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Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Description
Description of Oppositional Defiant Disorder Causes and Risk Factors of Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Biological Factors Researchers believe that aggressive behavior may be caused by alterations in the neurotransmitter activity of the brain. Youngsters diagnosed with ODD appear to differ from normal and clinical comparison samples of children in two ways:
The assumption is that the low cortical arousal and reactivity responses diminish avoidance conditioning to socialization stimuli and fuels poor response to punishment. Familial Factors Familial influences on child development may be genetically linked, attributed to conflict in the family home or based on parent-child interactions. Researchers have documented that parents who have been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (APD) or exhibit the signs of this disorder are strongly and specifically linked back to ODD in early childhood and conduct disorder (CD) in late childhood and in the adolescent years. Additionally, a parent's prior aggressive behavior (in childhood) has been shown to manifest itself in their child at the same age. Dysfunctional familial functioning - including marital conflict, divorce and child abuse - have been implicated in the onset and maintenance of antisocial behavior. Effects of marital conflict, divorce and its hostility appear to be mediated by the parent's lack of availability to and negativity to the child. A history of abuse and family violence in the home attributes to aggressive behavior in other settings as well. Aggressive behavior can also stem from poor parent-child interaction, such as parent's uninvolvement in their children's activities, poor supervision and harsh and inconsistent discipline practices. Sociocognitive/peer-related Variables At an early age, children start to understand the social world - the "do's" and "don'ts," the "rights" and "wrongs." Through this learning period a child learns to adjust accordingly. A child with ODD has a hard time adjusting to the right way of interacting, but instead does what his upbringing has shown him. In other words, a child exposed to a harsh, abusive upbringing may begin to attribute malicious intent to others, fueling negative and aggressive interchanges that reinforce his "knowing" of the world. Psychosocial adversity Investigators have noted that a clear link between the measures of psychosocial adversity - including impoverishment, high rates of crime in the neighborhood, family crowding, parental antisocial personality disorder, and deviant peer groups - can lead to a child's risk for aggressive behavior. Co-morbidity Co-morbidity is a greater-than-chance association between two or more independent disorders. Some researchers believe that there is a co-morbidity relationship between ODD and/or Conduct Disorder (CD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). CD is a disruptive behavior disorder that involves the infliction of pain or the denial of the rights of others (i.e., initiating fights, breaking into others' homes, fire setting). ADHD is a disorder that involves inattentiveness, lack of impulse control and excess energy (hyperactivity). Researchers have found that (1) there is an overlap in the symptoms of all three conditions, (2) ADHD clearly increases the risk for early onset of ODD and CD. Symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder Treatment of Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Questions To Ask Your Doctor About Oppositional Defiant Disorder Can the symptoms appear sooner than 3 years of age? Should a child psychologist be consulted? Where do I go for parent management training? |