Serious childhood antisocial behaviors can lead to diagnoses of conduct disorder (CD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).
As of 2004 several theories about the causes of oppositional defiant disorder are being investigated.
Psychiatrists consider truancy one of many symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder or the more serious diagnosis of conduct disorder, especially when truancy begins before age 13.
To give another example, such temperamental traits as irritability and strong negative reactivity are thought to contribute to the development of oppositional defiant disorder in some children.
Parents of a child with a serious behavior disorder like oppositional defiant disorder should work with their child's therapist to deal with encopresis in the context of other behavioral problems.
