There is strong evidence that adolescent conduct disorder (CD) is influenced substantially by genetic factors (Rose et al. 2004; Slutske et al. 1997; Gelhorn et al. 2005). CD has been shown to be a robust predictor of both concurrent and future alcohol dependence (Kuperman et al. 2001; Moss and Lynch 2001; White et al. 2001; Palmer et al. 2013) and there is evidence for shared genetic influence between these disorders (Slutske et al. 1998; Kendler et al. 2003; Button et al. 2007). Twin and family studies have also shown evidence for a general vulnerability to substance use disorders (Button et al. 2006), and, more recently, suggested that a general externalizing liability accounts for much of the genetic risk in substance use disorder and behavior disinhibition phenotypes (Hicks et al. 2011). Therefore, one hypothesis is that the development of traits that are influenced by genetic factors can vary over time, where CD may be an adolescent manifestation of genetic factors that predispose to adult alcohol dependence (Dick et al. 2006).
