The disruptive behavioral disorder in children and adolescents: comorbidity and clinical course.

Comorbidity, time to recovery, rate of chronicity, and probability of recurrence following recovery were studied in 51 children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. Thirty-three percent of the children had two of the above diagnoses, and one child had all three diagnoses. The mean duration of attention deficit disorder was 8 years up to the time of the interview; the mean duration of oppositional defiant disorder was 4.5 years, and the mean duration of conduct disorder was 3 years. Life-table estimates showed that 14% of the children would not have recovered 15 years after the onset of their disorder. Rates of recurrence were high following recovery from each of these disorders.