Lecture 1: Development and Psychopathology
Learning objective:
- You can explain how psychopathology fits in the context of (typical) development and what
role risk and protective factors play in this.
- What is the etiology (cause), in terms of either biological, psychological and contextual
processes?
- Which multi-dimensional models are required to explain the causes and consequences of
behavior?
(1) From Normal to Abnormal
4 definitions of normal (typical) vs abnormal (atypical)
1. Normal as absence of disorders (mental health perspective)
○ Normal: positive quality of life; function well in different contexts; free of disabling
symptoms of psychopathology
○ Abnormal: negative quality of life; function poorly; symptoms that form a
recognisable pattern (syndrome) of psychopathology, fitting a clinical classification
○ Advantage: it is possible to identify certain disorders based on a list of characteristic
symptoms that have been agreed upon amongst scientists and professionals. The
categorization of these disorders is based on consensus, the clinical pictures are useful
and recognizable in clinical practice
2. Normal as statistical average (statistical deviance)
○ Normal: behaviour that occurs in the majority of the population
○ Abnormal: behaviour that occurs in a minority of the population
○ Disadvantage: when large groups of children experience severe stress due to the
demands of an inadequate school system and as a response behave busy, a certain
amount of busy behavior automatically becomes "normal" in a statistical sense.
However, this does not mean that we should consider this behavior ‘normal’.
○ Disadvantage: According to statistical norms, high giftedness or creativity is deviant
from average, but it is not obvious to name this behavior ‘deviant’ or ‘abnormal’
3. Normal as an ideal or desired state (sociocultural norms)
○ Normal: meeting social-cultural standards of healthy psychological development
○ Abnormal: not meeting those standards
○ Disadvantage: However, when these norms are made absolute, they contribute little to
distinctions in practice. After all, no one achieves the ideal or optimal level of self
○ Disadvantage: norms of this kind are related to the environment in which people live,
and that it often makes little sense to judge people according to norms that are not
related to their own (sub)culture
4. Normal as successful ‘adaptation’
○ Normal: successful adaptation (i.e. adequate/optimal); one can deal effectively and
flexibly with various possibilities and difficulties that arise in everyday life
○ Abnormal: poor adaptation
○ Advantage: indicates the situational and relative character of the term ‘normality’
,Psychopathology: refers to intense, frequent, and/or persistent maladaptive patterns of emotion,
cognition, and behaviour
Developmental psychopathology: These maladaptive patterns occur in the context of typical
development and result in the current and potential impairment of infants, children and adolescents
Prevalence: proportion of a population with a disorder (i.e. number of current cases)
Incidence: the rate at which new cases arise (i.e. all new cases in a given period)
Kessler et al (2005) study
Median age of onset is much earlier for anxiety (11 y/o) and
impulse control (11 y/o) disorders than for substance use (20 y/o)
and mood (30 y/o) disorders
● ½ of all lifetime cases start by age 14 and ¾ by age 24
1.1 Stigma
Composed of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination
● Multiple levels: public, personal and self-stigma (i.e.
