Abstract
Long-considered a disorder restricted to children and adolescents, more research is needed to understand how oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) affects adults. Recent research suggests that symptoms of ODD persist into adulthood and are associated with specific negative functional outcomes. This current study seeks to investigate the prevalence and associated impairments of ODD symptoms in young adults. Two large samples of college students between the ages of 18–24 years old (N = 1792; N = 1497) completed self-report measures of ODD symptoms, ADHD symptoms, psychiatric diagnoses, and functional impairments. Rates and internal consistency of ODD symptoms were calculated, and multiple regression was used to estimate the association between high levels of ODD severity scores and social and authority-related impairments, as well as online antagonistic behavior. In the two samples, the proportion of individuals reporting four or more symptoms of ODD was estimated to be 3.39 and 4.12% respectively, and did not vary significantly by gender. Higher ODD severity was associated with social impairment, online antagonistic behavior, and greater conflict with authority figures, even after controlling for ADHD symptoms and self-reported depression or anxiety diagnoses. ODD symptoms measured in college students demonstrate acceptable reliability and are uniquely associated with specific impairments. The findings from this study support greater consideration of ODD symptoms in adult populations.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dean G. Cruess, Ph.D. and Rhiannon L. Smith, Ph.D. for their review and feedback during the production of this manuscript.
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All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Mr. Johnston, Ms. Derella, and Dr. Burke have no conflicts of interest to report.
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Johnston, O.G., Derella, O.J. & Burke, J.D. Identification of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Young Adult College Students. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 40, 563–572 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-018-9696-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-018-9696-0