DISTINCT CONTRIBUTIONS OF CONDUCT AND OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT SYMPTOMS TO ADULT ANTISOCIAL-BEHAVIOR EVIDENCE FROM AN ADOPTION STUDY

Background: We conducted an exploratory multivariate analysis of juven ile behavior symptoms in an adoption data set. One goal was to see if a few DSM-interpretable symptom dimensions economically captured infor mation within the data. A second goal was to study the relationships b etween any such dimensions, biological and environmental background, a nd eventual adult antisocial behavior. Methods: The data originated fr om a retrospective adoption study. Probands with a biological backgrou nd for parental antisocial personality or alcoholism were heavily over sampled. Symptoms were ascertained by proband and adoptive parent inte rview. We performed, by gender, orthogonal rotated principal component analyses of juvenile behavior disturbance symptoms (females, n=87; ma les, n = 88). We used structural equation modeling to examine the rela tionships hypothesized above. Results: For both genders, an opposition al defiant disorder (ODD) component and at least 1 conduct component e merged. Regardless of the conduct component scores, the ODD components were significant predictors of adult antisocial behavior. For males, the ODD component was predicted by an antisocial biological background , but not by scores on the Adverse Adoptive Environment Scale. The con duct components were predicted by adoptive environment alone. For fema les, biological background or biological-environmental interactions pr edicted each of the components. Conclusions: There has been little pre vious distinction between conduct disorder and ODD in studies of genet ic and environmental influences on juvenile behavior. The study sugges ts that adolescent ODD symptoms may be a distinct antecedent of adult antisocial personality. In males, adolescent ODD symptoms may represen t early expression of genetic sociopathic personality traits.