Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a childhood disorder that is defined by a pattern of hostile, disobedient, and defiant behaviors directed at adults or ...Signs&SymptomsofOppositionalDefiantDisorderUnderstandingODDLearnAbout OppositionalDefiantDisorderOppositionaldefiantdisorder(ODD)isachildhooddisorderthatisdefinedbyapatternofhostile,disobedient,anddefiantbehaviorsdirectedatadultsorotherauthorityfigures.ODDisalsocharacterizedbychildrendisplayingangryandirritablemoods,aswellasargumentativeandvindictivebehaviors.Whileallchildrenwilldisplaysometypeofdefiantbehaviorthroughouttheirgrowingyears,childrensufferingfromODDwilldisplaysuchbehaviorsmuchmorecommonlythanthatofanyothertypeofbehaviors.Forthesekids,itcanseemlikenothingcanbedonetomakethemhappy.Thesechildrenwillnotonlydothingstopurposelycauseconflictortopurposelyannoythepeoplearoundthem,buttheywilloftentimesplacetheblameonothers.StatisticsOppositionalDefiantDisorderStatisticsOppositionaldefiantdisorderisoneofthemostcommonbehavioraldisordersinchildren.Itisestimatedthatabout10.2%ofallchildrenwilldevelopODD,butthetrueprevalenceofitsexistenceisstilldebatedamongstprofessionals.Ithasbeensaidthat,priortotheonsetofpuberty,ODDismoreprevalentinboysthanitisingirls.However,oncepubertyhasbeenreachedandsurpassed,thenumberbecomesmoreequivalentbetweenthesexes,withtheconditionbeingsaidtooccurinabout11%ofboysand9%ingirls.Girls,however,tendtodisplaythesymptomsofODDdifferentlythanboyswill.Encouragingly,itisestimatedthataroundtwothirdsofchildrenwhoarediagnosedwithoppositionaldefiantdisorderwillovercomethevastmajorityoftheirbehavioraldisturbancesastheycontinuetogrowolder.Somestudieshaveshownthatbytheageof18,nearly70%ofchildrenpreviouslystrugglingwithODDnolongerhavesymptomsofthedisorder.CausesandRiskFactorsCausesandRiskFactorsfor ODDThespecificcausesthatmightbeattributedtotheonsetofODDcannotbenarroweddowntoanyonespecificfactor.Itiswidelybelievedthatacombinationoffactorsworktogethertowardscausingapersontodevelopthesymptomsofoppositiona