Continuity of care for conduct disordered youth

The objectives of this study were to determine which risk factors associated with chronicity had been displayed by youths who had been treated for conduct disorder in a tertiary level mental health centre and also to count the number of interventions and the number of agencies involved during their many years in treatment. The files of 25 youths with conduct disorder were examined to extract all relevant data. The youths averaged nine years between first intervention and last discharge. Common risk factors were the early onset and the variety of antisocial 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 be related to the short duration of treatments and the lack of follow-up which resulted in the involvement of many agencies.