title: The oppositional personality in childhood.
abstract: The charts of thirty children having been diagnosed at Washington University Child Guidance Clinic as having oppositional personalities are reviewed and their commonalities are noted. The literature on this syndrome is reviewed and the dynamics discussed. Delineation of this syndrome from other syndromes is considered. The issue of control for autonomy seems to be central in these children who resist authority, but have superego development.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000786:Anger; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009341:Negativism; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010324:Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology