The main aim of this study was to identify factors that diagnosticians in clinical practice can use to differentiate between adolescents on the life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited pathways of antisocial behavior. In epidemiological research these subtypes could not be distinguished based on their disruptive behavior. Because this differentiation is important for choice of treatment for adolescent psychiatric inpatients with severe disruptive behavior, the purpose of the present study was to identify easily measurable characteristics present in adolescence that are associated with the pathways. Male and female adolescent psychiatric inpatients were divided into either early-onset (EO) (n = 134) or adolescent-onset (AO) (n = 69) disruptive behavior, based on the age at which professional care was required for disruptive behavior, referral to special education occurred, or criminal offences were first committed. The groups differed on several characteristics. No gender differences were found in these characteristics. Logistic regression analysis indicated that males with a history of physical abuse, who were referred by a youth care facility had the highest probability of being member of the EO group. These characteristics are reasonably easy to identify, may apply to other clinical samples as well, and may help clinicians to target their treatment.
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