Conduct disorder in female adolescents: evidence from the FemNAT-CD Project

Conduct Disorder is a diagnosis associated with behaviors at risk for the health and development of the subject, with high social costs and with serious con-sequences for the adolescent's life context. This disorder is predominantly found in the male population. However, girls with Conduct Disorder often have particularly severe and pervasive symptoms, with a high psychiatric comor-bidity. The purpose of this article is to summarize the ob-jectives of the project "FemNAT-CD", in order to promote greater knowledge of the clinical characteristics of fe-males who show a Conduct Disorder in adolescence. This paper will describe studies related to FemNAT-CD project concerning neuro-biological, neuro-cognitive and clinical characteristics of Conduct Disorder in female adolescents as well as new psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches.