The Broader Context: School and Neighborhood Factors Contributing to ODD and CD Symptomatology

This chapter provides an overview of extant literature supporting the influence (direct, indirect, and interactive effects) of school and neighborhood factors on oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) symptomatology. Simply by virtue of the sheer amount of time youth spend at school, the school context will have direct influences on child/adolescent behavior. Studies examining how these school factors are related specifically to ODD and CD diagnoses are virtually nonexistent, and it would be beneficial to further evaluate how these factors are related to the various taxonomies of the diagnostic groups. Developmental ecological models provide an overarching framework for understanding the influence of larger contextual factors, in addition to individual and familial ones, on child problem behavior. Consistent with the developmental ecological framework, it is important to consider the parenting context in understanding risk and protective factors in the link between the neighborhood context and problem behavior.