Variants of Girls and Boys with Conduct Disorder: Anxiety Symptoms and Callous-Unemotional Traits

Recent research suggests that among the group of aggressive and antisocial adolescents, there are distinct variants who exhibit different levels of anxiety symptoms and callous-unemotional traits (CU traits). The purpose of the present study was to examine whether such variants are also present in male and female adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorder (CD). We used model-based cluster analysis to disaggregate data of 158 adolescents with CD (109 boys, 49 girls; mean age =15.61 years) living in child welfare and juvenile justice institutions. Three variants were identified: (1) CD only, (2) CD with moderate CU traits and anxiety symptoms, and (3) CD with severe CU traits. Variants differed in external validation measures assessing anger and irritability, externalizing behavior, traumatic experiences, and substance use. The CD variant with moderate CU traits and anxiety symptoms had the most severe pattern of psychopathology. Our results also indicated distinct profiles of personality development for all three variants. Gender-specific comparisons revealed differences between girls and boys with CD on clustering and external validation measures and a gender-specific cluster affiliation. The present results extend previously published findings on variants among aggressive and antisocial adolescents to male and female adolescents diagnosed with CD.