What Is Oppositional?

When children display defiant behavior and argue with adults it can be a nightmare for parents. How can parents tell if the defiant behavior is a part of normal development or something more? The something more is Oppositional defiant disorder commonly known as ODD. Oppositional defiant disorder has “enduring patterns of negativistic, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures, as well as an inability to take responsibility for mistakes, leading to placing blame on others” (Sadock, M.D. & Saddock, M.D., 2007).

This encourages the child to continue the positive behaviour and they will be rewarded with positive attention and something for example as a toy or treat.

All children are different in their unique way. The goal of this assignment was to observe different children in an uninterrupted environment. Although all the children observed were the same age, they all acted differently during their observation. The differences in the way we react to different situations are what make us human. These differences can be explained through the theories that different psychologist have developed over the years. Some children react better to things like praise from a teacher or being able to be creative in the activities that they are participating in.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is one of the most common clinical disorders in children and adolescents (Nock, Kazdin, Hirpi & Kessler, 2007). Greene et al. (2002) defines ODD as “a recurrent pattern of developmentally inappropriate levels of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures”. ODD primarily consists of stubborn (e.g., tantrums) and aggressive behaviors that the child attempts to rationalize based on the circumstances rather than view as consequential and problematic (Kazdin, 2010). Therefore, ODD can have serious implications for the child’s functioning at home, in school, and in the community, so parents of children with ODD are more likely to utilize child mental health services (Kazdin, 2010). The history, symptoms, diagnosis, prevalence, age of onset, duration, risk factors, comorbidity, and treatments of ODD will be discussed, as well as the rationale behind the revisions from the fourth (DSM-IV) to fifth editions (DSM-5) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is an example of a disruptive disorder. Although there are no clear cut causes of ODD, there are factors that play a role in the development of the disorder. They include biological factors, psychological factors, and social factors (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2009). Biological factors include having a parent with a history of ADHD, ODD, or Conduct Disorder (CD), a parent with a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder, parent has a problem with drinking or substance abuse, there is a brain-chemical imbalance, exposure to toxins, and poor nutrition (2009). Psychological factors include having a poor relationship with one or more parent, a parent who is neglectful or absent, and having difficulty or inability to form social relationships or process social cues (2009).

Whether it disrupts the entire classroom or something only you witness, challenging behavior is something every teacher and parent alike comes across at some point in life. Challenging behavior comes in many shapes and forms, as it can be physical or verbal and aggressive or disruptive. As a teacher, there are several techniques and approaches to dealing with this behavior. An important thing to remember when dealing with challenging behavior is that your child has feelings. Whether your child screams in your face because he or she does not get his or her way or hits another friend because he or she is angry about cleaning up, there is a reason why the child is upset. Communication is key when dealing with challenging behavior and having a supportive environment is also important. First, you need to assess the problem that involves challenging behavior. Talk to the child. Understand the story. Ask the child what the two of you can do to help the situation. If these two steps do not help, then give the child two choices. For example, if there is a child who does not want to clean up centers, you can say, “You can clean up centers or you can sit out for four minutes while we are…” If this does not work, I usually ask for help from either other teachers or the Director. Sometimes it can be hard to understand where a child is coming from with their behavior whether it is attention based or not. I just like to remember that it is your job to keep your students safe and that they have feelings that need to be

The attitude you have as a parent is what your kids will learn from, more than what you tell them. They don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are (Jim Henson, 2009). A study conducted by Italian researches Cerniglia, L., Cimino, S., & Ballarotto, G. (2014), produced a ground breaking result showing that the interactions a mother and infant, along with father and infant, during feeding time play a crucial role on the child’s psychological health. It stated, “ The quality of parents' interactions with their children during feeding are impacted by different issues originating from the parent's psychological profile, the degree of involvement, and from the child's temperament.” It is clear to see that even at a young age, the child will rely on high quality interactions with its parents. Unfortunately, not every child is handed a positive life regardless of the parents input and involvement. Some kids face extremely difficult situations, then bullies step in to in evidently create psychological

