Subgrouping conduct disordered adolescents by early risk factors.

An analysis aiming to functionally subgroup seriously conduct disordered adolescents identified grade of onset of persistent classroom misconduct as the single most useful and discriminating variable for this purpose. Students whose misconduct began in the early elementary school were characterized by a prominent degree of developmental-educational limitations, whereas those with a later onset were--like the control group--remarkably free of early risk factors.