Symptoms and Socio-demographic Factors of Conduct Disorder in Elementary School Population

Objective: Conduct Disorder is seen in childhood and adolescence. Patients and their families are highly affected by this disorder's symptoms and progress. Symptom prevalence and socio-demographic factors of conduct disorder are assessed in elementary school population. Method: This study was completed in schools from different socioeconomic levels. 2998 students were assessed by randomized sampling in these school. A socio-demographic form and symptom check list (based on DSM-N) were used by parents and teachers. Results: The mean score of symptom check list is 1.49 in boys (min: 0 max: 28) and 0.92 in girls (min: 0 max: 36). Conduct disorder symptoms of boys were sign ificantly higher than girls (P<0.05). There weren't statistically significant differences in symptom prevalence, education level of parents and socio-economic factors (P>0.05). Conclusion: There is a significant difference between boys and girls in conduct disorder symptoms according to this study. This result supports the literature. As a difference from literature there weren't any connection between economic level and symptom severity. Also we discuss some socio-demographic characteristics which affect prognosis and etiology in this study.