Children with authoritarian parents often follow rules, but has low self-esteem and has fear of punishment and some may be aggressive because of how strict the parents are. Where children who grew up with authoritative parents are often happy and independent and knows how to solve things by themselves. Children with permissive parents often doesn’t follow rules and may show behavioural problems. While children with uninvolved parents tend to lack self-esteem and is emotionally sad and often has behaviour problems. Positive and Negative effects may come from different styles of parenting. The child’s development may depend on what style of parenting their parents

Next regarding conflict in a family, the constant fighting between the parents can make children show anger towards follow peers and they might have a negative energy. Children can also show poor academic results due to all the stress at home. Alot of times children have a difficult time gathering their emotions which makes them feel like they are all over the place therefore sometimes they can experience psychological problems. They might feel a sense of hopelessness because they have no say in what is going on in their life. (1985).

Ames (2012) describes a child developmental stages as a challenging period, especially for two and a half-year-olds. At this stage, a child can often become edgy, rigid and explosive. In many cases, it becomes difficult for parents when explosive emotions take over. In addition, when this behaviour seems to become difficult to manage, it is argued by Ray (2015) that a stage of stability has given way to a stage of instability, which is part of the growth and developmental process. Erikson describes this stage as a “breakup, disturbed, troubled, at odd with self and environment” (Ray, 2015 p.7). Each individual child has his/her own twist on how to go through each stage. This phase is commonly known as terrible twos.

They may act fearful or extremely shy around others, along with having low self-esteem and have difficulties communicating in social settings. Mr. and Mrs. Harsh-Heart’s children might show more aggression when they’re not home, because their home is an overly strict environment. There will be a restriction on the child’s ability to think freely and anytime a parent doesn’t listen to the child then adds on to the child’s mental stress. In the child’s mind they are experiencing mental turmoil and this will lead to them feeling guilty, lacking self-worth and self-confidence whenever they are punished. Overall, children raised in an authoritarian household are obedient, but there’s a large possibility that they will lack self-discipline. Most psychologists agree that it is important for children to follow rules, but the authoritarian parenting style is too penal and lacks the nurture and unconditional love that children need to blossom.

Through the authoritarian style parents’ are constantly trying to form, control, and assess the behavior and performance of their child according to the standards they have provided form them. They take great pride in valuing obedience, as well as taking disciplinary actions when their children do not meet their expectations. To avoid issues, vigorous measures are taken to restrain self-will thoughts or beliefs that can clash with the parent’s conduct (Spera, 2005). For the child, it is not encouraged to have verbal conversations of give and take because it is expected for them to accept and believe their parents’ word is always right. Regulating and keeping a traditional structure is imperative within their household; it is crucial to keep the child within boundaries,

According to Laukkanen et al. (2013), there is an association between children’s temperamental characteristics and parenting styles (Laukkanen, Ojansuu, Tolvanen, Alatupa, & Aunola, 2013, p. 312). Temperament refers to the innate emotional and behavioural responses of children. Parenting is quite a challenging job in adulthood which can be especially demanding when the child has a temperament that is difficult to handle. This can affect parents’ approach to child-rearing. Difficult temperament such as withdrawal or shyness to people or events, low positivity, high negativity, low attention regulation, and high impulsivity and hyperactivity are said to be related to childhood problem behaviours (Laukkanen et al., 2013, p. 313). These potential behavioural problems could cause conflicts and stress

Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a mental disorder characterized by a “pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures” (Medline Plus, 2016). According to the DSM, there are eight diagnosis criteria regarding ODD. The eight behaviors a child could display are: “frequent loss of temper, frequent arguing, frequent refusal to comply with rules and request, frequently annoys people on purpose, frequently blames other, frequently blames other people for mistakes or poor behavior, is frequently very sensitive to other's comments, or is easily annoyed by others, frequently angry or resentful, frequently cruel or retaliative” (Barkoukis, Reiss, & Dombeck, n.d.). In order for a child to receive a diagnosis of ODD, they

Binary oppositions are an essential part of this analysis. When referring to the house, the opposition between the basement and the attic represents the most clear-cut opposition our minds create. Thus, the basement represents a space of darkness and mystery, while the attic serves as a manifestation of light and hope. On a larger scale, inside spaces are most commonly associated with safety and protection, while outside spaces represent uncertainty and