The Conduct and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Scales (CODDS) and Limited

Prosocial Emotions (LPE) Scale

Adrian Raine,
Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology,
University of Pennsylvania

These instruments provide a quick dimensional assessment of self-report

oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD), together with a limited
prosocial emotions specifier (LPE). They take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
There are separate but comparable instruments for: (1) child self-report, (2) parent /
teacher report-on-child (3) adult self-report.

The child self-report version is appropriate for use with children aged 9 and
upwards. However, for children under 11 years item 15 (“forced someone into a sexual
activity”) may be dropped (and noted in findings) if it is felt too sensitive to ask given
your subject population. This is a more serious sign of CD which usually develops later
than the less serious CD signs.

The CODDS scales provides total scores for CD and ODD as well as a score for
total disruptive behavior disorder (DBD). Three additional items allow for a categorical
(yes / no) assessment of potential presence of clinical ODD and CD. Items follow
closely the symptom criteria for ODD and CD set out in DSM 5.

In our initial work, one sample of 428 children aged 11-12 years and their
caregiver were administered the NIMH DISC-IV (Diagnostic Interview Schedule for
Children) for assessing clinical diagnoses, the CODDS, antisocial/aggressive behavior
measures, and measures of social and school functioning. A second sample (N = 671)
was utilized to establish norms, replicate findings, and develop a brief measure of
limited prosocial emotions to be used alongside the CODDS. In Study 1, receiver
operating characteristic (ROC) curves documented good sensitivity and specificity for
CODDS scales in predicting DISC-IV clinical diagnoses of ODD (88%, 76%
respectively) and CD (86%, 87%) diagnoses. Baseline CODDS provided added value
over and above baseline clinical DISC- diagnoses in predicting future DISC ODD and
CD diagnoses 12 months later, as well as in predicting social and school functioning.
Study 2 further established psychometric properties of the CODDS, with brief measures
of CODDS limited prosocial emotions (CODDS-LPE) being associated with measures of
callous-unemotional traits, and having a good fit to the hypothesized DSM 5 four-factor
structure of LPE.

The CODDS can be freely used for research purposes, but I would appreciate
knowing a little about your study first at [email protected]

Citation
Raine, A., Ling, S., Streicher, W., and Liu, J. (under review). The Conduct and
Oppositional Defiant Disorder Scales (CODDS) for Disruptive Behavior Disorders.
The scales and scoring guidelines are given below.
1
CONDUCT AND OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER SCALES (CODDS):
PARENT REPORT ON CHILD

Instructions to Parent
There are times when nearly all our children have done things they should not have
done. Answer the following questions about your child by putting a circle around either 0
(never), 1 (sometimes: once), or 2 (often: two or more times). Make sure you answer all
the items.
NEVER SOMETIMES OFTEN
How often in the past year has your child ....

1. lost their temper 0 1 2

2. argued with adults 0 1 2
3. refused to follow requests or rules 0 1 2
4. deliberately annoyed people 0 1 2
5. blamed others for their own mistakes or bad behavior 0 1 2
6. been touchy or easily annoyed 0 1 2
7. been angry or resentful 0 1 2
8. been spiteful or mean 0 1 2

9. How often have any of things above caused problems

at home or at school, with people or doing school work? 0 1 2

NEVER SOMETIMES OFTEN

How often in the past year has your child ....

10. bullied or threatened someone 0 1 2

11. started a physical fight 0 1 2
12. used a weapon to harm someone 0 1 2
13. been physically cruel to someone 0 1 2
14. been physically cruel to an animal 0 1 2
15. stolen or grabbed things from someone 0 1 2
16. forced someone into a sexual activity 0 1 2
17. started a fire to damage things 0 1 2
18. destroyed people’s things 0 1 2
19. broken into a house, building, or car 0 1 2
20. lied to get things or favors, or avoid doing something 0 1 2
21. stolen things or shoplifted 0 1 2
22. stayed out at night without permission 0 1 2
23. run away from home for a while 0 1 2
24. stayed off school without permission 0 1 2

25. How often have any of these things caused problems

at home or school, with people or school work. 0 1 2

26. Did your child start doing any of these things

(items 10-24) before age 10? NO YES
2
 LIMITED PROSOCIAL EMOTIONS: (CODDS-LPE):
PARENT REPORT ON CHILD

