The symptoms of this disorder are:

1. Aggression in all its forms: bullying, intimidation, threatening, physical fights, cruelty to animals.
2. Destruction to property: burning, harming, destroying.
3. Deceit and theft: Telling lies, breaking into cars, taking things that don't belong to you.
4. Serious rule violations of any kind.

Children who suffer from Conduct Disorder tend to show symptoms before the age of ten or during adolescence. More girls than boys suffer from this condition. The National Mental Health Association(NMHA) statistics show that between 6 to 16% of boys have the disorder compared with 2 to 9% of girls.

Children with Conduct Disorder often have trouble expressing empathy or remorse. They typically fail to respond appropriately to social cues and they often feel the need to defend themselves from what they perceive as aggression and hostility aimed at them. Conduct Disorder is often associated with substance abuse, risk taking behavior, problems at school and physical injuries caused by fighting.

The good news is that recent research (NMHA) shows that most children outgrow Conduct Disorder to become mature, contributing citizens. This same research gainsays earlier data that suggested that Conduct Disorder was unresponsive to treatment. Latest reports detail positive responses to treatment programs with a structured and intensive curriculum especially if intervention is early rather than later.

Treatment should address all areas where symptoms are a cause of impairment. Other approaches include courses in anger management and the results have been positive.