antisocial behavior when socioeconomic status is controlled. Our results also demonstrate that CD per se can be a sufficient condition for such deficits.

Executive Functioning Characteristics Associated with ADHD Comorbidity in Adolescents with Disruptive Behavior Disorders

“…Furthermore, detriments in verbal fluency were unrelated to either CD or ADHD diagnosis, contrary to previous research (e.g. Déry et al 1999).…”

“…These results help to shed light on the role of executive functioning in disruptive behavior disorders. Prior research has provided conflicting results on whether DBDs are specifically related to executive deficits, or if highly comorbid diagnoses such as ADHD were more directly responsible (Aronowitz et al 1994;Clark et al 2000;Déry et al 1999;Giancola and Zeichner 1994;Moffitt 1993;Oosterlaan et al 2005;Pennington and Ozonoff 1996;Séguin et al 1999;Toupin et al 2000). This research supports the hypothesis that adolescents solely with DBD symptoms do not differ in executive functioning from a healthy control group with slightly elevated attention problems.…”

“…Similarly, Clark et al (2000) found that teens with ADHD performed significantly worse on executive function tests, with DBD playing no role in this effect. Conversely, other studies report that adolescents with DBD show no difference on a battery of executive functioning tests when compared to a similar DBD group that is comorbid for ADHD (DBD+ ADHD; Déry et al 1999), or demonstrate impairments on tests of working memory and association even when statistically controlling for the number of ADHD symptoms (Séguin et al 1999;Toupin et al 2000). More recently, children aged 7-12 with ADHD alone, ODD or CD alone or with both disorders were tested on the Self-Ordered Pointing Task and the Tower of London (Oosterlaan et al 2005).…”

The Role of Attention-Deficit/hyperactivity Disorder in the Association between Verbal Ability and Conduct Disorder

“…In contrast, Déry et al (1999) found results that did not support the hypothesis that the lower verbal ability in CD adolescents is due to comorbidity with ADHD. Both CD + ADHD and CD-only groups had significantly lower verbal scores than the comparison group.…”

Gene-environment interplay in the association between pubertal timing and delinquency in adolescent girls.

“…In contrast, violent or aggressive delinquency differs behaviorally, developmentally, and etiologically from rule-breaking (Achenbach, 1991, 2001; Barker et al, 2009; Eley, Lichtenstein, & Stevenson, 1999; Loeber, Burke, & Pardini, 2009; Moffitt, 1993; Tackett, Krueger, Sawyer, & Graetz, 2003; Tuvblad, Eley, & Lichtenstein, 2005). Adolescents with histories of violent behavior show poor executive functioning, verbal processing, and neuropsychological impairment (Barker et al, 2007; Déry, Toupin, Pauzé, Mercier, & Fortin 1999), while results from neuroimaging studies confirm that adolescents with high levels of violent behavior display reduced activation in the frontal and temporal cortices, compared to normal controls, when watching pain inflicted on another person (Decety, Michalska, Akitsuki, & Lahey, 2009). Similar decrements have been observed in adults with histories of physical aggression (e.g., Siever, 2008; Volkow et al, 1995).…”