Developmental psychopathology:
Lecture 1: Introduction to Developmental Psychopathology
Ch 1, 2, 3 & 5
Defining disordered behavior:
• Criteria for abnormality mainly based on how someone is acting and saying
• Can sometimes benefit people- not always bad
• Nothing is intrinsically normal or abnormal- always need context
- Everything is in relation to the social environment
• Differentiating between normal and abnormal behavior is the first thing you do to defining
psychopathology in a child
• Symptoms→ Look at:
- Emergence (when)- delay, regression,
- Occurrence (how much)- frequency, intensity, persistence, inappropriate,
- Form (what)- changes, several, different
• Abnormality can be age dependent, cultural dependent, gender dependent, situational
dependent, role of adults (expectations)
- Harm or interference to daily life
Classification of abnormal behavior:
• When deciding whether behavior is normal or abnormal, it is important to look at:
- Developmental norms, Gender Norms, Role of Adults, Situational Norms, Cultural Norms,
Changing views of Abnormality and Harm and Interferance
• Clinical Approach→ DSM-5 by the APA, ICD used in UK
- Problematic behavior occurs with: clusters of symptoms, symptoms are persistent, problems
in life
- Clinician derived, categorical, commonly used, changing conceptualization of disorders in
young people
- Criticisms→ over diagnosing behavior, lack of clear validity, lack of clear rules, reifying
disorder, de-emphasizing context, de-emphasizing developmental differences
• Empirical approach → research derived/statistics, Syndromes (broadband and narrowband),
dimensional (quantitative differences, uses data from normative samples
Investigating causation:
• Developmental Psychopathology perspective→ a framework for understanding disordered
behavior in relation to normal development
• System framework
• Risk factors and Protective factors
• Direct and indirect influences
• Moderation and mediation:
, • Biological→ genetic processes, pre/peri/post natal CNS
damage, Temperament
• Psychological→ learning experiences, cognitive
processes, emotion regulation, executive functioning
• Socio-cultural→ family context, peer context,
community and societal contexts
• Direct/ indirect influence→ whether it is a direct
influence on the outcome of the model
• Distal/proximal→ conceptualized in relation to how
close it is to the person’s experience
Exploring developmental pathways:
• Developmental pathways are probabilistic rather than deterministic→ risks don’t always cause
psychopathology
- Equifinality→ multiple risk facts can lead to one disorder
- Multifinality→ one risk factor can lead to many different psychopathologies
• Continuity and change→ can be with the disease or with the symptoms
- Homotypic continuity→ a certain disorder remains the same over time, symptoms can also
remain the same
- Heterotypic continuity→ when you switch between disorders over time, symptoms can also
change
Key words:
• Cognitive behavioral perspective→An approach to treatment that is based on a theoretical
perspective that considers behavioral events, cognitive processes, and their interactions
• Mental hygiene and child guidance movements→An effort organized in the United States early
in the 20th century to bring effective, humane treatment to the mentally ill and to prevent
mental disorders. The mental hygiene movement was closely associated with the child guidance
movement
, • Informed consent→In research or treatment, the ethical and legal guideline that potential
participants be reasonably informed about the research or treatment as a basis for their consent
or willingness to participate.
• Paradigm→A shared perspective or framework consisting of a set of assumptions and
conceptions that guide the work of a group of scientists.
• Theory→An integrated set of propositions that explains phenomena and guides research
• Interactional models→). Interactional model of development The view that development is the
result of the interplay of organismic and environmental variables
• Transactional models→The view that development is the result of the continuous interplay of
organismic and environmental variables. The transactional model of development is
conceptually similar to the interactional model of development, but emphasizes the ongoing,
mutual influences of factors.
• Developmental psychopathology perspective→
• Medical model→
• Necessary, sufficient, contributing causes→
• Attachment→A strong socioemotional bond between individuals. Usually discussed in terms of
the child–parent or child–caretaker relationship, attachment is generally viewed as having a
strong influence on a child’s development.
• goodness-of-fit →Degree to which an individual’s attributes or behaviors match or fit the
attributes or demands of the individual’s environment
• social cognitive processing →
• pruning → unneeded cells and connections are eliminated
• hindbrain→ includes the pons, medulla, and cerebellum. Among other functions, the pons
relays information and the medulla helps regulate heart function and breathing. The cerebellum
is involved in movement and cognitive processing.
• Midbrain→contains fibers that connect the hindbrain and upper brain regions. It also shares
with the hindbrain netlike connections, the reticular activating system, which influences arousal
states such as waking and sleeping
• forebrain → two cerebral hemispheres, the outer surface of which is referred to as the cortex.
The hemispheres are connected to each other by the corpus callosum, and each hemisphere has
four lobes
• teratogens→s Conditions or agents that are potentially harmful to the prenatal organism.
• Transcription→ synthesis of mRNA
• Plasticity→ the brains flexibility to recover
• Translation→ of code to manufacture proteins
• index case, proband ➔The designated individual whose relatives are assessed to determine
whether an attribute occurs in other members of the individual’s family. Also called an index
case.
