Effects of Oppositional Defiant Disorder on School Performance

Both in the field of education and in clinical psychology, it is of great importance for professionals to recognize the dynamics disobedience behaviors carried out by children and adolescents both in their family and social environment as well as in school or institute.

This interest in studying disruptive and maladaptive behaviors on the part of a young person arises from the objective of helping them to overcome their daily problems, to change their behavior and vision of the world, preventing them from getting used to living in the framework of crime and marginality, and also to educate them so that they can take advantage of opportunities for improvement and progress as well-integrated individuals in the society. After all, mental health and emotional well-being are not isolated events, but are always linked to psychosocial dynamics that surround us from the moment of birth.

Although it is common for many children and adolescents to present disobedience or negative attitudes at times, there is a mental health disorder that is based on an alteration of behavior and a permanent disobedience of all kinds of rules and regulations social.

This phenomenon is known as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and is one of the most studied disorders in the world of psychology, due to its importance in the clinic and for constituting a true mental health problem and an obstacle to the correct well-being of the person affected and to coexistence with their social, school and familiar.

If you want to know more about this phenomenon, you will be interested in this article, since here we will review the main effects of oppositional defiant disorder on school performance, as well as various psychotherapy strategies that psychologists use to help these young people and their families.

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What is oppositional defiant disorder?

Oppositional defiant disorder is a psychological disturbance characterized by a series of inappropriate and disruptive disobedience behaviors that are carried out by the child or adolescent.

Another of the main characteristics of this disorder is that the child presents a conscious and voluntary disobeying the authority figures around her, whatever they may be and by all the means she finds in his credit

It is a disorder that can be easily identified if both behavior patterns and classics such as psychological symptoms and criteria necessary for a person to be diagnosed with this type of disturbance.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), to diagnose a person with oppositional defiant disorder must present in their daily life at least 4 of the following symptoms: get upset easily; losing temper often, arguing with adults, breaking rules, getting angry often, upsetting or hurting someone on purpose, or blaming others for their behavior.

To diagnose oppositional defiant disorder, these symptoms need to last for at least 6 months and are carried out against people who are not part of the family, such as a sister or a brother.

These and other behavioral patterns typical of Oppositional Defiant Disorder have a determining influence in the life of the person and in all areas of daily relationship. Next we will see how this disorder affects the school performance of the child or adolescent who presents it.

• You may be interested in: "Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in Children: Causes and Symptoms"

Main effects of oppositional defiant disorder on school performance

Oppositional defiant disorder can be a source of real problems in the school performance of the person who presents it. Next we will see how this disorder affects the behavior of the minor at school or in the performance of homework.

1. disobedience to authority

Disobedience to authority figures is one of the main characteristics of people who have oppositional defiant disorder and this symptom often greatly affects their performance school.

Constantly challenging and provoking both teachers and classmates and even principals, ends up causing a distraction in class of the person with oppositional defiant disorder and a deficit of interest or compliance with the academic contents that are studied in all moment.

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2. frequent distractions

Thus, we can categorically affirm that distractions are usually common in cases of oppositional defiant disorder as a consequence of their disruptive behavior and tending to interrupt and slow down classes and lessons.

The distractions affect both the person with the disorder and their classmates, who end up being victims of said disorder in equal measure and being distracted by the behavior of the child or adolescent with TND.

3. disobedience of the rules

The systematic disobedience towards the rules of all kinds and even towards the demands and directives of the teachers, also ends up causing the child or adolescent not to fulfill the responsibilities daily.

That is why people with ODD tend to always have work behind and by ignoring their teachers, they end up not learning what is taught in each lesson.

4. school conflict

Conflict with classmates or classmates is very common in any of the courses that the person with ODD may be going through.

This means that the child or adolescent He tends to have conflicts of all kinds with his classmates., it can even get to have strong fights with violence.

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5. Other associated disorders

Oppositional defiant disorder is usually linked to the appearance of other psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, stress or learning disorders. All of these disorders contribute to worsening a person's mental health and also interfere with their school performance.

6. Attention span deficits

In addition to that, the ODD can be linked to certain cognitive deficits or learning problems that make it difficult to acquire the basic knowledge in the time in which the classmates do it person. In this sense, highlight attention problems, given that these minors feel disinterested in the challenges that school poses beyond informal relationships with other classmates.

7. Lack of compromise

The lack of commitment that people with oppositional disorder present also contributes to significantly worsen their level of school performance and their grades in the long term; simply, think about goals related to short-term desiresLittle linked to academic ambitions or personal development.

This is so because the person never commits to keeping up with their homework or studying daily, nor to carry out group work, nor to help their classmates in any way of class.

What does a psychologist do to treat ODD?

There are several therapeutic strategies and resources that are of great help when caring for these young people and their families., but in the field of psychology, the most prominent are the following:

• Training of emotion recognition skills.
• Establishment of incentive and motivation systems that breaks with the short-term dynamics
• Establishment of references and modeling elements (so that the young person feels interested in imitating someone better adapted to social life).
• Training in assertive communication strategies focusing on its advantageous consequences.
• Dynamics of recognition and appreciation of the progress made so far.
• Psychoeducation sessions for fathers and mothers.

In addition to these measures belonging to the context of psychotherapy, sometimes it is also recommended to resort to pharmacological treatment to treat cases of greater intensity. In situations of this type, psychostimulants and mood stabilizers can be used, although always strictly following the doctor's instructions.

Are you looking for professional psychological assistance?

If you want to have psychotherapy or counseling services for families or educational institutions, contact me.

My name is Froilan Ibanez I attend in person and online.