Abstract
We has been 13 cases of conduct disorder (CD) with developmental disabilities for 10 years. These cases were judged as pre-delinquent states at 8.9 years old (average) and as CD at 12.5 years old. All of these children had been maltreated by their parents. Except for 4 cases who were in juvenile reformatory or prison, 5 of 9 cases were transferred to protective custodial institutions. Custodial intervention could successfully amend CD symptoms in 4 cases.
Compared with a gender-matched control group with the same developmental disabilities, the CD group showed a significantly higher rate of maltreatment and a higher divorce rate among the parents. The number of parents with psychiatric disorders was not significantly different between the two groups, although parents of the control group were receiving psychiatric treatment significantly more often than those of CD group.
This study suggested that therapeutic intervention is important for preventing CD to not only in children but also in their parents. Further investigations on the measures to intervene in families with a pre-delinquent child is required.
