Conduct Disorder - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

Conduct disorder is classified in the DSM. It is diagnosed based on a prolonged pattern of antisocial behaviour such as serious violation of laws and social norms and rules. There are no proposed revisions for the main criteria of conduct disorder in the DSM-5; there is a recommendation by the work group to add an additional specifier for callous and unemotional traits. Almost all adolescents who have a substance use disorder have conduct disorder like traits; importantly after successful treatment of the substance use disorder about half of these adolescents no longer display conduct disorder like symptoms. Therefore it is important to exclude a substance induced cause and to address any substance use disorder before making a psychiatric diagnosis of conduct disorder.