Fast Track Effects on Young Adult Externalizing Psychopathology

In 1990, when the Fast Track prevention trial began, scientific findings had highlighted the strong continuity in conduct disorder across the lifespan. Clinical practice debate focused on whether serious conduct disorder could actually be prevented, or would turn out to be a chronic condition. No intervention had successfully prevented adult externalizing psychopathology in a group of early-starting conduct problem children. The goal of the trial, and this presentation, is to test the efficacy of the Fast Track intervention in preventing externalizing psychopathology in young adulthood. 891 early-starting conduct-problem children were identified through multiple-gating screening of 9,594 kindergarteners in three cohorts in 55 high-risk schools in four communities and then randomly assigned by school cluster to a ten-year intervention or control condition. Eight years after intervention ended, condition-blinded adults clinically interviewed participants and knowledgeable peer raters....