The prevalence of conduct disorder in children constitutes a severe and persistent social problem. Conduct disorder - which encompasses antisocial behaviours such as aggressive acts, theft, vandalism, arson, running away, truancy and defying authority - is a common reason for referring children and adolescents for psychological and psychiatric treatment.

The newly revised edition of this volume describes the nature of conduct disorder, incorporating the most important findings since the publication of the original. The author draws on current research and clinical work from a variety of fields to explore such topics as: psychiatric diagnosis; child-rearing practices; parent psychopathology; sex differences in development; interactions of heredity and environment; risk and protective factors; and treatment and prevention.