It may be most accurate to think of ODD as a consequence of the interaction of several factors. In this view, individual characteristics such as a high emotional reactivity, low emotion regulation, or difficulties in social learning collide with environmental adversities such as dysfunctional parenting style, parental psychopathology, socioeconomic difficulties, or high levels of family conflict.
Several studies identify complex behavioral patterns in which coercive interactions between young children and their caregivers amplify children’s noncompliance. Patterns of relating within the family are thought to carry over into other settings.