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Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

This disorder is most prevalent in children but is also very common among adolescents. It is definitely a reason to seek counseling and family therapy.

Basically, the disorder is characterized by aggressiveness – including abnormal resistance to authority – and a tendency to purposefully trouble other people. It is as though the individual gets stuck in an oppositional, two-year-old mindset all the way through childhood and in some cases adolescence.

The difficulty of this problem is magnified when it is accompanied by attention deficit disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome, anxiety disorders, or depression.

Symptoms include vindictiveness, lack of responsibility, temper tantrums, argumentativeness, inappropriate anger, defiance of rules, and deliberate annoyance of others. A thorough evaluation by a qualified psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, psychiatrist, or other licensed mental health professional is a prerequisite for making the diagnosis.

ODD tends to run in families; for example, it is almost 3 times as likely (18%) if the father is an alcoholic with a history of difficulties with the law.

It is very common for parents, teachers, grandparents, and other involved parties to be in conflict with each other – most typically blaming each other for the child’s behavior – while the child remains unconcerned. A qualified therapist will attempt to organize all social factions into one treatment approach that harmonizes others’ efforts and intentions while bringing appropriate and consistent consequences to the child for his or her oppositional behavior.

Also see Conduct Disorder on another page.