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Parent and Teacher Ratings of ODD Dimensions and Emotion Regulation: Informant Discrepancies in a Two-phase Study

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Abstract

Informant discrepancies are commonly observed in assessment of children but there is a lack of studies evaluating such discrepancies for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) dimensions and emotion dysregulation. Additionally, gender differences in relation to this topic have also received little attention. The goal of the current study was to examine how parents and teachers differ in their reports on ODD dimensions and emotion dysregulation. Using repeated measures, the first in preschool and the second at the end of first grade in elementary school, we assessed informant discrepancies looking specifically at two separate dimensions of ODD (irritability/mood related symptoms and defiant behavior/vindictiveness) as well as two aspects of emotion dysregulation (emotion regulation and lability/negativity). Potential gender differences were also assessed. Parents and teachers of 162 5–7-year-old children (43.2% girls and 56.8% boys) completed the Emotion Regulation Checklist and the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale. The results indicate relatively prominent informant discrepancies overall, especially between parents and teachers (Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.151–0.566), but better agreement was found among preschool and elementary school teachers (ICC = 0.499–0.753). Informant discrepancies were overall more evident for defiant behavior/vindictiveness compared to irritability/mood related symptoms of ODD. When informants assessed emotion regulation and lability/negativity, the inconsistencies were much more evident for emotion regulation. Lastly, boys were reported to have overall more severe symptoms than girls, but informant discrepancies were more evident for girls. These findings provide valuable evidence regarding the importance of considering informant discrepancies when conducting multi-informant assessment on young children.

Highlights

  • Informant discrepancies were assessed for dimensions of ODD and emotion dysregulation.

  • This study included both parent and teacher reports and repeated assessment.

  • Discrepancies were more prominent between parent and teacher than different teachers.

  • Boys had more severe symptoms, but informant discrepancies were more evident for girls.

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Funding

G.M.M. received a doctoral grant from the University of Iceland Research Fund (grant number: HI17120065). U.N. received a project grant from the University of Iceland Research Fund (grant number: HI17080029).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, Saemundargata 12, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Gudlaug M. Mitchison & Urdur Njardvik

  2. Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS, Utrecht, Holland, The Netherlands

    Juliette M. Liber

Authors
  1. Gudlaug M. Mitchison
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  2. Juliette M. Liber
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  3. Urdur Njardvik
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by G.M.M., J.M.L., and U.N. The first draft of the manuscript was written by G.M.M. and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gudlaug M. Mitchison.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. IRB approval: VSNb2016030001/03.01.

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Mitchison, G.M., Liber, J.M. & Njardvik, U. Parent and Teacher Ratings of ODD Dimensions and Emotion Regulation: Informant Discrepancies in a Two-phase Study. J Child Fam Stud 31, 496–506 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02168-y

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