Do Childhood Conduct Problems Predict Negative Outcomes in Adolescence? A Longitudinal Analysis

Hepsi Swarna,Weiqiu Yu,Philip S.J Leonard

doi:10.29173/cjfy29756

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to conduct a prospective examination of the relationship between childhood conduct problems and five outcomes in adolescence– namely, Physically violent offenses; Non-violent offenses; Deviant lifestyle; Consumption of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol; and Meeting the symptom count diagnostic criteria for Conduct Disorder (CD) – while controlling for a series of sociodemographic factors, family characteristics and adolescent experiences. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine if childhood conduct problems in the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) Cycle 1 contributed to negative outcomes in adolescence in NLSCY Cycle 4. This was a prospective, population-based study of 3,725 adolescents (12-15 years old) in the NLSCY Cycle 4 (2000-2001) who were 6-9 years old in NLSCY Cycle 1 (1994-95). Childhood conduct problems were found to be associated with Non-violent offenses and Consumption of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol in adolescence, but they were not found to be associated with Physically violent offenses or Deviant lifestyle in adolescence. Furthermore, children with conduct problems before the age of 10 were more likely to meet the symptom count diagnostic criteria for CD in adolescence.

Highlights

Conduct problems associated with conduct disorder (CD), such as aggression, destructive behavior, deceitfulness, and rule-breaking, are among the most common behavioral problems in childhood and adolescence (Frick, 2016; López-Romero, Romero, & Andershed, 2014)
The analysis presented in this article was conducted at the New Brunswick Research Data Centre (NB-RDC), which is part of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN)
Controlling for adolescent age and other relevant sociodemographic factors such as low income, logistic regression analyses revealed that in the full longitudinal sample of 3,725 adolescents in National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) Cycle 4, children who engaged in one or more conduct problems when 6-9 years old were more likely to engage in non-violent offenses six years later during their adolescence (12-15 years old)

Summary

Introduction

Conduct problems associated with conduct disorder (CD), such as aggression, destructive behavior, deceitfulness, and rule-breaking, are among the most common behavioral problems in childhood and adolescence (Frick, 2016; López-Romero, Romero, & Andershed, 2014). Research has established that children with childhood conduct problems are at risk of developing a wide range of adverse outcomes over the life course including adolescence (Frick, 2016, Herrenkohl et al, 2010). These outcomes may include substance abuse, academic problems, criminality, mental health problems and suicidal behaviors (Goldstein, Grant, Ruan, Smith, & Saha, 2006; Furlong et al, 2012; Kassing, Godwin, Lochman, & Coie, 2018; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM], 2015; Odgers et al, 2007)

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