Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders: Prognosis, assessment, and treatment of youth "grown-up"

Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders (DICCDs) are a diverse set of conditions, which primarily begin in childhood or adolescence, involving difficulty regulating one's actions and emotions. Behaviors often include breaking rules, disobeying authority figures, and losing one's temper. This chapter focuses on oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), and intermittent explosive disorder (IED) as they evolve in transitional age youth (TAY). This chapter first addresses the epidemiology of DICCD, followed by a case example of a child with impulse-control issues and disruptive behavior. The importance of childhood and adolescent history in a TAY evaluation is discussed followed by a review of the literature on prospective studies of DICCD. Through a case example of a TAY with DICCD symptoms, principles on how to best assess and treat TAY are addressed to inform clinicians in thoughtful and effective clinical care.