Citation

Rogers JC, Broome MR. Lancet Psychiatry 2020; 7(5): 375-376.

Affiliation

Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30167-X

PMID

32353262

Abstract

In The Lancet Psychiatry, Peter Fonagy and colleagues report 5-year follow-up findings from the Systemic Therapy for At Risk Teens (START) randomised controlled superiority trial of multisystemic therapy for young people exhibiting antisocial behaviour. 1 Antisocial behaviours are a key component of conduct disorder, a clinical syndrome often emerging during childhood or adolescence. 2 Conduct disorder is a heritable, stable disorder, presenting with a complex aetiology including contributions of both genetic and environmental risk factors and neurobiological differences. 3 , 4 , 5 Conduct disorder is predictive of lifelong mental health problems, low educational attainment, unemployment, criminality, and poor physical health. 2 Many young people with conduct disorder go on to develop antisocial personality disorders in adulthood, reflected in an exceptionally high familial, societal, and economic burden. 3 Providing effective interventions early is likely to lead to major benefits for patients, their families, and society. However, ongoing evaluation is essential when determining the long-term efficacy of these interventions and appraising the added value of such interventions over-and-above the cost of standard services.

Language: en