A Four-Year Follow-up of Hyperactive Boys with and without Conduct Disorder

Abstract

Summary: A four-year follow-up of clinically selected hyperactive boys with and without associated conduct disorder investigated their outcome during early adolescence and was taken from a structured behavioural interview and standard psychological testing. Boys originally diagnosed as “purely” hyperactive continued to be inattentive and impulsive at follow-up, but showed very few aggressive and antisocial behaviours. Hyperactive boys who had earlier been undersocialized and aggressive continued to have problems with attention and impulsivity, were reported to be aggressive, noncompliant, egocentric, exhibiting antisocial behaviours and using alcohol. These findings suggest that antisocial and delinquent behaviour often reported in follow-up studies of hyperactive boys may be linked to childhood aggression and unsocialized behaviour, rather than the syndrome of hyperactivity.