Please answer how true or not true the following statements are about your child by
putting a circle around either 0 (true), 1 (partly true), or 2 (not true). Make sure you
answer all the items.
PARTLY
My child: TRUE TRUE NOT TRUE

1. is concerned about what happens if they break rules 0 1 2

2. is thoughtful to other people 0 1 2
3. shares their feelings with others 0 1 2
4. is concerned about performing poorly in school and in
other activities 0 1 2
5. expresses emotions that are consistent with their actions 0 1 2
6. is regretful when they have broken a rule 0 1 2
7. makes a lot of effort to perform well 0 1 2
8. is concerned about the feelings of others 0 1 2
9. is genuine and sincere in their feelings for others 0 1 2
10. tries hard to do well at school 0 1 2
11. is less concerned about themselves and more
concerned about others 0 1 2
12. apologizes after hurting someone 0 1 2

3
CONDUCT AND OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER SCALES (CODDS):
CHILD SELF-REPORT
Instructions to Child/Adolescent

There are times when nearly all children and adolescents have done things they should
not have done. Answer the following questions by putting a circle around either 0
(never), 1 (sometimes: once), or 2 (often: two or more times). Make sure you answer all
the items.
NEVER SOMETIMES OFTEN
How often in the past year have you ....

1. lost your temper 0 1 2

2. argued with adults 0 1 2
3. refused to follow requests or rules 0 1 2
4. deliberately annoyed people 0 1 2
5. blamed others for your own mistakes or bad behavior 0 1 2
6. been touchy or easily annoyed 0 1 2
7. been angry or resentful 0 1 2
8. been spiteful or mean 0 1 2

9. How often have any of things above caused problems

at home or at school, with people or doing school work? 0 1 2

NEVER SOMETIMES OFTEN

How often in the past year have you ....

10. bullied or threatened someone 0 1 2

11. started a physical fight 0 1 2
12. used a weapon to harm someone 0 1 2
13. been physically cruel to someone 0 1 2
14. been physically cruel to an animal 0 1 2
15. stolen or grabbed things from someone 0 1 2
16. forced someone into a sexual activity 0 1 2
17. started a fire to damage things 0 1 2
18. destroyed people’s things 0 1 2
19. broken into a house, building, or car 0 1 2
20. lied to get things or favors, or avoid doing something 0 1 2
21. stolen things or shoplifted 0 1 2
22. stayed out at night without permission 0 1 2
23. run away from home for a while 0 1 2
24. stayed off school without permission 0 1 2

25. How often have any of these things caused problems

at home or school, with people or school work. 0 1 2

26. Did you start doing any of these things

(items 10-24) before age 10? NO YES
4
 LIMITED PROSOCIAL EMOTIONS (CODDS-LPE):
CHILD SELF-REPORT

Please answer how true or not true the following statements are about yourself by
putting a circle around either 0 (true), 1 (partly true), or 2 (not true). Make sure you
answer all the items.

PARTLY
TRUE TRUE NOT TRUE

1. I am concerned about what happens if I break rules 0 1 2

2. I’m thoughtful to other people 0 1 2
3. I share my feelings with others 0 1 2
4. I’m concerned about performing poorly at school
and in other activities 0 1 2
5. I express emotions that are consistent with my actions 0 1 2
6. I’m regretful when I have broken a rule 0 1 2
7. I make a lot of effort to perform well 0 1 2
8. I’m concerned about the feelings of others 0 1 2
9. I’m genuine and sincere in my feelings for others 0 1 2
10. I try hard to do well at school 0 1 2
11. I am less concerned about myself and more
concerned about others 0 1 2
12. I apologize after hurting someone 0 1 2

5
 CONDUCT AND OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER SCALES (CODDS):
ADULT SELF-REPORT

There are times when nearly all of us have done things we should not have done.
Answer the following questions about yourself by putting a circle around either 0
(never), 1 (sometimes: once), or 2 (often: two or more times). Make sure you answer all
the items.
NEVER SOMETIMES OFTEN
How often in the past year have you ....

