Developmental Psychopathology

Psychopathology

Intense, frequent, and/or persistent maladaptive patterns of emotion, cognition, and behavior

Developmental psychopathology

Maladaptive patters that occur in the context of normal development, and result in current and potential impairment of infants, children, and adolescents

Normative definition of psychopathology

Does the behavior violate the cultural norm, based on current social norms and culture

Dimensional or continuum definition of psychopathology

No clear or sharp boundaries between disorders or between any disorder and normality, more deviation means more abnormal

Developmental epidemiology

Causes/sources, studies frequencies and patterns of disorders

Prevalence

All current cases of a disorder or set of disorders in a time period

Incidence

New cases in a given time period

Ontogeny

The process of an organism going through all of the developmental stages over its lifetime

What is the major issue for infancy development?

Formation of an effective attachment, basic state and arousal regulation, reciprocity

What is the major issue for toddler development?

Guided self regulation, increased autonomy and awareness of self

What is the major issue for preschool development?

Self regulation, self reliance and management

What is the major issue for school years development?

Competence in school and with peers, personal efficacy

What is the major issue for adolescense development?

Individuation (independence), connectedness, coordinating all domains of life

What is the major issue for transition to adulthood development?

Emancipation (living and surviving on own), coordinating all domains of life

Universal intervention/prevention

Provide general support, help patients and families help themselves by providing resources/strategies, screen for indicators of high risk,

Targeted intervention/prevention

Acute distress or risk factors present (not actually diagnosed) monitor ongoing distress and refer if needed

Clinical/treatment prevention

For persistent distress or risk factors (most likely diagnosed), arrange psychosocial and mental health treatment (medicine, therapy, interventions, etc.)

Statistical deviance

The infrequency of certain emotions, cognitions, and/or behaviors; fall outside the bell-shaped curve

Sociocultural norms

The beliefs and expectations—in a given time or place or of a group of people—about what kinds of emotions, cognitions, and/or behaviors are problematic, undesirable, or unacceptable

Mental health definitions

Theoretical or clinically based notions of distress and dysfunction, unable to participate comfortably in academics and social tasks

Adequate adaptation

What is considered okay, acceptable, or good enough

Optimal adaptation

What is considered excellent, superior, or “best”

Poor adaptation

What is considered poor, bad, or “worst”

Dimensional models of psychopathology

The ways in which typical feelings, thoughts, and behaviors gradually become more serious problems, which then may intensify and become clinically diagnosable disorders. There are no sharp distinctions between adjustment and maladjustment. Referred to as continuous or quantitative.

Categorical models of psychopathology

Discrete and qualitative differences in individual patterns of emotion, cognition, and behavior. There are clear distinctions between what is normal and what is not. Referred to as discontinuous or qualitative.

Physiological models of psychopathology

There is a physiological —a genetic, structural, biological, and/or chemical—basis for all psychological processes and events.

Connectome

The system of neural pathways often represented as a map of the brain’s neural connections.

Microscopic connectivity

Connections between neurons

Macroscopic connectivity

Connections between brain regions

Sensitive (or critical) periods in brain development

Spans of time when environments have especially powerful and enduring impacts. Ex: nurturing or adverse caregiving environments leads to later differences in emotion regulation.

Neural plasticity

The ability of the brain to flexibly respond to physiological and environmental challenges and insults. Is limited by increased localization of function within the cerebral cortex as a result of both maturation and experience

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an individual

Phenotype

The observable characteristics of an individual

Behavior Genetics

The study of the joint effects of genes and the environment. Study the heritability of psychological
characteristics, gene-by-environment effects, and gene-by-environment interactions

Risk alleles

Genetic variants that impair general processes (e.g., cognitive or emotion functions) across many disorders.

