General Information (including ICD-9/-10 Codes)

Description :

  • type of disruptive behavior disorder of childhood

Also called :

  • ODD

ICD-9 Codes :

  • 313.81 oppositional disorder of childhood or adolescence

ICD-10 Codes :

  • F91.3 oppositional defiant disorder

Who is most affected :

Incidence/Prevalence :

  • community prevalence estimates range from 1% to 16%, varying with definitions used and aggressiveness of informant interviews ( 1 )
  • lifetime prevalence 8.5%

Causes and Risk Factors

Causes :

  • no convincing evidence of causual linkages for any risk factor ( 2 )

Possible risk factors :

  • maternal depression may be associated with oppositional defiant disorder
    • based on study of 568 adopted adolescents and 416 nonadopted adolescents
    • rates of oppositional defiant disorder
      • 23% nonadopted adolescents with depression in either parent
      • 12.7% nonadopted adolescents with no parental depression
      • 33.6% adopted adolescents with depression in either parent
      • 23% adopted adolescents with no parental depression
    • maternal depression (but not paternal depression) associated with significantly increased risk for oppositional defiant disorder in adopted and nonadopted adolescents
    • Reference - Am J Psychiatry 2008 Jun 16 early online

Complications and Associated Conditions

Associated conditions :

History

Chief Concern (CC) :

  • pattern of negativistic, hostile, or defiant behavior ( 1 )
  • angry and vindictive behavior ( 1 )
  • problems with control of temper ( 1 )

History of Present Illness (HPI) :

  • behavior pattern lasting at least 6 months ( 1 )
  • ask about antecedents and consequences of child's behavior ( 1 )
  • ask about other's behaviors which may reinforce child's behavior ( 1 )

Physical

General Physical :

  • exam may be normal
  • manifest behaviors may not appear during exam, except in severe cases ( 1 )

Diagnosis

Making the diagnosis :

  • DSM-IV-TR criteria
    • behavior pattern of negativity, hostility and defiance
    • occuring for at least 6 months
    • at least 4 of 8 criteria occuring often or frequently
      • losing temper
      • arguing with adults
      • actively defying and refusing adult requests and/or rules
      • annoying other people in deliberate manner
      • blaming others for mistakes and misbehaviors
      • easily annoyed by others or "touchy"
      • angry or resentful
      • spiteful or vindictive
    • criteria met only if more frequent than normal for mental age
    • functioning is significantly impaired
    • does not meet other criteria for
    • does not occur during other psychotic or mood disorder

Rule out :

Testing to consider :

Prognosis

Prognosis :

Treatment

Counseling :

  • parent training appears effective (level 2 [mid-level] evidence)
    • based on 8 systematic reviews of trials without attention control
    • parent training programs evaluated were standardized short-term interventions teaching parents specialized strategies
      • positive attending
      • ignoring
      • effective use of rewards and punishments
      • token economies
      • time outs
    • most rigorous review evaluated 16 randomized trials for parents of children aged 3-10 years with "externalizing problems" (such as temper tantrums, aggression, noncompliance)
    • all trials compared group-based parent training program with no treatment or wait list control
    • Reference - J Fam Pract 2005 Feb;54(2):162
  • collaborative problem solving may provide improvements in functioning at 4 months compared with parent training (level 2 [mid-level] evidence)
  • other psychosocial treatments with evidence of benefit in randomized trials include
    • Anger Coping Therapy
    • Problem Solving Skills Training
    • Dina Dinosaur Social Emotional and Problem Solving Child Training
    • Incredible Years Teacher Training
    • Reference - J Fam Pract 2005 Feb;54(2):162

Medications :

