Developmental Psychopathology Flashcards
What is psychopathology?
An intense, persistent, or frequent maladaptive pattern of emotions cognitions or behavior
What is developmental psychopathology?
The Maladaptive patterns occur in the context of normal development. Results in the current and potential impairment of infants children and adolescents.
What is developmental epidemiology?
The study of - frequencies and patterns of distributions of disorders in infants, children, and adolescents can be estimated with varied methodologies and within varied group
What is prevalence?
Prevalence refers to the proportion of a population with a disorder
What is Incidence?
Incidence refers to the rate at which new cases arise (i.e., all new cases in a given time period)
The multipart task of estimating rates of disorder includes
(1) identifying children with clinically significant distress and dysfunction, whether or not they are in treatment
(2) calculating levels of general and specific psychopathologies and the impairments associated with various disorders
(3) tracking changing trends in the identification and diagnosis of specific categories of disorder
Continuous models of psychopathology
The gradual transition from the normal range of feelings thoughts and behaviors to clinically significant problems.
Discontinuous models of psychopathology
emphasizes differences between distinct patterns of emotion, cognition, and behavior, that are within the normal range and those that define clinical disorders.
Physiological models
propose that there is a physiological basis fro all psychological processes including structural, biological, and chemical.
Neural plasticity
the ability of the brain to flexibly respond
to physiological and environmental challenges and insults.
Genotype
the genetic make-up of a cell, an organism, or an individual.
Phenotype
the observable characteristics of an individual
Validity
A measure of whether the classification gives true-to- life, meaningful information
Williams syndrome
A developmental disorder caused by a microdeletion on chromosome 7, characterized by deficits in general cognitive function and visual–spatial skills and rela- tive strengths in the language and music domains
Universal preventive measure
A type of preventive measure provided for entire populations (e.g., mandatory immunizations for children
Two-factor model
A model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder emphasizing two distinct factors that underlie impairments: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity
Translational research
Research designed, conducted, and interpreted with meaningful applications and social value in mind
Tertiary prevention
Interventions that are implemented for already present and clinically significant disorders.
Temperament Variations
in newborns’ styles of reactivity (e.g., attention, activity, moods, and distress) and regulation of reactivity
Stigmatization
Negative attitudes (such as blaming or over- concern with dangerousness), emotions (such as shame, fear, or pity), and behaviors (such as ridicule or isolation) related to psychopathology and mental illness
Reliability
A measure of whether different clinicians, using the same set of criteria, classify children into the same clearly defined categories
Resilience
Adaptation (or competence) despite adversity
Risk factors
The individual, family, and social characteristics
that are associated with increased vulnerability, or risk
Genomics:
A field of study focused on genes and gene functions
Behavior genetics
The study of the joint effects of genes and environments. Both direct and indirect environment experiences influence gene expression
Diathesis-stress model
A model that emphasizes the combination of underlying predispositions (risk factors related to, for example, structural abnormalities or early occurring trauma) and additional factors (such as further physiological or environmental events) that lead to the development of psychopathology.
Psychodynamic models
Psychological models that emphasize unconscious cognitive, affective, and motivational processes; mental representations of self, others, and relationships; the subjectivity of experience; and a developmental perspective on individual adjustment and maladjustment. Fixation regression model
With respect to treatments, today’s psychodynamic assessments and treatments
continue to rely on play to make connections with troubled children, to identify the specific pathology, and to effect change. Psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents also emphasizes the important role of parents and family members
Behavioral models
Psychological models that emphasize the individual’s observable behavior within a specific environment
Learned Behavior- classic conditioning, operant conditioning, observational processes
Psychopathology is learning gone awry
Cognitive models
A psychological model that focuses on the components and processes of the mind and mental development.
the way children’s thinking influences the many varieties of learning.
Neoconstructivist approach
An emphasis on evolutionary contexts, experience–expectant learning, and both qualitative and quantitative change across development.
Humanistic models
Psychological models that emphasize personally meaningful experiences, innate motivations for healthy growth, and the child’s purposeful creation of a self
psychopathology results from a suppression of child’s natural tendencies
Family model
A model that emphasizes that the best way to understand the personality and psychopathology of a particular child is to understand the dynamics of a particular family.
Sociocultural models
Models that emphasize the importance of the social context, including gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, in the development, course, and treatment of psychopathology
Ecological model
A model that emphasizes the immediate environments, or “behavior settings,” in which children grow and make sense of their lives, including their homes, classrooms, neighborhoods, and communities.
Birth cohort
Individuals born in a particular historical period who share key experiences and events
Developmental pathways
Trajectories that reflect children’s adjustment, maladjustment, or both in the context of growth and change over a lifetime.
Equifinality Refers to
developmental pathways in which differing beginnings and circumstances lead to similar out- comes.
Multifinality
Refers to developmental pathways in which similar beginnings and circumstances lead to different out- comes.
Pathways of parental impact
Three ways in which parents influence the development of child depression: (1) parent depression affects parent–child relationships and interactions and leads to child psychopathology; (2) parent depression affects family relationships and interactions and family disruptions, and these lead to child psychopathology; (3) par- ent depression affects marital satisfaction, leading to child psychopathology.
Pathways model
(1) change is possible at many points; and
(2) change is constrained or enabled by previous adaptations
Coherence
From a developmental perspective, reflects the logical and meaningful links between early developmental variables and later outcomes
consistency
Risk is
increased vulnerability to disorder.
Protective factors
are the individual, family, and social characteristics that are associated with this positive adaptation
non- specific risk,
which involves increased vulnerability to any, or many, kinds of disorders
specific risk,
which involves increased vulnerability to one particular disorder.
