Background and Aim: Oppositional Defiant Behaviours (ODB) are among the most common reasons for the referral of children and adolescents to psychiatric assessments.The purpose of this study was to compare depression, anxiety and stress in the mothers of children with and without oppositional defiant behaviours.

Method: The statistical population consisted of mothers of elementary school male students in Shiraz city in the academic year of 2017-18.Four elementary male government schools from four districts of Shiraz were selected randomly by cluster sampling method. Then, using a homogenizing method, 84 mothers (42 mothers of children with ODB and 42 mothers ofchildren without ODB) were selected from among a larger population which was selectedfor research by screening procedure using the teacher and parents’ Child Symptom Inventory. Participants completed the Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4) as well as Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) inventories. The level of significance of this study was set at P <0.05.

Results: Results of independent samples T-test showed that depression scores (P <0.000), anxiety (P

Conclusion: According to the results of the study, depression, anxiety and stress in mothers have significant relationships with their childrens’ oppositional defiant behaviours. Accordingly, it is recommended that children at risk ought to be identified using school screening procedures and mothers of children with ODB should be evaluated for the likelihood of depression, anxiety and stress andtake advantage of the professional and educational methods of intervention.