The reliability and validity of the Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory
The aim of this study was to develop an evaluation scale for use as a supplementary tool for the diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The subjects were 98 Japanese children (91 males and 7 females), aged 6–15 years, diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or ODD. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity and divergent validity of the oppositional defiant behavior inventory (ODBI), an evaluation scale of oppositional defiant tendency, were examined. Cronbach’s α coefficient of the ODBI was 0.925. The correlation coefficient between the test and the retest was 0.820 (p < 0.0001). Both the ODBI scores (test and retest) were correlated with the number of items that matched the ODD diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV (r = 0.660, 0.659, p < 0.001), and with the ODD-scale of Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale (r = 0.725, 0.654, p < 0.001). Compared with the ADHD group or controls, the ADHD and ODD group showed a significantly higher ODBI score at p < 0.0001. The concurrent use of this scale with clinical examination is expected to increase the accuracy of the diagnosis of ODD.