Individual risk factors are
child focused and include things like genetics and physiological processes, gender, and temperament and personality
Family risk factors are
those associated with the child’s immediate caretaking environment and include parent characteristics such as the presence of psychopathology or harsh, punitive styles of parenting, as well as family characteristics such as chronic conflict between parents, lack of supervision, or unusual discord among siblings
Social risk factors include
those associated with the child’s larger environment, including peers and schools, neighborhood and socioeconomic niche, and racial, ethnic, and cultural characteristics
Competence domains
School Age: achievement, behavioral competence, and social competence
Adolescent: Romantic competence and job competence
Child maltreatment
Not a diagnosis that is assigned to a child, but a broad category including physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect - Risk factor
Three types of resilient children
(1) children with many risk factors who have good outcomes;
(2) children who continue to display competence when they are experiencing stress; and
(3) children who display good recoveries following stress or trauma.
protective factors influence children’s outcomes by
(1) reducing the impact of risk,
(2) reducing the negative chain reactions that follow exposure to risk,
(3) serving to establish or maintain self-esteem and self-efficacy, and/or
(4) opening up opportunities for improvement or growth.
Cross-sectional research
involves the collection of data at a single point in time, with comparisons made among groups of participants.
Longitudinal research,
involves the ongoing collection of data from the same group of participants, for the study of individuals over time.
Developmental Cascades
assumes effects spread over time, may be positive or negative.
Gene-by-environment
processes and interactions specify the role of genetics in influencing children’s vulnerability to particular risk factors. These interactions are common in both typical and atypical development
Classification
is defined as a system for describing the important categories, groups, or dimensions of disorder.
diagnosis
is the method of assigning children to specific classification categories.
Categorical classification assumes that
there are groups of individuals with relatively similar patterns of disorder. With an ideal categorical scheme, each disorder would have its own specific etiology, course, and treatment.
Interrater reliability is noted when,
two or more clinical psychologists, gathering information about one child’s developmental history and current difficulties, come to the same deci- sion about the type of disorder.
Cross-time reliability is noted when
a child is similarly classified by the same clinician at two different points in time.
internal validity tells us
something important about the etiology of a disorder, or the core patterns of symptoms or difficulties experienced by children with a particular type or subtype of disorder
External validity tells us
something important about the implications of the disorder
dimensional classification
a bottom-up process involving (1) the collection of data from children with typical and atypical adjustments,
(2) attempts to group the many distresses and dysfunctions statistically into meaningful dimensions (or important characteristics) of disorder.
externalizing dimension,
with undercontrolled behaviors such as oppositional or aggressive behaviors that are often directed at others
internalizing dimension,
overcontrolled behaviors such as anxiety or social isolation that are often directed toward the self.
Assessment involves
the systematic collection of relevant information and is used to solve two kinds of practical problems
(1) differentiating everyday problems or transient difficulties from clinically significant psychopathology, and
(2) classifying and caring for those who have been identified as having disorders.
differential diagnoses:
decisions about mutually exclusive categories of disorder.
diagnostic efficiency,
the degree to which clinicians maximize diagnostic hits and minimize diagnostic misses.
interviews
allow parents and children to explain their concerns and, more broadly, to tell their stories.
standardized tests
are assessments in which the data from a particular child can be compared to data gathered from large samples of children, including typically developing children and children with a variety of diagnoses.
Projective measures
are based on the assumption that, given an ambiguous stimulus, individuals’ responses will reflect the projection of unconscious motivations, concerns, and conflicts.
observations
Clinicians usually observe children in clinical settings, such as offices, but also may observe children in everyday settings such as the home or school. Behavioral observations can provide specific sorts of contextual data, including analyses of what comes before, and what follows, a child’s dysfunctional behavior.
Outcome research
has to do with whether children and adolescents have improved at the end of treatment relative to their pretreatment status and compared to others who have not received treatment
Process research
deals with the specific mechanisms and common factors that account for therapeutic change.
Primary prevention
involves reducing or eliminating risks, as well as reducing the incidence of disorder in children
three types of preventive measures:
(1) universal preventive measures, which are provided for entire populations (e.g., mandatory immunizations for children);
(2) selective preventive measures, provided for groups at above-average risk (e.g., Head Start programs for preschoolers from disadvantaged backgrounds); and
(3) indicated preventive measures, provided for groups with specific risk factors that include more extensive interventions (e.g., packages of services for families with prematurely born infants).
Secondary prevention
has to do with interventions that are implemented following the early signs of distress and dysfunction, before the disorder is clearly established in the child
Three biobehavioral shifts that signal important intrapersonal and interpersonal changes
1) between 2 and 3 months of age, after infants and caregivers have negotiated the transition from intrauterine to extra- uterine experience via rhythmic routines of feeding, dressing, and comforting
2) between 7 and 9 months, another shift takes place. By this time, most babies communicate their feelings and intentions through gestures and vocalizations, play with toys, and have a number of daily and nightly schedules.
3) between 18 and 20 months. By then, toddlers are walking and talking and are increasingly independent explorers of their many environments.
Reactivity
involves the infant’s excitability and responsiveness
Regulation
involves what the infant does to control his or her reactivity.
two general categories for types of temperament
1) highly reactive and inhibited
2) less reactive and uninhibited
temperament traits include
surgency (i.e., sociability and positive emotionality),
negative affectivity (i.e., pre- dispositions to experience fear and frustration/anger),
effortful control (i.e., infant attempts to regulate stimulation and response)
goodness of fit
the interplay between infant temperament and parenting