internalised stigma)
● Can be harmful; may prevent seeking help
● Can be fueled by reification (i.e. the act of treating something abstract as if it were a concrete
object)
1.2 Barriers and Stigma
Of children with problems, only 20% receive formal guidance and 35% support through informal
services (e.g. teachers)
● Perceptions of mental health and child welfare (e.g. lack of confidence in the system, previous
negative experiences)
● Perceptions of psychological problems (e.g. denial, beliefs that difficulties resolve over time)
● Structural (e.g. long waiting lists, high cost)
1.3 Implications
Approximately 20% of children with severe/chronic disorders…
● Will experience lifelong difficulties
● Are less likely to finish school
● Have more social problems and psychiatric disorders
Even though 80% of children with issues are treatable
,(2) Theoretical Models
Two types of explanatory models
- Continuous models (dimensional): gradual scale from normal to abnormal
- Discontinuous models (categorical): bounded and qualitative differences between normal and
abnormal development
2.1 Physiological models
● Physiological (i.e. genetic, structural, biological, or chemical) basis for psychological
processes
● Brain development
○ Pruning: competitive loss of synapses (i.e. use it or lose it; fewer but stronger and
faster pathways)
○ Experience-dependent plasticity: represents the study of how the environment
impacts the biological organisation of the brain
● Interactions with environment (which might lead to the development of a disorder)
○ Diathesis (predisposition): physiological vulnerabilities (e.g. genetic)
○ Stress: physiological or environmental
○ Gene-by-Environment (G*E) Effects
and Interactions
, 2.2 Psychodynamic models
○ Contemporary psychodynamic models focus on
i. Unconscious processes
ii. Mental representations of self, other and relationships
iii. Subjective experiences
iv. Origins of (a)typical personality in early childhood (developmental
challenges)
2.3 Behavioral and cognitive models
● Behavioural models: environment has powerful effects on development of personality and
psychopathology; (a)typical behaviours are acquired via learning processes (e.g.
reinforcement)
● Cognitive models: focus on processes of the mind and cognitive development (e.g. Piaget
stages)
Stage Age What happens?
range
Sensorimotor 0-2 Coordination of senses with motor responses, sensory curiosity
about the world. Language used for demands and cataloguing.
Object permanence developed.
Preoperational 2-7 Symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax and grammar to express
concepts. Imagination and Intuition are strong, but complex,
abstract thoughts are still difficult. Conservation is developed.
Concrete operational 7 - 11 Concepts attached to concrete situations. Time, space, and
quantity are understood and can be applied, but not as
independent concepts.
Formal operational 11 < Theoretical, hypothetical, and counterfactual thinking. Abstract
logic and reasoning. Strategy and planning become possible.
Concepts learned in one context can be applied to another.
● Cognitive behavioural therapy: manage problems by changing the way someone thinks and
behaves
Learning objective:
- You can explain how psychopathology fits in the context of (typical) development and what
role risk and protective factors play in this.
- What is the etiology (cause), in terms of either biological, psychological and contextual
processes?
- Which multi-dimensional models are required to explain the causes and consequences of
behavior?
(1) From Normal to Abnormal
4 definitions of normal (typical) vs abnormal (atypical)
1. Normal as absence of disorders (mental health perspective)
○ Normal: positive quality of life; function well in different contexts; free of disabling
symptoms of psychopathology
○ Abnormal: negative quality of life; function poorly; symptoms that form a
recognisable pattern (syndrome) of psychopathology, fitting a clinical classification
○ Advantage: it is possible to identify certain disorders based on a list of characteristic
symptoms that have been agreed upon amongst scientists and professionals. The
categorization of these disorders is based on consensus, the clinical pictures are useful
and recognizable in clinical practice
2. Normal as statistical average (statistical deviance)
○ Normal: behaviour that occurs in the majority of the population
○ Abnormal: behaviour that occurs in a minority of the population
○ Disadvantage: when large groups of children experience severe stress due to the
demands of an inadequate school system and as a response behave busy, a certain
amount of busy behavior automatically becomes "normal" in a statistical sense.
However, this does not mean that we should consider this behavior ‘normal’.
