Chapter 12: Psychopathology of Emotions in Childhood

Question 1

psychopathology of childhood and adolescence

Answer 1

most psychopathology of childhood and adolescence involves impairments in emotional functioning. disorders in childhood are distinct from those in adulthood

Question 2

psychopathology

Answer 2

refers to disorders that affect children’s mental health and behavior. these disorders are assessed and classified using two broad approaches

Question 3

categorical diagnosis

Answer 3

the most common classification system in North America is the DSM-5, while in other parts of the world, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is used

Question 4

key assumptions of categorical diagnosis

Answer 4

• disorders are distinct and separate from normal functioning
• each disorder has a specific cause and corresponding treatment
• the course of illness is similar across children with the same disorder

Question 5

comorbidity

Answer 5

disorders can be present simultaneously, making it difficult to distinguish one disorder from another

Question 6

heterogeneity

Answer 6

there is considerable variability within disorders, meaning that the same diagnosis may look very different across children. for example, autism might manifest in diverse ways in different children

Question 7

subclinical symptoms

Answer 7

categorical systems may overlook less severe, subclinical emotional issues, which might not be classified as disorders but still cause distress

Question 8

practical use of categorical systems

Answer 8

despite the challenges, categorical systems are valuable for clinicians to communicate diagnoses to parents and for policymakers to allocate resources based on prevalence data

Question 9

dimensional diagnosis

Answer 9

instead of viewing disorders as discrete categories, the dimensional approaches consider symptoms as varying along a continuum

Question 10

psychometric assessments

Answer 10

this approach involves gathering data from clinicians, teachers, parents, and children through checklists and questionnaires. these tools provide a continuous range of symptom scores, helping to identify patterns of behavior that might overlap with those categorized by traditional diagnostic systems

Question 11

benefits of the dimensional approach

Answer 11

• research suggests that using dimensional measures improves the reliability of diagnoses by 15% and validity by 37%.
• the DSM-5 has been modified to incorporate findings that emphasize the dimensional nature of psychopathology, recognizing that disorders exist on a spectrum rather than as distinct, separate entities

Question 12

categories of childhood psychopathologies

Answer 12

often in two categories
- internalizing
- externalizing

Question 13

externalizing

Answer 13

involves hostility and disruptive behavior, such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Question 14

internalizing

Answer 14

characterized by depressed mood and anxiety, encompassing disorders related to fears

Question 15

predominance of one emotion system (biases)

Answer 15

this theory suggests that one emotion or a family of emotions becomes dominant, leading to an imbalance among emotions

Question 16

inappropriate emotional responses (inappropriate emotions)

Answer 16

children with disorders may exhibit atypical emotional responses to events

Question 17

poor emotion regulation (difficulty regulating emotions)

Answer 17

this theory emphasizes the challenges children with psychopathology face in managing their emotions to meet situational demands

Question 18

emotional adaptation to negative environments (adaptations to negative environments)

Answer 18

this hypothesis suggests that psychological patterns in children viewed as disordered may reflect strategic adaptations to negative environments

Question 19

epidemiology

Answer 19

focuses on understanding the frequency and patterns of disorders in a population. epidemiologists study prevalence and incidence

Question 20

prevalence

Answer 20

the proportion of a population affected by a disorder over a specific time period

Question 21

incidence

Answer 21

number of new onsets of a particular disorder in a given time

Question 22

comorbidity in individuals

Answer 22

where individuals with a diagnosis often have multiple additional diagnoses

Question 23

heterogeneity in individuals

Answer 23

where different symptom clusters can lead to the same diagnosis, suggesting diverse subtypes with distinct etiologies, courses, and treatment responses

Question 24

p factor

Answer 24

accounts for a significant portion of the variance in psychopathology and is associated with emotion dysregulation and negative affectivity

Question 25

risk factors and psychopathology

Answer 25

relationship between risk factors and outcomes is characterized by nondeterministic and nonspecific, meaning the presence of a risk factor increases the probability of a disorder but does not guarantee it

