Antisocial Behavior, Psychopathology and Functional Impairment: Association with Sex and Age in Clinical Children and Adolescents

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence, degree of association and differential effect, by sex and age, of conduct disorder symptoms on psychopathology and functioning. Participants included 680 Spanish children and adolescents between 8 and 17 years and their parents, attending to psychiatric outpatient consultation. Data were obtained through structured diagnostic interviews, and other measures of psychopathological outcomes and functional impairment. In general, the prevalence of antisocial behavior did not differ significantly by sex or age. Results indicated a higher frequency for 13-17 year olds, and a greater number of symptoms in boys. Moreover, some symptoms of conduct disorder showed developmental variations. Sex and age differentially affected the expression of some conduct disorder symptoms and their associations with functional impairment and severity of psychopathology. Knowing the different expression of each symptom could help to identify these problems in clinical children and adolescents, contributing to an early detection of population at the highest risk of serious psychopathology and worse prognosis.

Father’s and Mother’s Perceptions of Parenting Styles as Mediators of the Effects of Parental Psychopathology on Antisocial Behavior in Outpatient Children and Adolescents

“…The results do not agree with the evidence from studies which indicate that girls may be particularly affected by the quality of parenting or other family variables [6,61]. In clinical samples, the observed differences in ASB between boys and girls decreased from the general population, which could indicate that boys and girls may have similar outcomes [37,62]. Consequently, results of this study suggest that the relationship between parental psychopathology, parenting style and ASB in children and adolescents are similar for both sexes.…”

“…Moreover, on the basis of some mixed evidence regarding the mechanisms that might differentially explain ASB in boys and girls, the potential moderating role of children's sex in mediational models was assessed. Third, children and adolescents attending psychiatric outpatient services show a high prevalence of ASB [37]. Given the high impact of these behaviors on children's daily functioning and their negative consequences for others, it is important not to restrict the study of these factors to samples of conduct-disordered patients.…”

Evidence-based assessment of conduct disorder: Current considerations and preparation for DSM-5.

“…In addition to knowing the onset of conduct problems, it is also important for the clinician to understand that the development of CD tends to follow a progression from less to more severe problem behaviors, with a more rapid increase in this progression for childhood-onset CD (Frick & Viding, 2009). Furthermore, there are developmental differences in the manifestation of CD symptoms, such that the incidence of stealing and truancy increases with age as does the total number of CD symptoms, whereas the initiation of physical fights tends to decrease (Vera, Ezpeleta, Granero, & de la Osa, 2010).…”

Conducta antisocial en adolescentes y jóvenes: prevalencia en el País Vasco y diferencias en función de variables socio-demográficas

“…Estos resultados confirman la hipótesis 3 y ratifican los obtenidos en otros estudios (Bringas et al, 2006;Moffit y Caspi, 2001;Pérez-Fuentes et al, 2011;Rodríguez y Torrente, 2003;Sanabria y Uribe, 2009). No obstante, hay dos estudios que no han encontrado diferencias con la edad, uno realizado en México que incluía únicamente adolescentes (García y da Costa Junior, 2008) y otro en España con una muestra amplia de 8 a 17 años (Vera et al, 2010). Tal vez los instrumentos de evaluación utilizados pueden explicar en parte estas discrepancias.…”

“…Sin embargo, algunos estudios con niños y adolescentes no han encontrado diferencias con la edad (García y da Costa Junior, 2008;Vera et al, 2010).…”