○ Disadvantage: According to statistical norms, high giftedness or creativity is deviant
from average, but it is not obvious to name this behavior ‘deviant’ or ‘abnormal’
3. Normal as an ideal or desired state (sociocultural norms)
○ Normal: meeting social-cultural standards of healthy psychological development
○ Abnormal: not meeting those standards
○ Disadvantage: However, when these norms are made absolute, they contribute little to
distinctions in practice. After all, no one achieves the ideal or optimal level of self
○ Disadvantage: norms of this kind are related to the environment in which people live,
and that it often makes little sense to judge people according to norms that are not
related to their own (sub)culture
4. Normal as successful ‘adaptation’
○ Normal: successful adaptation (i.e. adequate/optimal); one can deal effectively and
flexibly with various possibilities and difficulties that arise in everyday life
○ Abnormal: poor adaptation
○ Advantage: indicates the situational and relative character of the term ‘normality’
,Psychopathology: refers to intense, frequent, and/or persistent maladaptive patterns of emotion,
cognition, and behaviour
Developmental psychopathology: These maladaptive patterns occur in the context of typical
development and result in the current and potential impairment of infants, children and adolescents
Prevalence: proportion of a population with a disorder (i.e. number of current cases)
Incidence: the rate at which new cases arise (i.e. all new cases in a given period)
Kessler et al (2005) study
Median age of onset is much earlier for anxiety (11 y/o) and
impulse control (11 y/o) disorders than for substance use (20 y/o)
and mood (30 y/o) disorders
● ½ of all lifetime cases start by age 14 and ¾ by age 24
1.1 Stigma
Composed of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination
● Multiple levels: public, personal and self-stigma (i.e.
internalised stigma)
● Can be harmful; may prevent seeking help
● Can be fueled by reification (i.e. the act of treating something abstract as if it were a concrete
object)
1.2 Barriers and Stigma
Of children with problems, only 20% receive formal guidance and 35% support through informal
services (e.g. teachers)
● Perceptions of mental health and child welfare (e.g. lack of confidence in the system, previous
negative experiences)
● Perceptions of psychological problems (e.g. denial, beliefs that difficulties resolve over time)
● Structural (e.g. long waiting lists, high cost)
1.3 Implications
Approximately 20% of children with severe/chronic disorders…
● Will experience lifelong difficulties
● Are less likely to finish school
● Have more social problems and psychiatric disorders
Even though 80% of children with issues are treatable
,(2) Theoretical Models
Two types of explanatory models
- Continuous models (dimensional): gradual scale from normal to abnormal
- Discontinuous models (categorical): bounded and qualitative differences between normal and
abnormal development
2.1 Physiological models
● Physiological (i.e. genetic, structural, biological, or chemical) basis for psychological
processes
● Brain development
○ Pruning: competitive loss of synapses (i.e. use it or lose it; fewer but stronger and
faster pathways)
○ Experience-dependent plasticity: represents the study of how the environment
impacts the biological organisation of the brain
● Interactions with environment (which might lead to the development of a disorder)
○ Diathesis (predisposition): physiological vulnerabilities (e.g. genetic)
○ Stress: physiological or environmental
○ Gene-by-Environment (G*E) Effects
and Interactions
, 2.2 Psychodynamic models
○ Contemporary psychodynamic models focus on
i. Unconscious processes
ii. Mental representations of self, other and relationships
iii. Subjective experiences
iv. Origins of (a)typical personality in early childhood (developmental
challenges)
2.3 Behavioral and cognitive models
● Behavioural models: environment has powerful effects on development of personality and
psychopathology; (a)typical behaviours are acquired via learning processes (e.g.
reinforcement)
● Cognitive models: focus on processes of the mind and cognitive development (e.g. Piaget
stages)
Stage Age What happens?
range
Sensorimotor 0-2 Coordination of senses with motor responses, sensory curiosity
about the world. Language used for demands and cataloguing.
Object permanence developed.
Preoperational 2-7 Symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax and grammar to express
concepts. Imagination and Intuition are strong, but complex,
abstract thoughts are still difficult. Conservation is developed.
Concrete operational 7 - 11 Concepts attached to concrete situations. Time, space, and
quantity are understood and can be applied, but not as
independent concepts.
Formal operational 11 < Theoretical, hypothetical, and counterfactual thinking. Abstract
logic and reasoning. Strategy and planning become possible.
Concepts learned in one context can be applied to another.
● Cognitive behavioural therapy: manage problems by changing the way someone thinks and
behaves