1. lost your temper 0 1 2

2. argued with others 0 1 2
3. refused to follow requests or rules 0 1 2
4. deliberately annoyed people 0 1 2
5. blamed others for your own mistakes or bad behavior 0 1 2
6. been touchy or easily annoyed 0 1 2
7. been angry or resentful 0 1 2
8. been spiteful or mean 0 1 2

9. How often have any of the things above caused

problems at home or work? 0 1 2

NEVER SOMETIMES OFTEN

How often in the past year have you ....

10. bullied or threatened someone 0 1 2

11. started a physical fight 0 1 2
12. used a weapon to harm someone 0 1 2
13. been physically cruel to someone 0 1 2
14. been physically cruel to an animal 0 1 2
15. stolen or grabbed things from someone 0 1 2
16. forced someone into a sexual activity 0 1 2
17. started a fire to damage things 0 1 2
18. destroyed people’s things 0 1 2
19. broken into a house, building, or car 0 1 2
20. lied to get things or favors, or avoid doing something 0 1 2
21. stolen things or shoplifted 0 1 2
22. done things at work or college without permission 0 1 2
23. broken agreements with friends or family 0 1 2
24. skipped work or college obligations 0 1 2

25. How often have any of these things caused

problems at home or work? 0 1 2

26. Did you start doing any of these things

(items 10-24) before age 10? NO YES
6
 LIMITED PROSOCIAL EMOTIONS (CODDS-LPE):
ADULT SELF-REPORT

Please answer how true or not true the following statements are about yourself by
putting a circle around either 0 (true), 1 (partly true), or 2 (not true). Make sure you
answer all the items.

PARTLY
TRUE TRUE NOT TRUE

1. I am concerned about what happens if I break rules 0 1 2

2. I’m thoughtful to other people 0 1 2
3. I share my feelings with others 0 1 2
4. I’m concerned about performing poorly at work/college
and in other activities 0 1 2
5. I express emotions that are consistent with my actions 0 1 2
6. I’m regretful when I have broken a rule 0 1 2
7. I make a lot of effort to perform well 0 1 2
8. I’m concerned about the feelings of others 0 1 2
9. I’m genuine and sincere in my feelings for others 0 1 2
10. I try hard to do well at work / college 0 1 2
11. I am less concerned about myself and more
concerned about others 0 1 2
12. I apologize after hurting someone 0 1 2

7
 Scoring Instructions

CD and ODD Scales (CODDS)

Scores (0, 1 or 2) for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD - items 1 to 8) and

conduct disorder (CD – items 10 to 26) are added to create total scores for ODD and
CD. ODD and CD total scores are added to create a total Disruptive Behavior Disorder
(DBD) score. This scoring applies to both child and adult versions. High scores indicate
high CD / ODD.
For CD, a score of 4.5 results in maximal prediction to clinical diagnoses of CD,
with sensitivity (true positive) of 84.8% and specificity (true negative) of 88.1%. For
ODD a score of 8.5 has 85.3% sensitivity and 72.3% specificity. These cut-points can
be used to create groups of those with/without estimated CD and ODD diagnoses to
supplement dimensional analyses.
Alternatively, another categorization system that can be explored which takes
into account social functioning and (for CD) age at onset is as follows:

Code “Potential ODD Diagnosis” as present if:

4 or more ODD items are coded 1 or 2 and
item 9 (“problems at home / school”) is coded 1 or 2

Code “Potential CD Diagnosis” as present if:

3 or more CD items are coded 1 or 2 and
item 9 (“problems at home / school”) is coded 1 or 2
For those with a Potential CD Diagnosis:
Childhood-onset type is coded for those with onset below the age of 10.
Adolescent-onset type is coded for those with onset at 10 years or later.

Limited Prosocial Emotions (CODDS-LPE)

This scoring applies to both child and adult versions. Add scores on the following
items to create four factor scores and a total score:

Factor 1 (Remorse/Guilt): 1, 6, 12
Factor 2 (Callous/Lacks Empathy): 8, 11, 2
Factor 3 (Concern about Performance): 4, 10, 7
Factor 4 (Shallow/Deficient Affect): 3, 5, 9
Total (Limited Prosocial Emotions): Sum all 12 items

High scores indicate limited prosocial emotions. For group analyses, for those with an
estimated diagnosis of CD, those with the “limited prosocial emotions” DSM 5 specifier
can be designated using a median split of LPE scores for this specific CD group.
Dimensional analyses within the CD group may however prove to be more appropriate
than sub-group analyses.