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Impulse control and conduct

Conduct disorder

Persistent pattern in children or adolescents of behaviour that violates the rights of others or important norms: aggression, destruction, theft or escape.

Common signs

Aggression towards people or animalsLying, stealing or destructionRunning away or truancy

Tips

For you

  1. Early intervention with the family and school
  2. Supervision and firm limits with warmth
  3. See a child and adolescent psychologist

For family and friends

  1. Close supervision and firm limits, with warmth
  2. Work as a team with the school

When to ask for help

  1. If there is violence or crime
  2. If there is drug use

Test for families

For parents or relatives: answer thinking about the child or person you are worried about, over the last few weeks. There are 8 questions and you get your result straight away. Your answers are not saved or sent.

0 of 8
1. Threatens or intimidates others
2. Starts fights
3. Is cruel to people or animals
4. Breaks things on purpose
5. Lies or steals
6. Runs away from home or skips school
7. Shows no guilt
8. It has been happening for more than a year

Free resources

Downloadable PDF sheetSigns, tips and resources to print or saveFree guide: Childhood and youthFree resource from Clínica VivaldiFundación ANAR: help for children and teenagers (Spain)Free external resource

Related disorders

Oppositional defiant disorderImpulse control and conductIntermittent explosive disorderImpulse control and conductPyromaniaImpulse control and conductKleptomaniaImpulse control and conduct

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Reviewed by María Teresa Fernández Vicente, health psychologist and neuropsychologist (registration no. CV17304), in November 2026. Educational information prepared by the Clínica Vivaldi team based on the DSM-5-TR classification. It does not replace a professional assessment and cannot be used to diagnose.