child urinating

I have a very good friend who had a step-child who has urinated in his bedroom out of anger 'because you grounded me and told me not to leave the room' and also has urinated on another person! He is 8. He also has anger issues and behavior problems. My friend took this very very seriously and divorced because of it.....somehow the mother thinks this is normal behavior for a child. My firiend has since have split with his wife because of this situation. I told him I do by all means DO NOT think this is normal. Can someone let me know what could be the cause of such attrocious behavior? I also learned that the child has ADHD and has many other issues

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Suffice it to say that the child is displaying symptoms of emotional disturbance and he (and his guardians) should be involved in treatment. At this young age, such behavior generally indicates problems in the parent/child relationship and inadequate parenting in the early years.