Anhedonia Beyond Depressive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents With Conduct Disorder

September 24, 2026 updated by: Katreen Maher, Assiut University

Conduct Disorder (CD) is a common psychiatric disorder among children and adolescents and is characterized by a persistent pattern of behaviors that violate the rights of others or major age-appropriate social norms and rules. Although CD is traditionally classified as an externalizing disorder, evidence suggests that some affected adolescents also show abnormalities in emotional and motivational processing, particularly in reward and punishment responsiveness. Anhedonia, defined as reduced ability to experience pleasure, is traditionally considered a core symptom of depression but is increasingly recognized as a transdiagnostic construct that may reflect disturbances in reward processing. Importantly, altered reward responsiveness is not synonymous with clinical anhedonia, and clinically measured anhedonia in adolescents with CD remains insufficiently characterized. Depressive symptoms may contribute to anhedonia and therefore require assessment and statistical control. ADHD is also frequently comorbid with CD and may independently influence reward processing and motivation. Callous-Unemotional traits may additionally overlap with emotional blunting. Therefore, the present study will compare anhedonia in adolescents with CD with or without comorbid ADHD, and healthy controls, while accounting for depressive symptoms and relevant clinical covariates.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
90

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

12 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants aged 12-17 years will be recruited consecutively from the outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry service. Participants meeting criteria for Conduct Disorder will form the clinical group. Healthy controls of comparable age, sex, and socioeconomic status will be recruited from community or school settings. ADHD comorbidity will be assessed within the Conduct Disorder group

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 12-17 years.

    • CD groups: meeting DSM-5 criteria for Conduct Disorder confirmed using the Arabic K-SADS-PL-C DSM-5.
    • Control group: no current or previous psychiatric diagnosis according to the Arabic K-SADS-PL-C DSM-5.
    • Ability to understand and complete the assessment procedures.
    • Written informed consent from a parent/legal guardian and written assent from the adolescent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • • Intellectual disability or severe cognitive impairment interfering with reliable assessment.

    • Autism spectrum disorder or severe neurodevelopmental disorder interfering with self-report.
    • Current psychotic disorder.
    • Current or past bipolar I disorder or manic episode.
    • Current major depressive episode meeting full diagnostic criteria.
    • Current severe substance use disorder.
    • Known neurological disorder, including epilepsy or severe traumatic brain injury.
    • Major uncontrolled medical condition likely to substantially affect mood or hedonic functioning.
    • Current medication expected to substantially affect reward processing or anhedonia, where clinically relevant.
    • Acute suicidal risk or psychiatric condition requiring immediate crisis intervention/hospitalization.
    • Refusal to participate or inability to complete the assessment. Stable stimulant treatment for ADHD may be permitted when clinically necessary and will be recorded as a covariate.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: CASE_CONTROL
  • Time Perspectives: PROSPECTIVE

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
cases group

Participants meeting criteria for Conduct Disorder
control group

healthy control

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
SHAPS total score
Time Frame: baseline

SHAPS total score, representing overall anhedonia severity
baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Assiut University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 30, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 24, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Depression Children&Adolescen

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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