Do the Predictors of Child Conduct Problems Vary by High

This review seeks to examine whether the existing literature on child conduct problems (CP) supports the notion that certain CP risk factors vary in their importance across disadvantaged and better-off environments. Disadvantaged environments are represented by socioeconomic and/or neighborhood risk (SN risk) in this review. Three types of studies were reviewed: behavioral genetic studies that compare the importance of genetic and environmental influ-ences on CP for youth from poor homes and/or disadvantaged communities versus youth from better-off contexts, studies that examine how SN risk and other CP risk factors interact, and studies that compare the antecedents for CP across levels of SN risk. Findings were inconsistent about the manner in which individual child risk factors interact with SN risk. However, familial risk factors were generally found to be of greater importance for youth from poor families and disadvantaged communities, particularly parental supervision. Most of the studies that indicated otherwise focused on physical discipline, or were limited to children from disadvantaged and extremely deprived environments. The findings suggest that in extremely deprived environments, familial influences are overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of other CP risk factors such as deviant peers. Implications for intervention and suggestions for future research are discussed. KEY WORDS: community; neighborhood; SES; conduct; delinquency During childhood, conduct problems (CP) account for nearly 50 % of all clinic referrals (Kazdin, 1995). Children who engage in CP burden society by taxing mental health services and by causing distress to their victims (Kazdin, 1995). Because CP is more common among children reared in high-risk com-munities characterized by high rates of crime an