Effect of familial and socioeconomic conditions on existence of childhood conduct disorders:Study on Egyptian population

Background: Many of criminals who have criminal record of arrest in their adulthood have had early CD symptoms in their childhood. Children with CD may develop antisocial personality disorder during adolescence. Violation of rights and rules of others and the community turns the individual socially destructive. No single factor could account for CD; it is believed that CD is of multifactorial predisposition. Hypothesis: we hypothesized that unfavourable familial and socioeconomic conditions predispose to appearance of CD symptoms in childhood. Methodology: a cross- sectional study was applied on a sample (n= 3112) of primary school children. Data were collected from their parents using a predesigned questionnaire. A screening for CD was made by the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder. Those who met the DSM-IV criteria for CD were re-assessed by the revised child behavioral problem checklist (CBCL). Possible associations between familial and socioeconomic conditions of the children and CD were investigated. Confounders were identified and adjusted by multiple logistic and backward elimination regression analyses. Results& conclusion: prevalence of CD in the studied sample was 7.31%. Male sex (AOR=1.87, 95%CI 1.39- 2.46), below high school parental level of education (AOR=1.90, 95%CI 1.34-2.72), mother's professional work (AOR=2.15, 95%CI 1.45- 3.19), extremes of family income and socioeconomic standard, family disputes (AOR=2.3, 95%CI 1.66- 3.22), divorce (AOR=5.38, 95%CI 3.14- 9.20), parental deprivation (AOR=2.74, 95%CI 1.83- 4.10), family histories of psychiatric illness (AOR=2.78, 95%CI 1.39- 5.58)& crime (AOR=3.21, 95%CI 1.64- 6.31), and violent peer behavior (AOR=3.20, 95%CI 1.66- 6.03) are predictors of childhood conduct disorder.