Repeated involuntary or inappropriate bowel movement in children age four or older.

Encopresis is defined as repeated involuntary defecation somewhere other than a toilet by a child age four or older that continues for at least one month. Soiling, fecal soiling, and fecal incontinence are alternate terms used for this behavior. When there is no physical cause for encopresis, psychiatrists classify problems with urination and defecation as elimination disorders. Because bowel control is usually easier for a child to achieve than bladder control, problems with soiling are less common than those associated with wetting. In addition, encopresis is more likely to be a symptom of emotional problems or dysfunction in the parent-child relationship. In such cases, parents are likely to need the advice of a professional to devise a strategy for dealing with encopresis.

For some children, the cause of the inappropriate bowel movement is biological, requiring medical...