Different aspects of the environment relate to conduct problems at distinct developmental phases. Some factors, such as maternal diet or smoking, represent prenatal risks, which affect the development of neural structures (e.g., the amygdala, striatum, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex) that are linked to conduct disorder and perturbed neurocognitive functions.56–58 Like research on genetic factors, this work suggests that environmental risks confer a predisposition to conduct problems through effects on neurocognitive function. Risk factors with a postnatal effect include low levels of parental monitoring, exposure to violence, and harsh and inconsistent discipline, as well as circumstances, such as poverty, in which the other risk factors tend to coalesce. As with prenatal risks, the later-occurring risks are also related to perturbed neurocognitive function.
