Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Does the prevalence of CD and ODD vary across cultures?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The worldwide prevalence of conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is presented to examine the first of four criteria used in other studies to determine the validity of psychiatric disorders across cultures.

Methods

The authors searched Medline and PsycINFO from 1987 to 2008. Studies were included if they were representative of specific communities or countries and reported point prevalence of CD or ODD according to DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria for children 18 years or younger.

Results

Only methodological and not geographic factors were associated with variability of the prevalence estimates.

Conclusions

The results are discussed in terms of their significance for the classification of disorders and the need for further research to establish the validity of these two disorders across cultures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Alyahri A, Goodman R (2008) The prevalence of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders among 7–10 year old Yemeni schoolchildren. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43(3):224–230

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  3. American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  4. Andres MA, Catala MA, Gomez-Beneyto M (1999) Prevalence, comorbidity, risk factors and service utilisation of disruptive behaviour disorders in a community sample of children in Valencia (Spain). Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 34(4):175–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Angold A, Costello EJ, Erkanli A (1999) Comorbidity. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 40(1):57–87

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Angold A, Erkanli A, Farmer EM, Fairbank JA, Burns BJ, Keeler G, Costello EJ (2002) Psychiatric disorder, impairment, and service use in rural African American and white youth. Arch Gen Psychiatry 59(10):893–901

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Ashenafi Y, Kebede D, Desta M, Alem A (2001) Prevalence of mental and behavioural disorders in Ethiopian children. East Afr Med J 78(6):308–311

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Beals J, Piasecki J, Nelson S, Jones M, Keane E, Dauphinais P, Shirt RR, Sack WH, Manson SM (1997) Psychiatric disorder among American Indian adolescents: prevalence in Northern Plains youth. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36(9):1252–1259

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Berkson J (1950) Are there two regressions? J Am Statist Assoc 45:164–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bird H (2002) The diagnostic classification, epidemiology, and cross-cultural validity of ADHD. In: Jensen PS, Cooper J (eds) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: state of the science; best practices. Civic Research Institute, Kingston, NJ, pp 12-11–12-36

    Google Scholar 

  11. Bird HR (1996) Epidemiology of childhood disorders in a cross-cultural context. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 37(1):35–49

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bird HR, Davies M, Duarte CS, Shen S, Loeber R, Canino GJ (2006) A study of disruptive behavior disorders in Puerto Rican youth: II. Baseline prevalence, comorbidity, and correlates in two sites. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 45(9):1042–1053

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Breton JJ, Bergeron L, Valla JP, Berthiaume C, Gaudet N, Lambert J, St-Georges M, Houde L, Lepine S (1999) Quebec child mental health survey: prevalence of DSM-III-R mental health disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 40(3):375–384

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Buka SL, Monuteaux M, Earls FJ (2002) Epidemiology of childhood psychiatric disorders. In: Tsuang MT, Tohen M (eds) Textbook of psychiatric epidemiology, pp 629–656

  15. Burke JD, Loeber R, Birmaher B (2002) Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder: a review of the past 10 years, part II. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 41(11):1275–1293

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Burke JD, Pardini DA, Loeber R (2008) Reciprocal relationships between parenting behavior and disruptive psychopathology from childhood through adolescence. J Abnorm Child Psychol 36(5):679–692

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Canino G, Alegria M (2008) Psychiatric diagnosis—is it universal or relative to culture? J Child Psychol Psychiatry 49(3):237–250

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Canino G, Lewis Fernández R, Bravo M (1997) Methodological challenges in cross-cultural mental health research. Transcul Psychiatr Res Rev 34(2):163–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Canino G, Shrout PE, Rubio-Stipec M, Bird HR, Bravo M, Ramirez R, Chavez L, Alegria M, Bauermeister JJ, Hohmann A, Ribera J, Garcia P, Martinez-Taboas A (2004) The DSM-IV rates of child and adolescent disorders in Puerto Rico: prevalence, correlates, service use, and the effects of impairment. Arch Gen Psychiatry 61(1):85–93

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Cohen P, Cohen J (1984) The clinician’s illusion. Arch Gen Psychiatry 41(12):1178–1182

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Cohen P, Cohen J, Kasen S, Velez CN, Hartmark C, Johnson J et al (1993) An epidemiological study of disorders in late childhood and adolescence–I. Age- and gender-specific prevalence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 34(6):851–867

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Collishaw S, Maughan B, Goodman R, Pickles A (2004) Time trends in adolescent mental health. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 45(8):1350–1362

