A Comparison of adults with antisocial personality traits with and without childhood conduct disorder.
BACKGROUND
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in DSM-IV is unique among personality disorder diagnoses in requiring the individual to satisfy a number of childhood criteria in addition to relevant traits exhibited in adulthood. We examined the validity of this childhood requirement.


METHODS
Personality disordered individuals assessed using the International Personality Disorder Examination and exhibiting a sufficient number of adult antisocial traits to meet criterion A of DSM-IV were subdivided into those who exhibited antisocial traits in both adulthood and childhood and those who had such traits in adulthood only. The two groups were then compared on a number of historical, clinical, and self-report measures.


RESULTS
Thirty individuals meeting both childhood and adult criteria (ASPD) were compared with 39 meeting adult antisocial criteria only (ASS). Few differences were found between the two groups on the measures examined, although those in the ASPD group appeared more severe and had higher anger scores on the STAXI-2 psychometric test.


CONCLUSIONS
This failure to find clinically important differences between the two groups is in agreement with previous reports and needs to be taken into account in future revisions of ASPD in DSM.
Perdikouri
Marianna
M
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Nottingham. UK. mperdikouri@hotmail.com
Rathbone
Gillian
G
Huband
Nick
N
Duggan
Conor
C
D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group