Two-year predictive validity of conduct disorder subtypes in early adolescence: a latent class analysis of a Canadian longitudinal sample.
BACKGROUND
Investigating the latent structure of conduct disorder (CD) can help clarify how symptoms related to aggression, property destruction, theft, and serious violations of rules cluster in individuals with this disorder. Discovering homogeneous subtypes can be useful for etiologic, treatment, and prevention purposes depending on the qualitative or quantitative nature of the symptomatology. The aim of the present study is twofold: identify subtypes of CD in young adolescents based on latent class analysis (LCA) and investigate the two-year predictive validity of CD subtypes on deviant and criminal lifestyles.


METHODS
Adolescent-reported CD symptoms were collected using the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Three cohorts of 12-13-year-olds were assessed during 1994-1995, 1996-1997, and 1998-1999 (N = 4,125).


RESULTS
Latent class analyses yielded 4 distinct subtypes: No CD (82.4%); Non-Aggressive CD ('NACD', 13.9%); Physically Aggressive CD ('PACD', 2.3%); and Severe-Mixed CD ('SMCD', 1.4%). Predictive validity at age 14-15 was non-specific, although the SMCD type had, by far, the highest odds of deviant and criminal lifestyle outcomes in comparison to youth with PACD or NACD. NACD and PACD had similar odds of deviant outcomes, even if most NACD youth were subthreshold CD (fewer than three symptoms).


CONCLUSIONS
In early adolescence, CD is qualitatively and quantitatively heterogeneous, suggesting multiple developmental pathways. However, they appear to predict similarly violent and non-violent outcomes.
Lacourse
Eric
E
Department of Sociology, University of Montreal, Canada. eric.lacourse@umontreal.ca
Baillargeon
Raymond
R
Dupéré
Véronique
V
Vitaro
Frank
F
Romano
Elisa
E
Tremblay
Richard
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index