Oppositional Defiant Disorder

What Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder?

Children and adolescents who have difficulty getting along with others, present with anger problems, irritability, and display argumentative/defiant behavior or vindictiveness, suffer from oppositional defiant disorder. This disorder poses challenges for youth and caregivers, families, and friends. Such individuals may be touchy, and frequently become angry, resentful, and lose their temper. They may argue with, defy, or refuse to comply with requests from authority figures, deliberately annoy others, and blame others for their mistakes or misbehavior.

Oppositional defiant disorder occurs in around 3.3% of the population, with rates varying by age and gender of the child. It is typically diagnosed during the preschool years and is slightly more common in males than females. It is caused by temperamental factors including high levels of emotional reactivity and poor frustration tolerance, environmental factors including harsh, inconsistent, or neglectful parenting, and neurobiological markers, including reduced basal cortisol reactivity and abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala.