ODD, ADHD, Versus ODD+ADHD in Clinic and Community Adults

¹ State University of New York at Stony Brook
² University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kdgadow{at}notes.cc.sunysb.edu.

	Abstract

Objective: To seek evidence for the validity of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as a behavioral syndrome in adults. Method: Two samples of adults, mental health outpatient clinic referrals (N = 490) and community controls (N = 900), completed a Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders-referenced rating scale and a brief questionnaire (social, educational, occupational, and treatment variables). Participants were separated into four groups: ODD-only, ADHD-only, ODD+ADHD, and NONE. Results: In general, the three symptom groups were more severe than the NONE group; the ODD+ADHD and NONE groups were the most and least severe, respectively; and there were clear differences between the ODD-only and ADHD-only groups. The pattern of group differences was generally similar in both samples. Conclusion: Findings support the distinction between ADHD and ODD symptom presentations in adults, and the notion that the comorbid condition is a unique clinical entity, both of which are consistent with the child literature. Nevertheless, additional research with larger samples of patients will be necessary to establish ODD as a potential behavioral syndrome in adults. (J. of Att. Dis. XXXX;X(X) xx-xx)
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