The Process and Implications of Diagnosing Oppositional Defiant Disorder in African American Males

Abstract

This study surveyed male counselor educators regarding the impact of being male upon their professional relationships. Participants (N=163) were surveyed about their attitudes concerning the influence of gender on their relational behavior, as well as their relationship practices with students and colleagues. Mixedmethods analyses revealed a majority of respondents believed being male influenced their relationship behavior and reported experiencing relationship challenges unique to male counselor educators. Male counselor educators shared strategies to avoid the perception of impropriety when engaging in teacherstudent relationships. Consultation, engagement in group activities and avoidance of being alone with students were cited as common strategies to ensure appropriate teacher-student boundaries.

Racial Disparities in Lifer Parole Outcomes: The Hidden Role of Professional Evaluations

“…Similar patterns occur among mental health professionals. When white patients and Black patients present identical symptoms, Black patients are less likely to receive treatment for depression (Simpson et al 2007) and more likely to be diagnosed with psychotic and childhood disorders (Schwartz and Feisthamel 2009), schizophrenia (Blow et al 2004;Barnes 2013; see also Neighbors et al 2003), and oppositional and conduct disorders (Baglivio et al 2016;Grimmett et al 2016). In the criminal justice context, psychological risk assessments have been the subject of a great deal of scrutiny, and several studies have found that in a wide variety of contexts, these assessmentswhich range a great deal in terms of how purely actuarial or algorithmic they areadvantage white defendants and parole candidates and disadvantage Black defendants and parole candidates (for example, Angwin and Larson 2016;Isard 2017;but cf.…”

Experiences of Black Males With Dyslexia in the U.S. Education System

“…Among noted differential diagnoses is oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), which is marked by defiant behaviors, arguing, fighting with peers and adults, easy annoyance, and disrespect for authority. Sadly, research overwhelming reports overdiagnosis of Black males with ODD (Arredondo, 1999; Cossu et al, 2015; Grimmett et al, 2016; Ratts et al, 2015). Students who are struggling academically may, in fact, learn to avoid displaying their vulnerabilities by engaging in these negative compensatory behaviors.…”

Developing a Multiple Caregiver Group for Caregivers of Adolescents With Disruptive Behaviors

“…A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T 5 AA families often receive poor quality mental health services, frequently drop out of care, and experience discrimination in their interactions with child serving systems (Alegria et al, 2015;Copeland, 2006;Grimmett et al, 2016;Office of Surgeon General, 2001;McKay & Bannon Jr, 2004).…”

“…13 accompany primary caregivers to group meetings as these individuals are critically important to families in the AA communities (Copeland, 2006;Grimmett et al, 2016). We presumed that the inclusion of kin/fictive kin could lessen the caregivers' feelings of isolation as well as provide instrumental and emotional support.…”

“…The challenges of caring for adolescents with ODD/CD are often accompanied by other adversities such as parental drug or alcohol use, parental incarceration, interpersonal violence, neighborhood deterioration, and socioeconomic disadvantage (Alegria, Green, McLaughlin, & Loder, 2015;Copeland, 2006;Grimmett et al, 2016;Author et al, 2015;Sydow, Retzlaff, Beher, Haun, & Schweitzer, 2013). African American (AA) families of adolescents with ODD/CD are especially affected by these adversities due to their overrepresentation in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations (Byck, Bolland, Dick, Ashbeck, & Mustanski, 2013;Grimmett et al, 2016;Simons et al, 2016). Adolescents with ODD/CD in the low-income…”