Sex differences in child-onset, life-course-persistent conduct disorder. A review of biological influences

Sex is widely acknowledged to be an important factor in understanding many aspects of behavior, not the least of which is antisocial behavior. When antisocial behavior manifests itself in the domain of juvenile psychopathology, it often takes the form of a type of conduct disorder (CD) that begins in childhood and is life-course-persistent. There is an overwhelming consensus that there is a massive male preponderance in this type of CD and that biological variables are major influences on this difference. This review built on this consensual scaffolding in an attempt to provide some useful leads for identifying the biological contributions to the predominantly male complexion of life-course-persistent CD by linking it to three different levels of biological mechanisms. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.