Conduct Disorder and Its Associated Factors Among Governmental Secondary School Students in Dessie City, Northeast Ethiopia, a Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Conduct disorder is a behavioral and mental health disorder that typically develops in childhood or adolescence and is characterized by a persistent pattern of violating the rights of others or social norms. It is linked with aggression towards people or animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness, or theft but little is known about conduct disorder among government secondary school students in Dessie City, Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the magnitude of conduct disorder and its associated factors among secondary school students in Dessie City, Northeast Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from June 1–30/ 2024. A multistage stratified sampling technique was used to select 570 government secondary school students. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. A Disruptive Behavior Disorder (DBD) rating scale was used to measure conduct disorder among students. The collected data were coded and entered into Epi-data version 4.6 and then exported to SPSS version 26 for further analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) at p-value < 0.05 were employed as the result. Results The magnitude of conduct disorder among government secondary school students was 7.4% (95% CI: 5.3, 9.6). Approximately 87(15.3%) participants experienced moderate to high-stress levels, and 62(10.9%) experienced high levels of adverse childhood abuse. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, the associated factors for conduct disorder were being male (AOR = 2.519, 95% CI: 1.045–6.071), age category (16–18) (AOR = 4.07 95% CI:1.29–12.77), problematic substance use (AOR = 3.00, 95% CI: 1.31–6.91), adverse childhood abuse (AOR = 2.72 95CI: 1.02–7.26), maternal educational status (AOR = 4.33, 95% CI: 1.19–15.63) and permissive parenting style (AOR = 3.53, 95% CI:1.48–8.40). Conclusions The magnitude of conduct disorders among secondary school students in Dessie City was comparable to the estimated global prevalence rate. Being male, age category, problematic substance use, adverse childhood abuse, maternal educational status, and permissive parenting style were significantly associated with conduct disorders. Therefore, increasing parental knowledge and strengthening parental skills, advocating for mothers' education, and preventing substance use among students could help reduce youth’s conduct problems.