Symptoms of Conduct Disorder

California-based social worker and psychologist Miriam Galindo, PsyD, works with children and families involved in high-conflict divorce through her own practice in Irvine. Possessing more than two decades of experience working with at-risk clients, Dr. Miriam Galindo has completed hundreds of hours of continuing education and training in such subjects as conduct disorder.

The symptoms of conduct disorder are divided into four categories: aggressive conduct, destructive behavior, deceitful behavior, and violation of rules. These categories include such things as persistent lying, bullying, skipping school, behaving in a sexual manner at a young age, and being intentionally destructive. Since many children display at least one of these symptoms at some point during their development, a diagnosis of conduct disorder is not applied to any child unless they show at least three symptoms over the course of 12 months. These symptoms must also be persistent and appear multiple times.

Depending on when kids display these symptoms, they may be diagnosed with either childhood-onset or adolescent-onset type. Childhood-onset type is defined by the appearance of at least one symptom before the age of 10. Most people with this subtype are male and demonstrate increased physical aggression toward others. Meanwhile, adolescent-onset type is reserved for kids who start showing symptoms of conduct disorder after the age of 10. Compared to younger children with conduct disorder, these individuals are less likely to be aggressive toward others.