Comorbid disruptive behavior disorder symptoms and their relationship to adolescent alcohol use disorders

This investigation evaluated the relationship between comorbid Disruptive Behavior Disorder (DBD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) symptoms in adolescents. The factor structure of both DBD and AUD symptoms was evaluated and a structural model then examined the relationships between comorbid DBD symptoms and AUD symptoms. A full model and a sex differentiated model were evaluated. For the full model, only Conduct Disorder (CD) symptoms were associated with AUD symptoms. In the sex differentiated model, male adolescents demonstrated direct effects of CD and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on AUD. For female adolescents we found only a robust direct effect of CD on AUD. We concluded that CD symptoms have the strongest concurrent association with AUD symptoms in adolescents. However, there is preliminary evidence of sex heterogeneity.