Correlation between Anxiety and Oppositionality in a Children's Mood and Anxiety Disorder Clinic

Abstract

While parents and clinicians have described oppositional features as interfering with the management of children with anxiety, research on this relation is lacking. We designed this study to investigate the presence of oppositional symptoms in children presenting with mood and anxiety symptoms. In a mood and anxiety disorders clinic, we used the DSM-IV Child Symptom Inventory to document the presence and correlates of oppositional defiant symptoms in 145 preadolescents assessed during a 2-year period. Oppositional defiant symptoms were found to correlate (P < 0.01) with generalized anxiety symptoms in both parent and teacher ratings. Correlations remained significant after controlling for the presence of symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Parents found both boys and girls to be equally oppositional, while teachers found boys to be significantly more oppositional. Oppositional features are found in clinically referred children with anxiety and are potentially significant for treatment and prognosis of anxiety disorders in children.