Comorbid Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Anxiety Disorders in Boys and Girls: Relations to Perceptual Bias

The current study examined relations among perceptual bias, measured by comparing self performance ratings to those of an independent rater, and gender and comorbid Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Anxiety Disorder (ODD/AD) status in school-aged children with primary diagnoses of ODD. Specifically, perceptual bias of boys (N=61) and girls (N=39) with ODD with (N=43) and without comorbid AD (N=57) were examined after completing a problem solving activity with their parent(s). Measures of global functioning, executive functioning, and severity of the disorders were also examined. Based on previous findings, it was predicted that boys with ODD without AD would exhibit the greatest positive perceptual bias, followed by girls with ODD without AD, boys with ODD and AD, and, finally, girls with ODD and AD. No significant group differences emerged on the related dimensions of global functioning, executive functioning, or severity of behavioral problems. However, systematic differences in age, ADHD diagnosis, and intellectual ability were revealed among the groups, consequently they were controlled for in the final analyses. Overall, children in all groups displayed positive perceptual bias when compared to observer ratings. However, the main hypotheses were not supported. That is, children with ODD evaluated their performance higher than that of observers, independent of comorbid anxiety and gender, when controlling for the effects of age, ADHD, and intellectual ability. Implications and future directions in examining perceptual bias are discussed.