The Cost of Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Disruptive Behavior: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

This purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the treatment of Oppositional Defiant Disorder, with a specific focus on cost analyses. In general the literature shows that while there has been substantial research on Oppositional Defiant Disorder there has been little focus on the costs involved. A search of the major databases in psychology and the social sciences yielded only seven articles even marginally appropriate for a review of costs associated with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and related disruptive behavior. Interestingly, only two of these studies investigated treatment costs specifically associated with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. These studies showed that the treatment of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is much less expensive than the treatment of Conduct Disorder and family therapy is the most cost effective approach. Overall, the review showed that there is a dearth of literature related to treatment costs, which leads to the conclusion that much more research is needed on the cost of treating Oppositional Defiant Disorder.