Gender Differences in the Development of Children’s Conduct Problems: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Gender differences in the trajectories of conduct problems have received very little attention in the literature. The present four-year longitudinal study explores gender differences in conduct problems trajectories through early childhood, assessing gender-specific predictors and outcomes. We identified gender-separated conduct problems trajectories in a sample of 2246 young children (Mage in wave 1 = 4.25; 48.5% girls) using latent class growth analyses. We found five trajectories for girls (i.e., low, average, downward, upward, and stable high) and four for boys (i.e., low, average, stable high, and upward). Low parental warmth was related to the most problematic trajectories only in girls. The interpersonal psychopathic trait (grandiose-deceitful) was more pronounced in girls with higher conduct problems scores relative to other psychopathic traits, whereas in boys, the impulsive trait stood out. Meanwhile, boys’ trajectories were more diverse in terms of negative outcomes (e.g., bullying, victimization) than those of girls. This study contributes to the body of work on heterogeneity in conduct problems by identifying different trajectories according to gender, and shows the relevance of gender in understanding the predictors, development, and outcomes of conduct problems.