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Maughan B, Collishaw SM, Meltzer J, Goodman R (2008) Recent trends in UK child and adolescent mental health. Soc Psychiatr Psychiatr Epidemiol 43:305–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Costello EJ, Egger H, Angold A (2005) 10-year research update review: the epidemiology of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders: I. Methods and public health burden. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 44(10):972–986

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Costello EJ, Farmer EM, Angold A, Burns BJ, Erkanli A (1997) Psychiatric disorders among American Indian and white youth in Appalachia: the Great Smoky Mountains Study. Am J Public Health 87:827–832

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Costello EJ, Mustillo S, Erkanli A, Keeler G, Angold A (2003) Prevalence and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence. Arch Gen Psychiatry 60(8):837–844

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Crijnen AA, Achenbach TM, Verhulst FC (1999) Problems reported by parents of children in multiple cultures: the Child Behavior Checklist syndrome constructs. Am J Psychiatry 156(4):569–574

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Dolan M, Rennie C (2006) Reliability and validity of the psychopathy checklist: Youth version in a UK sample of conduct disordered boys. Pers Ind Differ 40:65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Eapen V, al-Gazali L, Bin-Othman S, Abou-Saleh M (1998) Mental health problems among schoolchildren in United Arab Emirates: prevalence and risk factors. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 37(8):880–886

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Essau CA, Sasagawa S, Frick PJ (2006) Callous-unemotional traits in a community sample of adolescents. Assessment 13:454–469

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Fanti KA, Frick PJ, Georgiou S (2009) Linking callous-unemotional traits to instrumental and non-instrumental forms of aggression. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 31:285–298. doi:10.1007/s10862-008-9111-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ (2001) The Christchurch Health and Development Study: review of findings on child and adolescent mental health. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 35(3):287–296

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ, Lynskey MT (1993) Prevalence and comorbidity of DSM-III-R diagnoses in a birth cohort of 15 year olds. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 32(6):1127–1134

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Fleitlich-Bilyk B, Goodman R (2004) Prevalence of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders in southeast Brazil. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 43(6):727–734

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Ford T, Goodman R, Meltzer H (2003) The British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey 1999: the prevalence of DSM-IV disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 42(10):1203–1211

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Frick PJ, Dickens C (2006) Current perspectives on conduct disorder. Curr Psychiatry Rep 8(1):59–72

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Frick PJ, Kimonis ER (2008) Externalizing disorders of childhood. In: Maddux JE, Winstead BA (eds) Psychopathology: foundations for a contemporary understanding, 2nd edn. Taylor & Francis, New York, pp 349–374

  38. Frick PJ, Marsee MA (2006) Psychopathy and developmental pathways to antisocial behavior in youth. In: Patrick CJ (ed) Handbook of psychopathy. Guilford, New York, pp 353–374

    Google Scholar 

  39. Gau SS, Chong MY, Chen TH, Cheng AT (2005) A 3-year panel study of mental disorders among adolescents in Taiwan. Am J Psychiatry 162(7):1344–1350

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Gomez R, Vance A (2008) Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms: differential symptom functioning across Malaysian Malay and Chinese children. J Abnorm Child Psychology 36(6):955–967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Goodman R, Slobodskaya H, Knyazev G (2005) Russian child mental health–a cross-sectional study of prevalence and risk factors. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 14(1):28–33

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Grills AE, Ollendick TH (2002) Issues in parent-child agreement: the case of structured diagnostic interviews. Clin Child Fam Psychology Rev 5(1):57–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Heiervang E, Stormark KM, Lundervold AJ, Heimann M, Goodman R, Posserud MB, Ullebo AK, Plessen KJ, Bjelland I, Lie SA, Gillberg C (2007) Psychiatric disorders in Norwegian 8- to 10-year-olds: An epidemiological survey of prevalence, risk factors, and service use. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 46(4):438–447

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Helzer JE, Kraemer HC, Krueger RF (2006) The feasibility and need for dimensional psychiatric diagnoses. Psychological Med 36(12):1671–1680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Kendler KS (2005) “A gene for”: the nature of gene action in psychiatric disorders. Am J Psychiatry 162(7):1243–1252

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Kim-Cohen J, Arseneault L, Caspi A, Tomas MP, Taylor A, Moffitt TE (2005) Validity of DSM-IV conduct disorder in 41/2–5-year-old children: a longitudinal epidemiological study. Am J Psychiatry 162(6):1108–1117

