Neurodevelopmental conditions (NDC) and Disruptive Behaviour Conditions (DBC) represent significant health concerns, affecting approximately 15% and 8% of children and adolescents, respectively, across the world. Despite sharing several common features, such as their developmental onset, their partly overlapping cognitive and affective profiles, and clinical observations of their co-occurrence, the overlap between NDC and DBC is critically under-researched. Previous studies, including ours, have shown that both NDD and DBD are partly heritable and that a high proportion of genetic and environmental risk is shared across them. Yet, there is a major gap in our understanding of their co-occurrence, which has not been investigated across most disorders identified by diagnostic manuals.

 

In 2025, a team led by Dr. Malanchini has been awarded a £1.2 million grant from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to conduct a project that bridges this major gap in our knowledge. The project investigates the combined impact of NDC and DBC on education, considering both genetic and environmental risk and their interplay. We aim to pinpoint protective environments that can narrow the educational gap between children with different neurodivergent and behavioural profiles, a gap that is likely amplified when multiple disorders co-occur.