chapter 4 (assessing and treating children’s problems) Flashcards
academic achievement
knowledge and skills that children learn through formal and informal educational experiences; typically reflects reading, math, and written language.
affect
a child’s short-term emotional expression; assessed by observation
behaviour therapy
a system of psychotherapy that focuses on children’s overt actions; tries to change behaviour by altering environmental contingencies that either elicit the behaviour or maintain it over time.
cognitive therapy
a system of psychotherapy that focuses on children’s thoughts; identifies and challenges cognitive biases or distortions that contribute to maladaptive actions or emotions
common factors
features shared by all forms of effective psychotherapy, including a supportive relationship, a plausible explanation for the person’s problem, and a method for alleviating that problem
construct validity
the degree to which test scores assess the construct of interest; usually supported by strong correlations with similar construct us (convergent validity) and weak correlations with dissimilar constructs (discriminant validity)
content validity
the degree to which items are relevant to the construct of interest; usually supported by asking experts to rate each item
criterion-related validity
the degree to which test scores can be used to infer a probable standing on some external variable of interest; usually supported when test scores are associated with outcomes at the same point in time (concurrent validity) or in the future (predictive validity)
cultural formulation interview
an interview used to gather information about families’ racial, ethnic, and cultural identities and how these identities affect their current problems, strengths, and preferences for treatment
culturally adapted treatment
modifying evidence-based psychotherapy to fit families’ social-cultural context and values
diagnostic interview
the most common assessment technique in which the clinician collects data regarding the child and family’s presenting problem, history, and current functioning.
dodo verdict
a term used to describe the finding that no single system of psychotherapy works best under all circumstances
effectiveness
the effects of therapy under real-world conditions (ex: therapists using a wide range of treatment approaches, clients with comorbid problems)
efficacy
the effects of therapy under optimal conditions (ex: well-trained and closely supervised therapists, carefully selected clients with single problems)
family systems therapy
a system of psychotherapy that views the entire family as the “client”; improvement in one member’s behaviour will necessarily change all members of the family
functional analysis of behaviour
an assessment technique in which the clinician attempts to identify the antecedent events that elicit a behaviour and the environmental consequences that maintain it over time
insight
during a mental status exam, the degree to which the child recognizes that he might have a psychological problem
intelligence
a broad construct related to people’s abilities to adapt to their environments, to solve problems, and to learn and use information accurately and efficiently
interpersonal therapy
a system of psychotherapy that focuses on the quality of relationships with others and helps people cope with changes to these relationships over time
intersectionality
a term used to describe the way a person’s social-cultural factors and/or identities interact to either promote or hinder their development
judgment
during a mental status exam, the child’s ability to consider the consequences of behaviour before acting
mental status exam
a brief assessment of the child’s current functioning in three broad areas:
1. appearance and actions
2. emotions
3. cognition
mood
a child’s long-term emotional disposition; usually assessed by self-report
multi-informant assessment
the process of gathering data from several different people (ex: parents, teachers, child) to obtain an estimate of functioning across settings
multimethod assessment
the process of gathering data in a number of different ways (ex: self-report, observation, testing) to obtain a more complete picture of functioning
norm-referenced tests
tests that yield scores that quantify the degree to which a child’s performance on the test deviates from the scores of his or her peers
normal distribution
a bell-shaped distribution of scores in which most most scores fall near the mean and fewer scores are at the extremes
orientation
during a mental status exam, the child’s awareness of person, place, and time
personality
a person’s relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and overt actions
presenting problem
the family’s primary reason(s) for seeking help
psychodynamic therapy
a system of psychotherapy that focuses on unconscious thoughts and feelings that affect children’s functioning; often attends to transference— that is, the client’s attitude and pattern of responding to the therapist.
psychological assessment
the process of gathering data about children and families in order to reach valid conclusions about their current functioning and future well-being
psychosocial history
a portion of the diagnostic interview in which the clinician gathers information about the child’s developmental, educational, medical, and psychological past
psychotherapy
a professional relationship between at least two people with the goal of alleviating distress or impairment, and promoting growth and adaptation; this goal is usually achieved by altering the client’s thoughts, feelings, or actions
rapport
an aspect of the therapeutic relationship in which the client believes that the therapist understands his or her feelings and is willing to participate in the initial phase of treatment
reliability
the consistency of scores generated by a psychological test; includes test-retest, inter-rater, and internal consistency types
standardization
a property of evidence-based tests; indicates that tests are administered, scored, and interpreted in the same way to all examinées.
structural diagnostic interview
an assessment process in which the clinician systematically reviews all of the major psychiatric diagnoses with children and/or parents to determine whether the child meets criteria for any diagnosis
therapeutic alliance
the collaborative relationship between the client and therapist that is built on trust and both parties are working toward shared goals
validity
a test’s ability to accurately reflect a desired construct for a specific purpose; includes content, construct, and criterion-related types
