The objectives of this study were to determine which risk factors asso
ciated with chronicity had been displayed by youths who had been treat
ed for conduct disorder in a tertiary level mental health centre and a
lso to count the number of interventions and the number of agencies in
volved during their many years in treatment. The files of 25 youths wi
th conduct disorder were examined to extract all relevant data. The yo
uths averaged nine years between first intervention and last discharge
. Common risk factors were the early onset and the variety of antisoci
al behaviours and the multiple settings in which behaviours occurred.
The youths experienced an average of 19 interventions by 15 agencies.
Interventions lasted on average seven months with little occurrence of
follow-up. The severity of antisocial behaviours increased from first
to last intervention. The apparent ineffectiveness of treatment may b
e related to the short duration of treatments and the lack of follow-u
p which resulted in the involvement of many agencies.