Why They Say No: Foundational Precises and Techniques for Managing Resistance

Abstract

Why do they say no? Practitioners often have agonized with, and mulled over, this question when faced with a familiar, yet vexing problem of many youth: managing their resistance. Youth who display challenging behaviors are often perceived to be noncompliant, disobedient to directions, uncooperative, and oppositional. Serious noncompliant is one of the most frequent reasons young children are referred for psychiatric services (Kuczynski, Kochanska, Radke-Yarrow, & Gimius-Brown, 1987). Noncompliance serves as a gateway behavior for children developing serious antisocial (Walker, Colvin, and Ramsey, 1995). It can lead to tantrums, uncooperativeness, aggression, then stealing, and ultimately delinquency. In some instances, engendering compliance can prevent children from developing more serious antisocial (Walker et al., 1995). Compliance typically has been conceptualized as obedience to adult directives and prohibitions, cooperation with requests and suggestions, and willingness to accept suggestions in teaching situations (Rocissano, Slade, & Lynch, 1987). Severe oppositional behaviors have become so pervasive that they were classified as a psychiatric disorder about 20 years ago in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statsitical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III; American Psychiatric Association, 1980). The DSM-III criteria required the presence of at least two of the following symptoms over a 6-month period: violations of minor rules, temper tantrums, argumentativeness, provocative behavior, and stubbornness. The term oppositional-defiant disorder first appeared in the revised version of the third edition (DSM-III-R; APA, 1987). The current diagnostic criteria appearing in the.fourth edition (DSM-IV; APA, 1987). requires a pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant lasting 6 months in which at least four of the following eight symptoms are present: temper outbursts, arguing with adults, refusing to follow adult requests, deliberately annoying people, blaming others for own mistakes, touchy or easily annoyed by others, angry and resentful, and spiteful or vindictive.