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Kraemer HC (2007) DSM categories and dimensions in clinical and research contexts. Intern J Methods Psychiatric Res 16(Suppl 1):S8–S15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Kraemer HC, Measelle JR, Ablow JC, Essex MJ, Boyce WT, Kupfer DJ (2003) A new approach to integrating data from multiple informants in psychiatric assessment and research: mixing and matching contexts and perspectives. Am J Psychiatry 160(9):1566–1577

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Kroes M, Kalff AC, Kessels AG, Steyaert J, Feron FJ, van Someren AJ, Hurks PP, Hendriksen JG, van Zeben TM, Rozendaal N, Crolla IF, Troost J, Jolles J, Vles JS (2001) Child psychiatric diagnoses in a population of Dutch schoolchildren aged 6 to 8 years. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 40(12):1401–1409

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Lahey BB, Waldman ID (2003) A developmental propensity model of the origins of conduct problems during childhood and adolescence. In: Lahey BB, Moffitt TE, Caspi A (eds) Causes of conduct disorder and serious delinquency. Guilford Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  51. Lahey BB, Goodman SH, Waldman ID, Bird H, Canino G, Jensen P, Regier D, Leaf PJ, Gordon R, Applegate B (1999) Relation of age of onset to the type and severity of child and adolescent conduct problems. J Abnorm Child Psychol 27(4):247–260

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Leung PW, Hung SF, Ho TP, Lee CC, Liu WS, Tang CP, Kwong SL (2008) Prevalence of DSM-IV disorders in Chinese adolescents and the effects of an impairment criterion: A pilot community study in Hong Kong. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 17(7):452–461

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Lewinsohn PM, Hops H, Roberts RE, Seeley JR, Andrews JA (1993) Adolescent psychopathology: I. Prevalence and incidence of depression and other DSM-III-R disorders in high school students. J Abnorm Psychology 102(1):133–144

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Lilienfeld SO, Marino L (1999) Essentialism revisited: Evolutionary theory and the concept of mental disorder. J Abnorm Psychology 108:400–411

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Loeber R, Burke JD, Lahey BB, Winters A, Zera M (2000) Oppositional defiant and conduct disorder: a review of the past 10 years, part I. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 39(12):1468–1484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Lynch F, Mills C, Daly I, Fitzpatrick C (2006) Challenging times: prevalence of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviours in Irish adolescents. J Adolesc 29(4):555–573

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. McArdle P, Prosser J, Kolvin I (2004) Prevalence of psychiatric disorder: with and without psychosocial impairment. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 13(6):347–353

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Moffitt TE (2003) Life-course persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behavior: a 10-year research review and a research agenda. In: Lahey B, Moffitt TE, Caspi A (eds) The causes of conduct disorder and serious juvenile delinquency. Guilford, New York, pp 49–75

    Google Scholar 

  59. Moffitt TE (2006) Life-course persistent versus adolescence-limited antisocial behavior. In: Cicchetti D, Cohen DJ (eds) Developmental psychopathology, Risk, disorder, and adaptation, vol 3, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York, pp 570–598

    Google Scholar 

  60. Moffitt TE, Arseneault L, Jaffee SR, Kim-Cohen J, Koenen KC, Odgers CL, Slutske WS, Viding E (2008) Research review: DSM-V conduct disorder: research needs for an evidence base. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 49(1):3–33

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Moffitt TE, Caspi A, Rutter M, Silva PA (2001) Sex differences in antisocial behaviour: Conduct disorder, delinquency and violence in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  62. Panyayong B, Wacharasindhu A (2002) Psychiatric disorders in Thai school-aged children: II Associated factors. J Medical Ass Thailand 85(Suppl 1):S137–S147

    Google Scholar 

  63. Pine D, Alegria M, Cook E, Jr (2002) Advances in developmental science and DSM-IV. In: Kupfer D, First M, Regier D, (eds). A Research Agenda for DSM-V. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, pp. 85Y122

  64. Polanczyk G, de Lima MS, Horta BL, Biederman J, Rohde LA (2007) The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: a systematic review and metaregression analysis. Am J Psychiatry 164(6):942–948

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Puura K, Almqvist F, Tamminen T, Piha J, Rasanen E, Kumpulainen K, Moilanen I, Koivisto AM (1998) Psychiatric disturbances among prepubertal children in southern Finland. Soc Psychiatr Psychiatr Epidemiol 33(7):310–318

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Roberts RE, Attkisson CC, Rosenblatt A (1998) Prevalence of psychopathology among children and adolescents. Am J Psychiatry 155(6):715–725

