Oppositional defiant and conduct disorders: Validation of the DSM-III-R and an alternative diagnostic option

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Abstract
Using a community sample of five hundred and six 13-year-old boys, the study compared diagnoses from the third and revised edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders to a developmentally based option. The alternative-diagnostic option consisted of three developmental levels: a modified oppositional defiant disorder, and intermediate and advanced levels of conduct disorder. Study goals included tests of the utility of symptoms in distinguishing among levels and external validation of the diagnostic levels. Tests of validity were provided using indices of school difficulty, criminal history, and stability of delinquency. Boys at either the intermediate or the advanced level of conduct disorder were most likely to have a history of police contacts, and boys at the advanced level of conduct disorder were most likely to exhibit stable delinquent behavior over the 3-year study period.