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Multi-Domain Predictors of Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms in Preschool Children: Cross-Informant Differences

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Abstract

Existing research suggests that parent and teacher reports of children’s behavior problems are often discrepant. The current study examined whether contextual (stress and family conflict), parent (depression), parenting (hostility, support, and scaffolding), and child factors (receptive vocabulary; negative affect, NA; effortful control, EC; inhibitory control, IC; attachment; and sensory regulation, SR) are related to parent–teacher reporting discrepancies. Participants included a community sample of 344 4-year-old children. A multi-informant approach was used to assess contextual, parent, parenting, and child factors. Parents and teachers completed the Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) scale of the Child Symptom Inventory. Consistent with previous data, there was poor agreement between parents and teachers (r = .17). After correcting for multiple comparisons, child effortful control, parent hostility, and family conflict were significant predictors of parent-rated symptoms of ODD symptoms but not teacher-rated ODD symptoms. Only family conflict was a significant predictor of discrepancies in parent and teacher ratings.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH 063665.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 710 N. Lake Shore Dr., 12th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    John V. Lavigne, Katharine P. Dahl & Karen R. Gouze

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (#10), Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Avenue, Box 10, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    John V. Lavigne & Karen R. Gouze

  3. Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3105 Dearborn, Life Sciences Building, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Joyce Hopkins

  4. Community Engaged Research Center, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Services Institute, Chicago, IL, USA

    Susan A. LeBailly

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  1. John V. Lavigne
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  2. Katharine P. Dahl
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  4. Susan A. LeBailly
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Correspondence to John V. Lavigne.

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Lavigne, J.V., Dahl, K.P., Gouze, K.R. et al. Multi-Domain Predictors of Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms in Preschool Children: Cross-Informant Differences. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 46, 308–319 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-014-0472-4

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