A ten year old child displays inappropriate amounts of stubbornness, is irritable, defiant disobedient and behaves in a hostile manner. He always justifies his behaviour as reaction to circumstances. He is showing symptoms of
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Oppositional defiant disorder
Option (1) Specific learning disorder — Incorrect. Here the child has difficulty in perceiving or processing information efficiently, which shows up in early school years as problems in reading, writing and/or mathematics. It is a learning problem, not stubbornness or hostility.
Option (2) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — Incorrect. Its two main features are inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity: the child cannot sustain attention, is easily distracted, fidgets and acts without thinking. Stubbornness and hostility are not its defining signs.
Option (3) Oppositional defiant disorder — Correct. Children with ODD display age-inappropriate amounts of stubbornness, are irritable, defiant, disobedient, and behave in a hostile manner. They do not see themselves as angry or defiant and often justify their behaviour as a reaction to circumstances, just as the ten-year-old in the question does.
Option (4) Anorexia nervosa — Incorrect. In anorexia nervosa the person has a distorted body image, sees herself/himself as overweight and often refuses to eat. It is an eating disorder, unrelated to defiance.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 21-05-2025 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Disruptive, Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorders … Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) display age-inappropriate amounts of stubbornness, are irritable, defiant, disobedient, and behave in a hostile manner. Individuals with ODD do not see themselves as angry, oppositional, or defiant and often justify their behaviour as reaction to circumstances/demands. Thus, the symptoms of the disorder become entangled with the problematic interactions with others.…” “Neurodevelopmental Disorders … The two main features of ADHD are inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.…” “Neurodevelopmental Disorders … In case of specific learning disorder, the individual experiences difficulty in perceiving or processing information efficiently and accurately. These get manifested during early school years and the individual encounters problems in basic skills in reading, writing and/or mathematics.…” “Feeding and Eating Disorders … In anorexia nervosa, the individual has a distorted body image that leads her/ him to see herself/himself as overweight.…” |