title: Child behavior checklist dysregulation profile in children with disruptive behavior disorders: A longitudinal study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) profile defined as Dysregulation Profile (DP) (scores 2 standard deviations or more in anxiety/depression, aggression, attention subscales) has been correlated to poor emotional and behavioral self-regulation. The clinical meaning and the prognostic implications of CBCL-DP are still debated, although it seems associated with severe psychopathology and poor adjustment.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study, we used the CBCL-DP score to examine the adolescent outcomes (psychiatric diagnosis, substance use, psychiatric hospitalization) in 80 referred children with disruptive behavior disorders -DBD- (Oppositional Defiant Disorder or conduct disorder), aged 8-9 years, 72 males (90%) and 8 females (10%), followed-up until the age of 14-15 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with higher score on the CBCL-DP profile were at increased risk for presenting ADHD and mood disorders in adolescence. While ADHD in adolescence was predicted also by an ADHD diagnosis during childhood, CBCL-DP score was the only significant predictor of a mood disorder at 14-15 years. On the contrary, CBCL-DP score was not associated with a higher risk of conduct disorder, substance use and hospitalizations in adolescence. A cost-effective and reliable diagnostic measure such as the CBCL may be a part of the diagnostic procedure aimed to capture these at-risk children, to monitor their natural history up to adolescence, and to prevent the risk of a full-blown mood disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The small sample size and a selection bias of severe patients with DBD limit the generalization of the findings.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: gabriele.masi@inpe.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division, Second University of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pisano
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Annarita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milone
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muratori
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015982:Bias; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D018401:Sample Size; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology*; D012923:Social Class; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: ADHD; Conduct disorder; Mood disorder; Oppositional Defiant Disorder