A group of aggressive and non-aggressive actions that violate others' fundamental rights or important, age-appropriate social norms or standards is collectively called Conduct Disorder (CD). Since it negatively impacts the victim, their family, their teachers and society as a whole, it is one of the leading causes of academic failure and school dropout. In Europe, it is among the top causes of referrals to services for children and adolescents with mental health issues [2]. Around 15% of all children and teenagers in Europe suffer with behavioral problems [3]. Using a narrower definition of CD, according to estimates, the illness affects 1-3 percent of girls and )2-5(percent of males in Europe, with rates rising following adolescence [4]. Compared to their peers who are not institutionalized, children and adolescents who reside in state-run facilities have better rates of CD and other mental diseases [5].

According to the DSM-5, a CD diagnosis should be made if a person displays a recurring and persistent pattern of conduct that gravely transgresses age-appropriate societal norms, standards, or other people's fundamental rights. For this diagnosis to be made, at least three of the fifteen symptoms aggressive behavior toward people or animals, property destruction, dishonesty or theft, or severe rule violations must have happened within the previous 12 months (at least one symptom must have appeared within the previous six months) and the symptoms must significantly impair social, academic, or occupational functioning [6].

Depending on the number of symptoms present and the degree of aggression shown, CD severity can also be broken down into mild, moderate and severe categories. A CD can be classified into subtypes based on when it first appears (before or after age 10; childhood-versus-adolescence-onset, respectively). Girls' childhood-onset CD appears to be less prevalent than that of boys, with adolescent girls' CD prevalence rising [7]. A diverse developmental pattern has been postulated in light of the potential for a distinct underlying etiology of CD in girls compared to males [8,9].

High levels of antisocial conduct in childhood that drop as people enter adolescence or adulthood is another antisocial behavior developmental trajectory that has been found and dubbed "childhood-limited" [10]. Although the DSM-5 does not recognize this subtype, longitudinal investigations have regularly noted it. The extent of a girl's infancy restricted CD is unknown. The incomplete childhood trajectory was the most prevalent in both sexes in numerous population-based research [11]. Numerous research suggests that females do exhibit a childhood-onset trajectory, although they do so significantly less frequently than men 1-2 vs. 5-10% of the population, respectively [12], Adolescent-onset antisocial behavior has a much lower sex ratio (9 versus 18 percent, respectively) [13].

Many educators lack sufficient expertise in educational and extracurricular evidence based interventions for pupils with emotional and behavioral issues [14,15]. According to survey data, teachers often accept enrolling pupils with disabilities in education classes without those kids engage in externalizing behaviors, which are common among EBD children [16-18]. Observational studies support survey findings that teachers lack the skills necessary to fulfill the requirements of kids with EBD because they seldom employ efficient teaching and classroom management techniques when working with this demographic [19-21]. The low academic performance of this group of at-risk pupils is probably caused by the instructors' inability to implement appropriate teaching methods for students with EBD [22,23]. Teachers' emotional reactions to dealing with kids who display problematic behavior may contribute to their inability to employ practical approaches when working with students with EBD [24].

Using a cross-sectional design was carried out 25th, April 2022 through 29th, July 2022. The data were collected from elementary schools in Mosul city. A probability sample (random) consisted of (300) teachers chosen (150) male and (150) female. Knowledge-related questionnaires consist of a demographic characteristics of the Primary school teachers (age, gender, Years of Experience, Education level, Special Needs Courses, Reading sources in psychological problems). And Teachers' knowledge about general information on conduct disorders in children (10 questions), Teachers' knowledge about the signs and symptoms of conduct disorder in children (5 questions) and Teachers' knowledge about the causes of conduct disorder in children (5 questions), Teachers' knowledge about the types of conduct disorder (5 questions), Teachers' knowledge about conduct disorder treatment (5 questions), The role of the teacher in behavior disorder in children (5 questions). The proper one has to be selected by the teacher. Each accurate response established one point, while each one incorrect response received zero. The scores ranged from 0 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible. Ten experts from various fields associated with the subject matter of the current study were selected to test the validity of the scales, techniques and processes suggested to be used during the study. They were requested to check the scale format for clarity and suitability for the goal of the current study.

Table 1 Shows that 111(36.9%) of teachers are in the age group (31–40). 189(62.8%) of the teachers had 1–10 years of experience, while 19(6.6%) had 31–40 years of experience. Regarding education, 175(58.1%) are complete college graduates, while 3(1.3%) have master's degrees. Of the special needs courses, 173(53.6%) of the teachers do not participate in special needs courses—192(64.1%) of the sample reading sources in psychological problems.

Table 1: Distribution of the Study the Sample's Demographic Data

Table 2 indicates that 85(28.4%) of the male teachers had an intermediate level of knowledge about conduct disorders, while 89(29.6%) of females also had an intermediate level of knowledge about conduct disorders.

Table 2: Distribution of Teachers Related to Gender According to The Participants' Knowledge Levels

Table 3 shows that most samples had correct answers to the signs and symptoms of conduct disorders, 63.3 %. While 32.7% only had correct answers in types of conduct disorders.

Table 3: Average Percentage Responses from Teachers On Knowledge Items Across All Subscales and Overall

Table 4 illustrated a continuous high significant correlation between participants’ level of education and each of the special needs courses and knowledge of the types of CD scores. Some other demographical characteristics of teachers indicated an apparent association with knowledge regarding types of CD scores and reading sources in psychological problems. There was a significant correlation between participants’ level of education and reading sources on psychological problems and general information on a CD. There is a significant correlation between participants’ level of education and the signs and symptoms of CD and special needs courses.

Table 4: Association of Knowledge of Conduct Disorder & Socio-Demographic Variables of Primary School Teachers

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed), ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Aggressive behavior (AB) is not a monolithic concept; component studies of several rating scales have identified many AB aspects [25]. Conduct disorder is a pattern of behavior that transgresses other people's fundamental rights or age-appropriate societal norms and standards (CD). CD is a condition with a wide range of phenotypes and etiologies that is characterized by violent (such as fighting and bullying) as well as non-aggressive, rule-breaking behaviours (such as lying, stealing and truancy). Children, families and society suffer significant personal losses due to conduct disorder. It can be difficult for parents, schools and mental health experts to deal with conduct disorder [26,27].

One of the most often diagnosed illnesses in children and adolescents is conduct disorder. One of the most challenging conditions to treat is conduct disorder because it is complicated and calls for several functional domains to be targeted by well-planned and coordinated therapy approaches. Significant resources are needed to effectively identify and carry out an efficient treatment plan for children with conduct disorder [27,28]. The results of our study show that the teachers had some intermediate knowledge about conduct disorders and these results agree with [29], who concluded that most school teachers have inadequate knowledge regarding conduct disorders. Moreover, correspondence with the results of [1], shows that experienced instructors have a good comprehension of conduct disorder on both the rural and urban sides, but that most rural teachers have a poor understanding of conduct disorder [29]. The lack of teachers’ information on conduct disorder is due to a lack of courses and workshops related to conduct disorder, as well as a lack of curricula in the scientific departments from which the teacher graduated, to the psychological disorders of students in terms of their types, signs and symptoms, their causes, diagnosis and how to deal with them in the classroom.

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