Question 26

multilevel influences

Answer 26

involves recognizing indirect effects between different aspects of a child’s environment

Question 27

maladaptive personal context

Answer 27

where the child and the environment mutually influence each other

Question 28

diathesis-stress perspective

Answer 28

suggests that a child’s dispositional vulnerabilities combine with negative environments to create difficulties

Question 29

differential susceptibility

Answer 29

proposes that some children are more influenced by both positive and negative environments due to neurophysiological differences, showing greater reactivity to various contexts

Question 30

quantitative genetics

Answer 30

estimate heritability for disorders by comparing frequencies between monozygotic and dizygotic twins

Question 31

gene-environment interactions

Answer 31

genes are not deterministic; their effects on behavior are influenced by environmental experiences, leading to gene-environment interactions

Question 32

epigenetics

Answer 32

reveals that adversities can alter gene function without changing the DNA sequence. this impacts the production of neurochemicals crucial for emotion-related processes

Question 33

depression in adolescence

Answer 33

linked to increased inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, IL-6) associated with the immune response

Question 34

proximal influences on emotional development

Answer 34

proximal influences, like attachment and parenting, directly influence a child’s emotional growth. risk factors do not guarantee psychopathology but raise the likelihood

Question 35

parental hostility

Answer 35

this is closely linked to disorders, creating a “negative coercion cycle” where child aggression and parental harshness reinforce each other. studies confirm that controlling parents lead to anxiety, self-doubt, and internalizing problems in children

Question 36

differential parenting

Answer 36

when parents treat siblings unequally, children subjected to more negativity are more likely to develop behavioral issues, regardless of genetics

Question 37

child maltreatment

Answer 37

experiences of abuse and neglect disrupt development, affect emotional regulation and social skills, which worsen over time

Question 38

marital conflict

Answer 38

exposure to ongoing parental conflict increases stress-related internalizing and externalizing problems in children. this may also disrupt physiological systems, leading to increased vulnerability to mental health issues

Question 39

attachment security

Answer 39

secure attachment reduces the risk of emotional disorders. disorganized attachment carries the highest risk for both externalizing and internalizing issues

Question 40

institutionalization studies (BEIP)

Answer 40

studies on children raised in Romanian orphanages reveal that a lack of attachment stunts emotional and cognitive growth. early placement in foster care can improve outcomes, especially if done before age two

Question 41

childhood bullying

Answer 41

has severe, long-lasting impacts leading to increased use of mental health services and poorer quality of life

Question 42

distal risk factors

Answer 42

are more indirect than those that bear a direct effect on children

Question 43

neighborhoods

Answer 43

also play a role, supportive communities reduce parenting stress and improve child outcomes

Question 44

homotypic continuity

Answer 44

stability of the same disorder over time

Question 45

heterotypical continuity

Answer 45

transition from one type of disorder to another over time

Question 46

self-perpetuating cycles

Answer 46

certain behaviors can reinforce themselves through negative social responses

Question 47

transdiagnostic vulnerability (p factor)

Answer 47

emotional dysregulation may underlie both types of continuity, influencing different disorders across time. this vulnerability is often shaped by stable factors such as genetics, neurobiology, and family/peer influence

Question 48

focal treatments

Answer 48

targeting specific symptoms of a disorder, often overlooking comorbidities

Question 49

evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs)

Answer 49

have been developed for children and adolescents, demonstrating efficacy in treating various disorders

Question 50

parent management training (PMT)

Answer 50

effective for externalizing problems and addressing maladaptive parent-child interactions. for externalizing issues

Question 51

cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)

Answer 51

focuses on cognitive distortion, emotion regulation, and social problem-solving, improving psychological adjustment. for cognitive and emotional regulation

Question 52

multisystemic treatment (MST)

Answer 52

addresses multiple needs of children and families, considering ecological systems theory that posits disorders are influenced by various environmental factors. for multi-environmental challenges

Question 53

transdiagnostic models

Answer 53

may be particularly effective as first-line interventions for treatment-naive children and adolescents