Polygenic models

Emphasize that many genes have small effects that influence the development of both mild and severe forms of disorders

Diathesis stress model

Not one thing leads to a disorder, emphasizes the combination of underlying predispositions and additional factors that lead to the development of psychopathology

Differential susceptibility

Says that some individuals are, at a genetic and biological level, more susceptible than others to both negative (risk-promoting) and positive (development-enhancing) environmental conditions

Epigenetics

The study of how environmental factors influence gene expressivity

Psychodynamic models of psychopathology

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 of psychopathology

Individuals who failed to work through developmental issues become “stuck” in the past. Disorders themselves are rooted in traumas or conflicts experienced during early childhood.

Humanistic models of psychopathology (Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow)

Emphasizes personally meaningful experiences and an innate motivation for healthy growth, internal drive for self-actualization and approval from others which sometimes compete with each other

Positive psychology

Focusing on positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions that seeks to promote individual, family, social, and community well-being. Positive youth development and fostering healthy development

Behavioral models of psychopathology

Emphasize the individual’s observable behavior within a specific environment, all behavior (adaptive or maladaptive) is based on learning principles

Classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)

Certain stimuli become paired with other stimuli resulting in the reliable elicitation of a response

Operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner)

Form of learning in which consequences (negative or positive) lead to changes (decreases or increases) in behavior. Negative/positive reinforcement and punishment.

Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)

learn through observation, imitation or modeling

Cognitive models

Focuses on the components and processes of the mind and mental development, increasing intellectual and cognitive abilities and acquisition of schemata organize and propel development

Cognitive Development Theory (Piaget)

Maladaptation results when there is no balance, or equilibration, of assimilation and accommodation

Social Cognitive Theory/Social Information Processing (Albert Bandura)

Maladaptation results when information or attributions about social interactions are processed in a biased manner, leading to distorted
views and behavior

Schema

Organized patterns of knowledge

Assimilation

New information is incorporated into exisiting ideas

Accommodation

New information forces changes in schema

Psychoanalytic models of psychopathology (Sigmund Freud)

Emphasizes the role of unconscious mental processes in shaping human behavior and personality

Classical Psychoanalysis

Emphasizes the role of unconscious drives on behavior and developmen. Ex: Frued’s “the human psyche” containing id (instinctual drives), ego (the rational self), and superego (internalized moral standards).

Psychosexual Development Stages

• Oral (mouth) - infancy

• Anal (bowel and bladder) - toddlerhood

• Phallic (genital) - preschool

• Latency (social skills/friends/family) - school-age

• Genital (sexual maturity and intimate relationships) - adolescence

Ego Psychology

Emphasizes the role of ego’s functioning within psyche

Psychosocial Development Stages (Erik Erikson)

• Trust vs mistrust - infancy

• Autonomy vs shame and doubt - toddlerhood

• Initiative vs guilt - preschool

• Industry versus inferiority - school-age

• Identity vs role confusion - adolescence

Object Relations Theory

Emphasizes how early childhood relationships, particularly with caregivers, shape our understanding of ourselves and others, influencing our relationships and behavior throughout life

Family (family systemic) model of psychopathology

Emphasizes that the best way to understand the personality and psychopathology of a particular child is to understand the dynamics of a particular family

Parenting Styles (Baumrind)

• Authoritarian - low warmth, high structure

• Permissive - high warmth, low structure

• Authoritative - high warmth, high structure

• Neglectful - low warmth, low structure

Sociocultural models of psychopathology

Emphasizes the importance of the social
context, including gender, race, ethnicity,
and socioeconomic status. Sociocultural environment affects psychopathology - Broffenbrenner’s Theory of Ecological Development.

Psychological delay

Acquires learning, behavior, or social skills at a slower rate than developmentally expected

Psychological dynsfunction

Children behave in a way that results in their own or others’ distress or in a way that does not achieve a positive outcome

Adaptation

Engaging in behaviors that help individuals adjust to and manage challenges effectively, promoting well-being and resilience

Maladaptation

Engaging in behaviors that hinder adaptation and can lead to negative outcomes and interfere with daily life

Developmental pathways

Trajectories that reflect children’s adjustment, maladjustment, or both in the context of growth and change over a lifetime. Need to account for the ways in which adaptation (or maladaptation) at an earlier point in time connects to adaptation (or maladaptation) at a later point in time.

