A. A repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age appropriate societal norms or rules are violated, as manifested by the presence of at least three of the following 15 criteria in the past 12 months from any of the categories below, with at least one criterion present in the past 6 months:
• Aggression to People and Animals
• Often bullies, threatens, or intimidates others.
• Often initiates physical fights.
• Has used a weapon that can cause serious physical harm to others (e.g., a bat, brick, broken bottle, knife, gun).
• Has been physically cruel to people.
• Has been physically cruel to animals.
• Has stolen while confronting a victim (e.g., mugging, purse snatching, extortion, armed robbery).
• Has forced someone into sexual activity.
• Destruction of Property
• Has deliberately engaged in fire setting with the intention of causing serious damage.
• Has deliberately destroyed others’ property (other than by fire setting).
• Deceitfulness or Theft
• Has broken into someone else’s house, building, or car.
• Often lies to obtain goods or favors or to avoid obligations (i.e., “cons” others).
• Has stolen items of nontrivial value without confronting a victim (e.g., shoplifting, but without breaking and entering; forgery).
• Serious Violations of Rules
• Often stays out at night despite parental prohibitions, beginning before age 13 years.
• Has run away from home overnight at least twice while living in the parental or parental surrogate home, or once without returning for a lengthy period.
• Is often truant from school, beginning before age 13 years.
B. • The disturbance in behavior causes clinically significant impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning.
• Lack of remorse or guilt:
• Does not feel bad or guilty when he or she does something wrong (exclude remorse when expressed only when caught and/or facing punishment). The individual shows a general lack of concern about the negative consequences of his or her actions. For example, the individual is not remorseful after hurting someone or does not care about the consequences of breaking rules.
• Callous—lack of empathy:
• Disregards and is unconcerned about the feelings of others. The individual is described as cold and uncaring. The person appears more concerned about the effects of his or her actions on himself or herself, rather than their effects on others, even when they result in substantial harm to others.
• Unconcerned about performance:
• Does not show concern about poor/problematic performance at school, at work, or in other important activities. The individual does not put forth the effort necessary to perform well, even when expectations are clear, and typically blames others for his or her poor performance.
• Shallow or deficient affect:
• Does not express feelings or show emotions to others, except in ways that seem shallow, insincere, or superficial (e.g., actions contradict the emotion displayed; can turn emotions “on” or “off” quickly) or when emotional expressions are used for gain (e.g., emotions displayed to manipulate or intimidate others).
Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (Copyright © 2013). American Psychiatric Association. All Rights Reserved. DSM-5™ Diagnostic Criteria Conduct Disorder 312.8x (F91.x)
