Lecture 1 & 2 Flashcards
What is epidemiology?
study of the prevalence of disorders in the population
What is prevalence?
% (proportion) of individuals in the population with an existing condition. All current cases.
What are the two common ways to measure prevalence?
point prevalence and lifetime prevalence.
What is point prevalence?
% of youth with disorder X at a given point in time
e.g., The % of depressed individuals in the U.S. population on August 28, 2021
What is lifetime prevalence?
% with disorder X at any point in their lifetime.
e.g., % of U.S. citizens who ever experience major depression
What is incidence?
Number of NEW cases in a given time period. (usually much lower than prevalence.
Why is it hard to determine the prevalence of a disorder?
You need; large representative samples (requires time and money), Accurate data (may be reduced due to participant confusion and or discomfort), reliable informant (discrepancies between child, parent, teacher info common).
How are the issues in determining the prevalence of a disorder addressed?
Prevalence is often estimated by comparing findings across several independent studies.
What are prevalence findings for children in the US?
13-15% of youth have a diagnosable mental disorder in any year
Over 11 million children in the U.S.
> 20% experience a disorder before adulthood
What is co-morbidity?
Mental disorders often co-occur.
What are the statistics on co-morbidity?
about 40% of teens with one disorder have a second disorder.
What is the current trend of childhood psychological disorders?
Disorder rates are on the rise in youth, there is an increase in overall prevalence, hospitalizations, and med prescriptions.
What factors influence the prevalence of childhood disorders?
Age, race, and gender (boys experience higher rates of autism, ADHD, disruptive behavior, substance use, while girls tend to experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders).
What is SES?
Socioeconomic status. Parents’ levels of education,
parents’ employment, & family income.
How does SES affect childhood psychology demographics?
There is a higher prevalence of disorders in children from; low-income families, parents of low educational attainment, single-parent families, high crime neighborhoods.
How does race/ethnicity impact diagnosis?
Certain disorders are more commonly diagnosed in certain ethnic groups. For example, non-Latino white youth are more commonly diagnosed with ADHD and conduct problems in African American youth.
What does treatment look like in youth?
Despite rates, only about half of children with mental health problems have, or will receive mental health treatment. This access is distributed unequally between SES, with higher SES children receiving higher quality, specialty treatment while lower SES children tend to receive treatment from public schools, human-service agencies, and the juvenile justice system.
Where does treatment for youth with mental health issues most often come from?
School, followed by clinics, medical facilities, and then other agencies.
How common is medication in youth with mental health issues?
About 7.5% of children and adolescents will take medication at some point, this figure has more than doubled in the past 20 years.
What are some of the common barriers to treatment?
economic: financial hardships and affordability
Socio-cultural: Some ethnic minority families see MH treatment as ineffective, irrelevant, may seek help elsewhere, like church.
Access: To programs and trained providers
Stigma: negative beliefs about those with MH disorders
What are a few approaches to defining what is “abnormal” in child psychology?
statistical deviancy, disability/degree of impairment, psychological distress, cultural deviancy, behavioral rigidity.
How can statistical deviancy be used to define what is abnormal in child psychology?
An infrequency of certain emotions, cognitions, or behaviors. Diagnosis hen child is 2 SD above or below average children. problematic as it does not consider context, i.e., depression v. normal grief to an event, additionally disconformity is not always bad, and conformity is not always good.
How can disability/ degree of impairment be used to define what is abnormal in psychology?
“Abnormality” = thoughts, feelings, or actions that interfere with social, academic, or occupational functioning, e.g. sadness at event is not depression until academic, social, or other performance cannot be maintained. problematic because MH problems don’t always manifest as overt impairment.
