Diagnostic Comorbidity in hospitalized adolescents with conduct disorder

• Published in: Comprehensive psychiatry Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 141 - 145
• Main Authors: Fehon, Dwain C, Becker, Daniel F, Grilo, Carlos M, Walker, Martha L, Levy, Kenneth N, Edell, William S, McGlashan, Thomas H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.05.1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Comorbidity; Female; Hospitalization; Hospitals, Psychiatric; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Disorders - complications; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Disorders - rehabilitation; Observer Variation; Psychology, Adolescent; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Social behavior disorders. Criminal behavior. Delinquency; Human; Concomitant disease; Adolescent; Mental disorder; Conduct disorder; Hospitalization; Social behavior disorder; Personality disorder
• ISSN: 0010-440X; 1532-8384
• DOI: 10.1016/S0010-440X(97)90066-3

We compared the diagnostic comorbidity of DSM-III-R axis I and axis II disorders in a sample of hospitalized a dolescents with conduct disorder (CD) and a comparison group of hospitalized adolescents without conduct disorder (non-CD). Of 138 consecutively evaluated adolescents, 76 patients met criteria for CD and 62 did not. On axis I, CD was significantly comorbid with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance use disorders (SUDs). None of the personality disorders assessed showed differential association with CD. The comorbid relationships found within this sample suggest a strong association between CD, ADHD, and SUD in hospitalized teenagers. This finding underscores the clinical importance of conducting a thorough developmental assessment and, when indicated, of treating ADHD and SUD in conduct-disordered adolescents.