• quantitative trait loci (QTL) → genes that are inherited in unusual patterns- together they firm
important characteristics
• quantitative genetic methods → such as family or twin studies
• nonshared environmental influences →Environmental influences on an attribute that are
experienced by one family member, but not other members
Lecture 1: Introduction to Developmental Psychopathology
Ch 1, 2, 3 & 5
Defining disordered behavior:
• Criteria for abnormality mainly based on how someone is acting and saying
• Can sometimes benefit people- not always bad
• Nothing is intrinsically normal or abnormal- always need context
- Everything is in relation to the social environment
• Differentiating between normal and abnormal behavior is the first thing you do to defining
psychopathology in a child
• Symptoms→ Look at:
- Emergence (when)- delay, regression,
- Occurrence (how much)- frequency, intensity, persistence, inappropriate,
- Form (what)- changes, several, different
• Abnormality can be age dependent, cultural dependent, gender dependent, situational
dependent, role of adults (expectations)
- Harm or interference to daily life
Classification of abnormal behavior:
• When deciding whether behavior is normal or abnormal, it is important to look at:
- Developmental norms, Gender Norms, Role of Adults, Situational Norms, Cultural Norms,
Changing views of Abnormality and Harm and Interferance
• Clinical Approach→ DSM-5 by the APA, ICD used in UK
- Problematic behavior occurs with: clusters of symptoms, symptoms are persistent, problems
in life
- Clinician derived, categorical, commonly used, changing conceptualization of disorders in
young people
- Criticisms→ over diagnosing behavior, lack of clear validity, lack of clear rules, reifying
disorder, de-emphasizing context, de-emphasizing developmental differences
• Empirical approach → research derived/statistics, Syndromes (broadband and narrowband),
dimensional (quantitative differences, uses data from normative samples
Investigating causation:
• Developmental Psychopathology perspective→ a framework for understanding disordered
behavior in relation to normal development
• System framework
• Risk factors and Protective factors
• Direct and indirect influences
• Moderation and mediation:
, • Biological→ genetic processes, pre/peri/post natal CNS
damage, Temperament
• Psychological→ learning experiences, cognitive
processes, emotion regulation, executive functioning
• Socio-cultural→ family context, peer context,
community and societal contexts
• Direct/ indirect influence→ whether it is a direct
influence on the outcome of the model
• Distal/proximal→ conceptualized in relation to how
close it is to the person’s experience
Exploring developmental pathways:
• Developmental pathways are probabilistic rather than deterministic→ risks don’t always cause
psychopathology
- Equifinality→ multiple risk facts can lead to one disorder
- Multifinality→ one risk factor can lead to many different psychopathologies
• Continuity and change→ can be with the disease or with the symptoms
- Homotypic continuity→ a certain disorder remains the same over time, symptoms can also
remain the same
- Heterotypic continuity→ when you switch between disorders over time, symptoms can also
change
Key words:
• Cognitive behavioral perspective→An approach to treatment that is based on a theoretical
perspective that considers behavioral events, cognitive processes, and their interactions
• Mental hygiene and child guidance movements→An effort organized in the United States early
in the 20th century to bring effective, humane treatment to the mentally ill and to prevent
mental disorders. The mental hygiene movement was closely associated with the child guidance
movement
, • Informed consent→In research or treatment, the ethical and legal guideline that potential
participants be reasonably informed about the research or treatment as a basis for their consent
or willingness to participate.
• Paradigm→A shared perspective or framework consisting of a set of assumptions and
conceptions that guide the work of a group of scientists.
• Theory→An integrated set of propositions that explains phenomena and guides research
• Interactional models→). Interactional model of development The view that development is the
result of the interplay of organismic and environmental variables
• Transactional models→The view that development is the result of the continuous interplay of
organismic and environmental variables. The transactional model of development is
conceptually similar to the interactional model of development, but emphasizes the ongoing,
mutual influences of factors.
• Developmental psychopathology perspective→
• Medical model→
• Necessary, sufficient, contributing causes→
• Attachment→A strong socioemotional bond between individuals. Usually discussed in terms of
the child–parent or child–caretaker relationship, attachment is generally viewed as having a
strong influence on a child’s development.
• goodness-of-fit →Degree to which an individual’s attributes or behaviors match or fit the
attributes or demands of the individual’s environment
• social cognitive processing →
• pruning → unneeded cells and connections are eliminated
• hindbrain→ includes the pons, medulla, and cerebellum. Among other functions, the pons
relays information and the medulla helps regulate heart function and breathing. The cerebellum
is involved in movement and cognitive processing.
• Midbrain→contains fibers that connect the hindbrain and upper brain regions. It also shares
with the hindbrain netlike connections, the reticular activating system, which influences arousal
states such as waking and sleeping
• forebrain → two cerebral hemispheres, the outer surface of which is referred to as the cortex.
The hemispheres are connected to each other by the corpus callosum, and each hemisphere has
four lobes
• teratogens→s Conditions or agents that are potentially harmful to the prenatal organism.
• Transcription→ synthesis of mRNA
• Plasticity→ the brains flexibility to recover
• Translation→ of code to manufacture proteins
• index case, proband ➔The designated individual whose relatives are assessed to determine
whether an attribute occurs in other members of the individual’s family. Also called an index
case.
• quantitative trait loci (QTL) → genes that are inherited in unusual patterns- together they firm
important characteristics
• quantitative genetic methods → such as family or twin studies
• nonshared environmental influences →Environmental influences on an attribute that are
experienced by one family member, but not other members
