Introduction to Abnormal Psychology of Childhood

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Chapter 1

• Introduction to Abnormal Psychology of Childhood

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Themes of Your Textbook

• 1. Research Protects Children
• Sound research allows us to base treatment on
  objective, controlled studies
• Research on psychopathology helps children by
  revealing sources of their illnesses and
  separates effective interventions from fads or
  ill-founded beliefs.

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• 2. Children develop in contexts, including
  family, neighborhood, and cultural settings
• Developmental psychopathology stresses that maybe
  multiple causes of a particular psychological
  problem
• Few adjustment problems arise from the child in
  isolation, but rather result from external
  influences

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• 3. Behavior has biological and genetic roots
• Advances in neuroscience are rapidly changing
  child psychopathology field, expanding
  brain-behavior links

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• 4. Development is fundamental
• Children not mini-adults
• Childrens memories of events are quite
  unreliable at earlier than 2-3 years and improve
  thereafter
• Developmental differences must be considered in
  psychopharmacological treatment of children

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What is Child Psychopathology?

• No universally accepted clear distinction
  between normal and abnormal behavior

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Three major criteria

• In order to be diagnosable, childs actions or
  emotions must be painful or objectionable to
  himself or others. The behavior causes distress
  to child or others
• Behavior interferes with childs everyday
  functioning
• Behavior is highly inappropriate culturally or
  socially

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• Normal Behavior Is Age-Appropriate
• Sex Differences in Problem Behavior Boys Will Be
  Boys
• Boys More likely to taunt, hit, bully others,
  throw things, destroy property, use a weapon.
  Show more attention problems and hyperactive
  behavior

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• GirlsWhile younger boys and girls are equally
  likely to be diagnosed with depression, in
  mid-teens girls depression rates increase
  greatly. In adolescence girls develop eating
  disorders

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• Role of Adults Expectations and Experience
  Babies Shouldnt Cry
• Some adults fail to understand why babies cry,
  misinterpret crying as sign of malice or
  disobedience
• Adults familiar with a particular child and able
  to observer child closely for long period more
  likely to classify childs behavior as normal or
  deviant

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Which Problems Are More Persistent?

• Factors related to continuity or discontinuity of
  disordered behavior
• severity of problem
• whether problem occurs in multiple settings can
  indicate general orientation or set of attitudes

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• childrens personal strengths and characteristics
• close confiding relationship with at least one
  parent and a secure attachment to a parent
• a caring adult

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Resources for Parents and Teachers

• Self-Help books
• Websites
• Child and Family Webguide (http//www.cfw.tufts.ed
  u)
• APAs Committee on Children, Youth and Families
  (http//www.apa.org/pi/cyf)