Conduct disorder is a complicated group of behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents. The major feature of conduct disorder is a "repetitive and persistent pattern in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated" (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994, p.85). Children and adolescents diagnosed with this disorder display aggression towards peers and adults, destroy property, engage in vandalism, theft and truancy. Studies indicate that conduct disorders are the largest group of psychiatric illnesses in adolescents. Often beginning before the teen years, conduct disorders afflict approximately nine percent of boys and two percent of girls under the age of 18. Because the symptoms are closely related to socially unacceptable, violent or criminal behavior, many people confuse the illness with either juvenile delinquency or the turmoil of the teen years. Symptoms and criteria for conduct disorder include intimidating others, initiating fights, using weapons while confronting a victim, being physically cruel to people or animals, forcing sexual activity. Other criteria include setting fires, destroying property, consistently lies, breaking into homes or cars, truancy, and running away from home at lest twice or once if for a length period. Three or more of these criteria must be present in the last 12 months, with at least one criterion present in the past six months. When making a diagnosis of conduct disorder, one must also specify either childhood-onset characteristic is present before the age of 10. Adolescent-onset type is given if absence of any criterion prior to age 10. The severity of the disorder is also given; ranging from mild to severe. Mild severity is stated if there were only just enough of the criterion present to diagnose the disorder and the child's conduct only causes minor harm to others. Moderate is given if several conduct problems exist and t...