Chap 4: Methods Flashcards
What Types of Measures Do Developmental Psychopathologists Use? (7)
(1) Interviews
(2) Rating Scales
(3) Observations
(4) Predictors, correlates, consequences of psychopathology/psychological symptoms
(5) Heart rate, skin conductance (Physiological)
(6) EEG, FMRI (Neural)
(7) Tasks measuring memory and attention (Cognitive)
Why do we need to measure psychopathology: Clinical (3)
- Diagnosis
- Treatment planning
- Treatment monitoring and progress
Why do we need to measure psychopathology: Research (4)
- Who develops psychopathology?
- What are the correlates of psychopathology?
- What happens to people who have psychopathology?
- What treatments work for reducing symptoms of psychopathology?
Types of Assessment (3)
- Interviews
- Rating scales
- Observations
Types of Interviews (3)
- Unstructured
- Structured
- Semi-structured
Unstructured Interviews
Clinician asks questions and arrives at diagnosis
- Common approach, easy to do. (‘What are you here for?’ - go from there)
- Based on intuition/exp with diagnosis criteria.
-> A lot of clinicians use this approach, and many rely on it entirely
Challenges with unstructured interviews
- Less comprehensive
- Biases: Confirmatory bias; Availability heuristic (base decisions on examples that come to mind easily); Combine information in an unique way
=> Garden of Forking Paths
Semi-Structured Interview
Common, well validated
-> Interviewer has a lot of latitude in asking the questions: Can ask follow up questions, based on their answers
-> Clinical judgment involved in determining when a symptom is present
Structured Interview
- Questions are fixed and interviewer has very little flexibility
- Can be administered by computer
- Cannot add your own clinical judgment
Unstructured vs Structured and Semi-Structured Interviews (2)
- Structured/semi-structured are more reliable & valid
- Structured/semi-structured can be used to measure psychopathology CONTINUOUSLY by totaling up the number of symptoms reported (i.e. scoring)
=> Structured and semi-structured interviews are the gold standard instruments in psychopathology research
Disadvantages of Structured & Semistructured Interviews (2)
Not as widely used in clinical practice (although this is changing): WHY?
FEASIBILITY
- Length
- Training
K-SADS (Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders & Schizophrenia): Characteristics (3)
Full battery of questions across a lot of different disorders. Might want to give it to adolescent + parent (depending on age).
(1) Good coverage across many sorts of disorders
(2) SCREENER tells you what to follow up on: Can ‘skip out’ if participants aren’t endorsing symptoms
(3) Clinical interview: Gives questions that correspond to DSM5 criteria, potential follow-ups, and rating scale
(Need training to do it correctly)
Rating Scales characteristics (2)
(1) Often used to measure psychopathology CONTINUOUSLY (i.e., number of symptoms) – In clinical setting, cutoffs e.g. between xx and xx; In research, more interested in precise classifications/scores
(2) Can be used to make CATEGORICAL decisions
Rating scale vs interview
- Shorter (usually less than 20 minutes to complete)
- No interviewer
Bc no interviewer, shorter… Assumption has been that rating scales are LESS good than interviews, BUT: (4)
(1) Not necessarily true: some measures just as well
(2) But NOT necessarily sufficient for diagnosis
(3) Trade-off between higher validity/reliability of interviews and feasibility of checklists
(4) Raises the possibility that clinicians could use shorter assessments
Observation def
Naturalistic setting by a clinician to see the behavior of interest in person (maybe going into home/school)
- Reporters might not know whether behavior is normative or clinically concerning
- Observation (can) provides access to the circumstances in which behavior occurs
Types of Observations (2)
(1) Naturalistic observation: Occur in child’s natural environment (e.g. classroom, home)
(2) Structured observation: Laboratory- or clinic-based. Might not translate out to the real world - ecological validity?
Challenges Associated with Observational Approaches (4)
(1) Feasibility
(2) External validity - extent to which findings will generalize (Presence of an observer may change behavior; Also controlled setting might limit that)
(3) May be difficult to see behaviors of interest (low base rate; e.g. aggression)
(4) Covert (e.g. relational aggression)
Researchers have developed very creative solutions to the Challenges Associated with Observational Approaches: Examples
- Recording
- Room where they don’t see you see
- Might have a colleague go instead of you
