Emotion Regulation as a Moderator of Two Different Treatments for Children With ODD

Overview

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to is to test emotion regulation as a moderator of two different treatments for children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). The main question it aims to answer is whether treatment gains be increased when children with ODD receive a treatment congruent with their emotion regulation skill problems. Participants will be divided into two groups based on their response patterns; a high emotion dysregulation group and a low emotion dysregulation group. Within each group, children will then be randomly assigned to either a behavioral parent training intervention or a child directed treatment involving problem solving and emotion regulation skills.

Emotion regulation has been implicated in the development of ODD. Two types of treatment are commonly used for children with ODD, behavioral parent training and child directed cognitive treatments. Parent training focuses on increasing compliance and reducing defiant behaviour while the child directed treatments focus on increasing the child's problem solving skills and emotion regulation. The investigators will assess emotion regulation and emotional lability in children diagnosed with ODD and divide them into two groups based on their response patterns; a high emotion dysregulation group and a low emotion dysregulation group. Within each group, children will then be randomly assigned to either a behavioral parent training intervention or a child directed treatment involving problem solving and emotion regulation skills, which makes it possible to assess the effects of the different interventions for the two distinct groups. Treatment effects will be assessed at pre- and post-treatment as well as at 6 and 18 month follow-up. Comorbid conditions will be tested as moderators.