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ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of risperidone and psychosocial treatment as compared to psychosocial treatment alone in reducing disruptive behavior in adolescents with persistent conduct disorder (CD).

Method: This was a retrospective study of the treatment records of 129 delinquent males diagnosed with childhood onset and persistent CD. Sixty youths were prescribed risperidone in addition to psychosocial treatment. These youths were compared to a similar group of 69 youths who received treatment that did not include risperidone. The outcome measure was daily behavioral scores measured by continuous observation over the course of the day. Scores for the 21 days before administration of the medication were compared to those of the 21 days following the initial administration of risperidone.

Results: The risperidone group showed significant improvement on a composite measure of interpersonal behavior and rule compliance compared to the baseline period (effect size = 0.44). A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) found a significant treatment group × behavioral scores effect. The risperidone group's behavioral scores improved an average of 9.1%. The most common adverse events were somnolence (26%), weight gain (18%), increased appetite (17%), and constipation (14%).

Conclusions: Risperidone appeared to be safe and effective over the short term in reducing disruptive behavior in this group of severely conduct-disordered adolescent boys.