Equifinality

Developmental pathways in which differing beginnings and circumstances lead to similar outcomes.

Multifinality

Developmental pathways in which similar beginnings and circumstances lead to different outcomes.

Competence

Reflects effective functioning related to relevant age-related tasks and issues; evaluations of competence are embedded in the environment within which development occurs. Main competences of academic, behavior, and social

Risk

Increased vulnerability to a disorder

Risk factors

The individual, family, and social characteristics that are associated with this increased vulnerability. A risk factor for one disorder may be a protective factor for another.

Resilence

Adaptation (or competence) despite adversity. Is dynamic, changing over time as a result of multiple processes and development.

Protective factors

The individual, family, and social characteristics that are associated with this positive adaptation. Reduce the impact of risk, establish or maintain self-esteem and self-efficacy, and open up opportunities for improvement or growth.

Nonspecific risk

Risk that involves increased vulnerability to any, or many, kinds of disorders

Specific risk

Risk that involves increased vulnerability to one particular disorder

Individual risk factors

Risk factors that are child focused and include genetics and physiological processes, cognitive and behavioral predispositions, and temperament and personality

Family risk factors

Risk factors associated with the child’s immediate caretaking environment and include parent characteristics such as the presence of psychopathology or harsh, punitive styles of parenting; family characteristics such as neglect, lack of supervision, or chronic conflict between parents; and family events such as divorce or unemployment

Sociocultural risk factors

Risk factors associated with the child’s larger environment, including peers and schools, neighborhood and socioeconomic status (SES) background, and racial, ethnic, and cultural characteristics

Differential impact theory

The idea that changes to the environment cause individuals to change and that these changes depend on the quality of the psychological, sociocultural and economic resources provided by the environment, balanced by the quality and quantity of the individual’s exposure to risk.

Child maltreatment

Not a diagnosis that is assigned to a child, but a nonspecific risk factor category including physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect.

Promotive effects

The characteristics and experiences that support positive development and adaptation for children and adolescents regardless of risk level.

Protective effects

Effects that support positive development for children and adolescents in the presence of risk.

Adaptation- or strength-based approach

Proposes that children and adolescents who grow up in high-risk, adverse, or harsh and unpredictable environments are “stress-adapted” rather than vulnerable. This model emphasizes the child’s or adolescent’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills that are useful or enhanced in specific environments.

Cross-sectional research

Research that involves the collection of data at a single point in time, with comparisons made among groups of participants.

Longitudinal research

Research that involves the ongoing collection of data from the same group of participants, for the study of individuals over time.

Developmental cascades

The cumulative consequences of interactions and transactions that spread across domains and over time.

Translational research

Research that facilitates the application of basic research to clinical practice, and to inform research with findings and insights drawn from applied practice.

What are questions to use when testing for an evidence supported practice?

• Is it based on solid conceptual/theoretical framework?

• Can it be replicated? Are there practice manuals and protocols?

• How well is it supported by research

• Is there acceptable risk?

Classification

A system for describing the important categories, groups, or dimensions of disorder. Focuses on the many ways in which children with particular disorders are alike.

Diagnosis

The method of assigning children to specific classification categories.

Medical model of psychology

Believes that disorders are categorical, associated with “constitutional dysfunction” (i.e., the idea that the child somehow fails to display his, her, or their natural function), and are endogenous (i.e., a characteristic of the individual rather than the result of individual–environment interactions). What the DSM-5 is rooted in

Reliability

Whether different clinicians, using the same set of criteria, classify children into the same, clearly defined categories

Interrater reliability

When two or more psychologists, gathering information about one child’s developmental history and current difficulties, come to the same decision about the type of disorder

Crosstime reliability

When a child is similarly classified by psychologists at two different points in time.

Validity

Whether the classification gives us true-to-life, meaningful information

Internal validity

Reflects the degree to which children with the same diagnosis have similar developmental histories and current symptom pictures.

External validity

Reflects the degree to which a diagnosis provides useful information about the implications (i.e., likely outcomes, effective treatments) of a disorder.