Persistent antisocial behavior, as well as a lack of regard for others in childhood and adolescence, is known as conduct disorder and is the precursor of ASPD. About 25–40% of youths with conduct disorder will be diagnosed with ASPD in adulthood.Conduct disorder (CD) is a disorder diagnosed in childhood that parallels the characteristics found in ASPD and is characterized by a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated. Children with the disorder often display impulsive and aggressive behavior, may be callous and deceitful, and may repeatedly engage in petty crime such as stealing or vandalism or get into fights with other children and adults. This behavior is typically persistent and may be difficult to deter with threat or punishment. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is common in this population, and children with the disorder may also engage in substance use. CD is differentiated from oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in that children with ODD do not commit aggressive or antisocial acts against other people, animals, and property, though many children diagnosed with ODD are subsequently re-diagnosed with CD.Two developmental courses for CD have been identified based on the age at which the symptoms become present. The first is known as the "childhood-onset type" and occurs when conduct disorder symptoms are present before the age of 10 years.
: 136  While the rise reported may be in part merely a byproduct of the widening use (and abuse) of diagnostic techniques, given Eric Bernes division between individuals with active and latent ASPD – the latter keeping themselves in check by attachment to an external source of control like the law, traditional standards, or religion – it has been suggested that the erosion of collective standards may indeed serve to release the individual with latent ASPD from their previously prosocial behavior. : 136–7 There is also a continuous debate as to the extent to which the legal system should be involved in the identification and admittance of patients with preliminary symptoms of ASPD. Controversial clinical psychiatrist Pierre-Édouard Carbonneau suggested that the problem with legal forced admittance is the rate of failure when diagnosing ASPD. He contends that the possibility of diagnosing and coercing a patient into prescribing medication to someone without ASPD, but is diagnosed with ASPD, could be potentially disastrous. But the possibility of not diagnosing ASPD and seeing a patient go untreated because of a lack of sufficient evidence of cultural or environmental influences is something a psychiatrist must ignore; and in his words, "play it safe". Conduct disorder
While antisocial personality disorder is a mental disorder diagnosed in adulthood, it has its precedent in childhood. The DSM-5s criteria for ASPD require that the individual have conduct problems evident by the age of 15.