Conduct disorder: A controversial diagnosis with lifelong consequences

Diagnoses are meant to help people access care, but some diagnoses carry far more consequences than others. Conduct disorder is one of them.

Diagnosing someone with conduct disorder can be like placing a lifelong label on them — a label that can shape how educators, clinicians, and institutions interpret behavior long after the diagnosis is made. Studies show that Black, brown, and low-income children are far more likely to be diagnosed with conduct disorder. And the stigma attached to that label can be severe. Even life-altering.

For this episode, we spoke with our brilliant colleague, Dr. Kristin Carothers, a licensed clinical psychologist. She explains what conduct disorder is and why it’s so controversial. And she looks at how race and other biases factor into diagnosis — and what it means to give someone a label that is anything but neutral.

For more on this topic

• Read: The difference between disruptive behavior disorders and ADHD
• Read: More than just a “bad kid”
• Read: Study on racial disparities in ADHD and conduct disorders
• Read: Misdiagnosis of mood disorders in Black teenagers

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at hyperfocus@understood.org

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Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.

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