What is Oppositional Defiant Disorder?

What is Oppositional Defiant Disorder?
Oppositional defiant disorder is a pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures. The pattern must persist for at least 6 months and must go beyond the bounds of normal childhood misbehavior.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors of ODD
This disorder is more prevalent in boys than girls. Some studies have shown that 20% of the school-age population is affected, but most experts believe this figure is inflated due to changing cultural definitions of normal childhood behavior and other possible racial, cultural, and gender biases.

Onset typically occurs by age 8. The cause of this disorder is unknown, and may be due to a combination of biology and parenting or environmental factors.

Symptoms of ODD
arguing with adults
loss of temper
angry and resentful of others
actively defies adults' requests
spiteful or vindictive behavior
blames others for their own mistakes
is touchy or easily annoyed
few or no friends or loss of previous friends
constant trouble in school

How is ODD best treated?
The best treatment for the child is individual psychotherapy. The parents should also learn behavioral management skills. Medication may be helpful if the behaviors occur in the course of another condition (such as depression, childhood psychosis, or ADHD).