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Robins E, Guze SB (1970) Establishment of diagnostic validity in psychiatric illness: its application to schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 126(7):983–987

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Romano E, Tremblay RE, Vitaro F, Zoccolillo M, Pagani L (2001) Prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses and the role of perceived impairment: findings from an adolescent community sample. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 42(4):451–461

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Rutter M (2008) Biological implications of gene-environment interaction. J Abnorm Child Psychology 36:969–976

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Sawyer MG, Arney FM, Baghurst PA, Clark JJ, Graetz BW, Kosky RJ, Nurcombe B, Patton GC, Prior MR, Raphael B, Rey JM, Whaites LC, Zubrick SR (2001) The mental health of young people in Australia: key findings from the child and adolescent component of the national survey of mental health and well-being. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 35(6):806–814

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Shaffer D, Fisher P, Dulcan MK, Davies M, Piacentini J, Schwab-Stone ME, Lahey BB, Bourdon K, Jensen PS, Bird HR, Canino G, Regier DA (1996) The NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version 2.3 (DISC-2.3): description, acceptability, prevalence rates, and performance in the MECA Study. Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders Study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 35(7):865–877

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  72. Simonoff E, Pickles A, Meyer JM, Silberg JL, Maes HH, Loeber R, Rutter M, Hewitt JK, Eaves LJ (1997) The Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development. Influences of age, sex, and impairment on rates of disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 54(9):801–808

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Somech LY, Elizur Y (2009) Adherence to honor code as mediator of the associations between callousness, attachment style, and socioeconomic status, and adolescent boys’ conduct problems. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychology 38(5):606–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Steinhausen HC, Metzke CW, Meier M, Kannenberg R (1998) Prevalence of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders: the Zurich Epidemiological Study. Acta Psychiatr Scand 98(4):262–271

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. Sugawara M, Mukai T, Kitamura T, Toda MA, Shima S, Tomoda A, Koizumi T, Watanabe K, Ando A (1999) Psychiatric disorders among Japanese children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 38(4):444–452

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  76. Thompson SG, Higgins JP (2002) How should meta-regression analyses be undertaken and interpreted? Statistics Med 21(11):1559–1573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Verhulst FC, van der Ende J, Ferdinand RF, Kasius MC (1997) The prevalence of DSM-III-R diagnoses in a national sample of Dutch adolescents. Arch Gen Psychiatry 54(4):329–336

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  78. Viding E, Simmonds E, Petrides KV, Frederickson N (2009) The contribution of callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems to bullying in early adolescence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 50(4):471–481

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  79. Wacharasindhu A, Panyyayong B (2002) Psychiatric disorders in Thai school-aged children: I Prevalence. J Med Association Thailand 85(Suppl 1):S125–S136

    Google Scholar 

  80. Wakefield JC, Pottick KJ, Kirk SA (2002) Should the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder consider social context? Am J Psychiatry 159(3):380–386

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  81. Weisz JR, Weiss B, Suwanlert S, Chaiyasit W (2006) Culture and youth psychopathology: testing the syndromal sensitivity model in Thai and American adolescents. J Consult Clin Psychology 74(6):1098–1107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  82. West P, Sweeting H, Der G, Barton J, Lucas C (2003) Voice-DISC identified DSM-IV disorders among 15-year-olds in the west of Scotland. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 42(8):941–949

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  83. World Health Organization (WHO). (1992) ICD-10. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision. Volumes 1-3. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1992-94

  84. Zwirs BW, Burger H, Schulpen TW, Wiznitzer M, Fedder H, Buitelaar JK (2007) Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children of different ethnic origin. J Abnorm Child Psychology 35(4):556–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This paper was supported by National Institute of Health, Research Grant # 1P50 MHO 73469 funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as Grant #P60 MD0 02261-01, funded by the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities. We would like to acknowledge the work of Amarylis Quiñones who helped with the literature search of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Sciences Research Institute, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR, 00936-5067, USA

    Glorisa Canino & Jose J. Bauermeister

  2. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Guilherme Polanczyk & Luis A. Rohde

  3. Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Paul J. Frick

Authors
  1. Glorisa Canino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guilherme Polanczyk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jose J. Bauermeister
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Luis A. Rohde
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paul J. Frick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Glorisa Canino.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Canino, G., Polanczyk, G., Bauermeister, J.J. et al. Does the prevalence of CD and ODD vary across cultures?. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 45, 695–704 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-010-0242-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-010-0242-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation