Conduct Disorder
A repetitive, persistent pattern of behavior that violates the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms, spanning aggression, property destruction, deceitfulness, and serious rule violations.
Conduct Disorder vs. Antisocial Personality Disorder
Conduct Disorder is the childhood/adolescent-onset pattern of rights-violating, norm-breaking behavior; Antisocial Personality Disorder is its adult continuation, requiring both a Conduct Disorder history before age 15 AND that the person is at least 18 -- the two are developmentally linked, never diagnosed simultaneously, and ASPD cannot exist without a CD history.
Onset / developmental pattern
Conduct Disorder, by definition, begins before adulthood; Antisocial Personality Disorder cannot be diagnosed until age 18, and requires retrospective evidence that Conduct Disorder criteria were met before age 15 -- age is a hard structural gate between the two diagnoses, not just a typical pattern.
Duration / course
Conduct Disorder requires the pattern for 12+ months with at least one criterion active in the last 6; Antisocial Personality Disorder requires a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of others' rights since age 15, continuing into and through adulthood.
Associated features
Conduct Disorder's limited-prosocial-emotions specifier (lack of remorse, callousness) identifies a more severe subgroup with higher continuity risk into ASPD; ASPD adds adult-specific features like irresponsibility (repeated failure to sustain work/financial obligations) and deceitfulness for adult-scale gain (not just childhood-context lying).
Functional impairment
Conduct Disorder's impairment centers on school, family, and juvenile-legal-system contexts; ASPD's impairment extends into adult domains -- employment stability, adult relationships, and the adult criminal-legal system -- often with escalating consequences.
Rule-outs / exclusions
The decisive question: is the person under 18? If so, only Conduct Disorder can be diagnosed, regardless of how severe or 'adult-like' the pattern looks. If 18 or older, was there a documented Conduct Disorder history before age 15? Without it, ASPD cannot be diagnosed even if the current pattern strongly resembles it.
The differential question
Never diagnose both simultaneously in the same person at the same time -- once a person is 18 and meets ASPD criteria with a qualifying CD history, the diagnosis shifts to ASPD; the earlier CD history becomes part of the ASPD picture rather than a separate concurrent diagnosis.
Common student confusion
Students often treat these as interchangeable labels for 'antisocial behavior' at different ages. The relationship is structural, not just descriptive: CD before 15 is a specific prerequisite criterion within ASPD's own diagnostic criteria, not merely a common association.
Case clues
If the person is under 18, it's Conduct Disorder by definition. If 18+, check specifically for a documented pre-15 history of rights-violating behavior before considering ASPD -- adult antisocial behavior without that childhood history does not meet ASPD criteria.
Distinguishing table
| Feature | Conduct Disorder | Antisocial Personality Disorder |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | No minimum -- diagnosed in childhood/adolescence | Must be 18 or older |
| Required history | The current presenting pattern itself | Documented Conduct Disorder criteria met before age 15 |
| Domain of impairment | School, family, juvenile-legal contexts | Employment, adult relationships, adult-legal contexts |
Clarifying questions to ask
Read each disorder in full
Antisocial Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, beginning by age 15, with evidence of Conduct Disorder before age 15 and the pattern continuing into adulthood (diagnosed at 18+).