The present study tested several predictions related to the theory
that girls with conduct disorder (CD) follow a single delayed onset
pathway. The following hypotheses were tested among a high-risk,
stratified random sample of youth who used public services during a
6-month period: boys will be more likely to have childhood onset CD
(COCD) than girls; girls with COCD will be less common than girls with
adolescent onset CD (AOCD); COCD girls, AOCD girls, and COCD boys will
be similar in terms of risk profiles and AOCD boys will have a less
severe risk profile than COCD girls; and risk factors that
differentiate between COCD and AOCD among males will not differentiate
between COCD and AOCD among females. Among those youth who met the
criteria for CD, males were significantly more likely to have COCD than
females. However, close to half of females with CD met the criteria for
the COCD subtype. Of the seven risk factors that were examined, girls
with COCD scored higher than COCD boys on three factors and higher than
AOCD girls on four factors; however, only one significant difference
was found between AOCD girls and COCD boys. Finally, risk factors
appeared to differentiate between COCD and AOCD groups in a similar way
among males and females. These findings suggest that COCD is not rare
among females in public service sectors, COCD girls can be
distinguished from AOCD girls in terms of risk factors, and risk
factors for COCD among males are also relevant to females.The Patterns of Youth Mental Health Care in
Public Service Systems Study is supported by National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH) Grant U01 MH55282. Preparation of this article was
supported by Research Scientist Development Awards K01MH01767 and
K01MH01924. The authors are most grateful for the comments and
suggestions on this manuscript that were provided by Dr. Persephanie
Silverthorn and Dr. Theodore Beauchaine.