In adults, what characteristic distinguishes antisocial personality disorder from conduct disorder?

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a diagnosis made in adults, and one of its key distinguishing features from conduct disorder is the patient's age. Conduct disorder typically manifests in children or adolescents, with symptoms developing before the age of 18. In contrast, a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder requires the individual to be 18 years of age or older. This age distinction is crucial because it reflects the persistence of problematic behaviors associated with ASPD beyond the developmental stage where conduct disorder is typically diagnosed.

The characteristics of ASPD often include a pattern of disregard for the rights of others, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, and aggression, which may have been evident earlier in life as conduct disorder but only formalized as ASPD when the individual reaches adulthood. Therefore, being older than 18 is what fundamentally separates the adult diagnosis of ASPD from the pediatric diagnosis of conduct disorder.