Anger and Irritability Symptoms among Youth with ODD: Cross-Informant Versus Source-Exclusive Syndromes

We examined differences in co-occurring psychological symptoms and background characteristics among clinically referred youth
with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) with and without anger/irritability symptoms (AIS) according to either parent or
teacher (source-exclusive) and both informants (cross-informant), youth with noncompliant symptoms (NS) of ODD, and non-ODD
clinic controls. Parents and teachers evaluated 1127 youth (ages 6–18) with a DSM-IV-referenced rating scale to assess ODD and co-occurring psychological symptoms. Parents also completed a background questionnaire
(demographic, developmental, treatment, relationship, and academic characteristics) and teachers rated school functioning.
Source-exclusive AIS groups were associated with different clinical features, and there was some evidence that cross-informant
youth had more mental health concerns than source-exclusive groups. Findings varied to some extent among older (12–18 years)
versus younger (6–11 years) youth. In general, the NS group (youth without AIS) was the most similar to clinic controls. AIS
and NS are likely candidates for component phenotypes in ODD and continued research into their pathogenesis may have important
implications for nosology, etiology, and intervention.