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Gender and, to a lesser extent, sexual identity, are relevant factors in understanding variance in the prevalence, consequences, and treatment of conduct problems. The current study uses thematic analysis to explore how youth with early‐onset conduct problems and extensive histories of school‐based service use perceive gender and sexuality as impacting their service use experiences. Qualitative analysis of interviews with 41 youth (17–21 years old; 53.7% women) yielded themes pertaining to gender, sexual identity, and discrimination in service use contexts. Identified themes included homophobia in service use and adjacent school contexts, stereotypes around masculinity and femininity as conditioning peer and school staff's behavior, and salience of sexuality across developmental stages and historical timeframes. Results suggest that increased school staff training and school‐based interventions be implemented to support gender and sexual diversity, both within services for conduct problems and more broadly in school contexts. In particular, the current findings highlight homophobia as a factor limiting boys' access to mental health services. Practitioner Points: Youth who had received school services for conduct problems discussed how they perceived gender and sexuality as impacting their service use experiences.Youth described homophobia directed against boys who received or sought services, regardless of sexuality, which may particularly limit access to services for boys with conduct problems.Findings support the implementation of preventative policies and practices to address homophobia in schools, and suggest that these may be particularly important in schools providing specialized services for conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth with conduct problems have poorer academic outcomes than their typically developing peers. The objective of the current study was to examine how sexual minority status was associated with trajectories of teacher-rated mathematics and language arts (i.e., reading and writing) achievement in seven consecutive years across the transition to adolescence among youth with childhood histories of conduct problems (N = 383). Sexual minority status (as assessed via indicators of identity, attraction, or behavior during adolescence in the eighth year of the study) was not associated with initial mathematics or language arts performance at time 1, but was associated with declining mathematics achievement during the transition to adolescence. These findings suggest that sexual minority status is linked to change in some aspects academic achievement among youth already at risk for poorer academic achievement (i.e., youth with conduct problems). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with conduct problems (CP) have been found to be heavy and costly medical service users in adulthood. However, there is little knowledge on how medical service use develops during childhood and adolescence among youth with and without childhood CP. Knowing whether differences in developmental trajectories of medical service use for specific types of problems (e.g., injuries) are predicted by childhood CP would help clinicians identify developmental periods during which they might intensify interventions for young people with CP in order to prevent later problems and associated increased service use. Methods: Participants were drawn froman ongoing longitudinal study of boys and girls with and without childhood CP as rated by parents and teachers. Medical service use was assessed using administrative data from a public single payer health plan. Latent growth modeling was used to estimate the mean trajectory of four types of medical visits (psychiatric, injury-related, preventative, total visits) across time and evaluate the effect of CP and other covariates. Results: Support the hypothesis that early CP predicts higher medical service use at nine years old, and that this difference persists in a chronic manner over time, even when controlling the effects of ADHD and family income. Girls had fewer medical visits for psychiatric reasons than boys at baseline, but this difference diminished over time. Conclusions: Clinicians should be aware that childhood CP already predicts increasedmedical service use in elementary school. Issues specific to different contexts in which injuries might occur and sex differences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and potential consequences of sexting make identifying youth who are most likely to engage in these behaviors important. Conduct problems (CP) are associated with sexual risk behavior in general, and with sexting in particular. This study explored whether childhood or adolescent CP were linked with sexting behaviors in adolescence and whether this link differed between boys and girls. Participants (N = 628; mean age = 17.4 years, SD = 0.98) from a longitudinal study of youth with and without childhood CP were asked about their lifetime engagement in four different sexting behaviors. Logistic regression models indicated that while childhood CP were not a significant predictor for sexting among young men, they were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of sending, receiving, and being forwarded sexts among young women. Adolescent CP were a significant predictor for sending and receiving sexts among both young men and women. Boys with adolescent CP were more likely to send and receive sexts. Girls with both childhood and adolescent CP were more likely to engage in sexting behaviors. These findings are in line with previous research linking both childhood and adolescent CP with sexual risk behaviors. • Youth with CP reported elevated levels of sexting. • Childhood CP were linked to a higher likelihood of sexting for girls but not boys. • Adolescent CP were linked to a higher likelihood of sexting for boys and girls. • Programs for safe sexting should consider the needs of girls with conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with conduct problems are at greater risk for internalizing problems. The objectives of this study were to (1) examine trajectories of internalizing problems among children with and without clinically significant conduct problems during the transition to adolescence; and (2) identify how academic achievement, peer rejection, parent socioeconomic status, maternal distress, parental warmth, child temperament, and receptive verbal functioning explained differences between the two groups. Children with conduct problems (N = 388, 45% girls) and a comparison sample without conduct problems (N = 299, 52% girls) were recruited from Quebec, Canada, when they were between the ages of 7 and 10 years, and were followed across 4 years. Mothers and teachers provided information on internalizing problems each year. Having clinically significant conduct problems was associated with higher initial levels of internalizing problems according to mothers and teachers, but not with changes in internalizing problems over time. With regards to teacher ratings, academic achievement, peer rejection, and negative emotionality partially explained differences in internalizing problems for youth with and without conduct problems. For mother ratings, maternal distress, negative emotionality, and peer rejection completely explained the association for girls, and partially explained the association for boys. Findings supported a multi-rater approach for understanding risk for internalizing problems among children with and without conduct problems. In particular, they highlight the importance of differences across context for understanding factors associated with vulnerability to internalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Childhood conduct problems (CP) are characterized by maladaptive externalizing behaviors and are linked with poor sleep. CP are highly comorbid with other psychological problems, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression, which are also associated with disturbed sleep. The present study examined if childhood CP and comorbid depressive and/or attentional-hyperactivity problems were prospectively associated with parent and self-reported sleep difficulties in adolescence.Methods: Participants (N = 744; 53% boys) from an ongoing longitudinal study in Québec, Canada were assessed for CP and comorbidities when they were between 6 and 9 years old. Participants were classified as without CP, CP only, CP and depressive symptoms, CP and attention-hyperactivity problems, or CP, depressive symptoms, and attention-hyperactivity problems. Regressions were conducted to examine the associations between comorbidity groups, parent, and self-reported sleep problems 7 years later (Median age = 15.33 years), controlling for sex, age, family income, primary caregiver education and medication.Results: Adolescents in all CP groups had higher self and parent-reported sleep problems compared to adolescents without histories of CP. Adolescents with histories of CP, depressive symptoms and attention-hyperactivity problems had more sleep problems than all other groups according to self-reports, but not parent-reports.Conclusion: Childhood CP was prospectively linked to sleep problems in adolescence, and comorbid conditions exacerbated these problems, according to youth but not parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]