  • risperidone
    • risperidone may be helpful for children with disruptive behavior disorders and subaverage IQ
      • based on randomized trial
      • 110 children aged 5-12 years with sub-average IQ (35-84) and conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder or disruptive behavior not otherwise specified were randomized to risperidone 0.02-0.06 mg/kg/day vs. placebo for 6 weeks
      • mean dose 0.98 mg/day (0.033 mg/kg/day)
      • statistically significant differences in disruptive behaviors were seen at 1 week and throughout the trial
      • risperidone also improved irritability, lethargy/social withdrawal, stereotyped behavior and hyperactivity
      • side effects comparing risperidone vs. placebo
        • somnolence in 41.5% vs. 14% (NNH 3)
        • headache in 17% vs. 7% (NNH 10)
        • increased appetite in 15.1% vs. 3.5% (NNH 8)
        • hyperprolactinemia in 11.3% vs. 0 (NNH 8)
      • Reference - J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2002 Sep;41(9):1026, commentary can be found in J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2005 Jul;44(7):629
      • risperidone maintained efficacy for 48 weeks in open-label extension study of 77 patients following this trial; 76 patients had adverse effects including somnolence (52%), headache (38%), and weight gain (36%) (Pediatrics 2002 Sep;110(3):e34), commentary can be found in Pediatrics 2004 Feb;113(2):421
    • risperidone maintenance may reduce recurrence rate in children with disruptive behavior disorders responsive to risperidone (level 2 [mid-level] evidence)
      • based on randomized trial with allocation concealment not stated
      • 572 children aged 5-17 years with disruptive behavior disorders were treated with open-label risperidone for 12 weeks
        • initial dose 0.25 mg/day if < 50 kg, or 0.5 mg/day if > 50 kg
        • titrated up to 0.75 mg/day if < 50 kg, or up to 1.5 mg/day if > 50 kg
        • mean dose 0.02 mg/kg/day
      • 335 children who responded to risperidone were randomized to maintenance risperidone vs. placebo
      • 214 of these children had oppositional defiant disorder
      • comparing risperidone vs. placebo
        • symptom recurrence in 27.3% vs. 42.3% (p = 0.02, NNT 7)
        • adverse events in 47.7% vs. 36.2% (NNH 8)
        • discontinuation due to adverse events in 1.7% vs. 0.6%
      • Reference - Am J Psychiatry 2006 Mar;163(3):402 full-text
  • stimulants associated with reduction in oppositional/aggression-related behaviors in children with ADHD and ODD/CD
  • clonidine may reduce conduct problems in children with ADHD and ODD/CD (level 2 [mid-level] evidence)
    • 67 children aged 6-14 years with ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder who had received psychostimulant for at least 3 months were randomized to clonidine 0.5 mg twice daily (increaesed to 1 mg twice daily after 1 week, but morning dose decreased to 0.5 mg if excessive sedation) vs. placebo for 6 weeks
    • stimulants continued
    • 57% clonidine vs. 21% placebo group improved by > 37% on conduct scale (NNT 3)
    • Reference - J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2003 Aug;42(8):886 in QuickScan Reviews in Fam Pract 2004 Jan 2;29(5):17

Other management :

Prevention and Screening

Prevention :

  • 10-year school-level intervention begun in kindgerarten might decrease antisocial behavior in high-risk children (level 2 [mid-level] evidence)
    • based on subgroup analysis of cluster-randomized trial
    • 891 children (mean age 6.5 years) at high or moderate risk for antisocial behavior were randomized by matched sets of schools to intervention vs. control
    • intervention during grades 1-9 consisted of parent behavior-management training, child social-cognitive skills training, reading tutoring, home visiting, mentoring, and universal classroom curriculum
    • 142 (16%) children were high-risk (defined as top 3% of normative population), 84% were moderate-risk
    • no significant differences in moderate risk group in rates of any psychiatric diagnosis
    • rates of any psychiatric diagnosis at grade 3 comparing intervention vs. control in high-risk children
      • any psychiatric diagnosis in 38% vs. 53% (p < 0.05, NNT 7)
      • oppositional defiant disorder in 14% vs. 31% (p < 0.01, NNT 6)
      • conduct disorder in 11% vs. 20% (p < 0.1)
      • attention-deficit disorder in 34% vs. 44% (not significant)
    • no significant differences in any psychiatric diagnosis at grade 6 in high-risk children
    • rates of any psychiatric diagnosis at grade 9 comparing intervention vs. control in high-risk children
      • any psychiatric diagnosis in 26% vs. 46% (p < 0.05, NNT 5)
      • conduct disorder in 5% vs. 21% (p < 0.05, NNT 7)
      • attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in 16% vs. 34% (p < 0.05, NNT 6)
      • oppositional defiant disorder in 16% vs. 28% (not significant)
    • Reference - J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2007 Oct;46(10):1250

References including Reviews and Guidelines

General references used :

Reviews :

Guidelines :

Patient Information

Patient information :