Developmental psychopathology
Lecture 2 09/09/2024
Fundamental principles of developmental psychopathology
What is developmental psychopathology?
An intense, frequent and/or persistent maladaptive pattern of emotion, cognition,
behavior. It emphasizes that these maladaptive patterns occur in the context of typical
development and result in the current and potential impairment of infants, children, and
adolescents.
Psychopathology in the context of typical development:
1. Dynamic appreciation of children’s strengths and weaknesses as they
experience salient, age-related challenges.
2. Individual, familial, ethnic, cultural, societal beliefs about desirable vs
undesirable outcomes (= definitions of normality).
Defining typical/normal vs atypical/abnormal:
- Statistical deviance (how differently the person feels/thinks/acts compared to
others) → issues: where is the cutoff? Which side of the spectrum is concerning?
- Sociocultural norms (how the person is expected to think/feel/act) → issues:
group values are not universal truths.
- Mental health definitions (what experts consider as mental health/illness) →
issues: experts’ subjectivity and values steer the definition/absence of
psychopathology vs flourishing?
How does developmental psychopathology emerge?
1. Delay or dysfunction → delay means that a certain skill comes later, dysfunction
doesn’t necessarily mean delay, but it means that they have the skill, but they
simply don’t put it into use.
2. Typical vs atypical development as a process: adjustment and maladjustment
are points along a lifelong map.
Pathways:
1. Multifinality > the same underlining mechanism is leading to many different
outcomes, for example:
, 2. Equifinality > different starting points lead to similar outcomes, for example:
Continuity and stability:
Three profiles of development based on continuity and stability are;
Continuity and stability > overall levels and ranking do not
change
Discontinuity and stability > overall levels decrease
Discontinuity and instability > overall levels and ranking
change
,Types of continuity (that also underlie stability):
- Homotypic continuity = stable expression of symptoms
- Heterotypic continuity = symptom expression changes with development
- Cumulative continuity = environment that perpetuates maladaptive style
Important take-home messages:
➢ Change is possible at many points
➢ Change is constrained/enabled by previous adaptations
➢ Transitions & turning points shut down/create opportunities
➢ Developmental coherence
Risk & resilience factors:
What makes us more vulnerable is a risk factor and what makes us more protected
towards psychopathology is a resilience factor. These factors can be individual, family
and social characteristics. For example: genes, temperament, parenting, friends with
peers, support in the system or extreme poverty.
→ A risk factor for one disorder can be a protective factor for another, for example:
stress-proneness for anxiety vs conduct disorder.
→ Strength-based approach: kids in high-risk environments are stress-adapted.
Risk factors:
Nonspecific risk factors = they underlie a bunch of different pathologies like maternal
psychopathology or poverty
Specific risk factors = specific pathologies like disorted body image > body dysmorphic
disorder, anorexia nervosa)
They can have differential impact, depending on the severity of the risk factor → high
risk levels may override resilience factors. Timing of the risk may dampen/strengthen its
impact.
Resilience factors:
Promotive resilience factors > for positive youth development like high self-esteem
Protective resilience factors > from risk like social support
Patterns & pathways of protective factors:
1. Reducing impact of risk
2. Reducing the negative chain of reactions following risk
3. Establishing and maintaining self-esteem and self-efficacy
, 4. Opening up opportunities for growth
Final remark on resilience:
- Resilience is dynamic and extends beyond the child/family system level
How do we explain developmental psychopathology?
Theoretical models:
Why do we need theories? They organize clinical observations, research & treatment.
How to approach theories? They are diverse perspectives on complex realities;
- They often overlap.
- They are complementary but not mutually exclusive.
Which? Physiological, psychodynamic, cognitive & behavioral, humanistic, family
systems, sociocultural.
Physiological models (principles):
a physiological basis for all psychological processes
(brain – body – behavior processes)
The human brain develops over a very lengthy timeline.
- Collaboration between child and caregivers in co-construction of brain
- Adaptation of children embedded in specific environments
→ Sensitive (critical) periods have powerful and enduring impacts
- Neural plasticity (brain development, organization and reorganization) helps
overcome earlier adversity
→ differences between typically vs atypically developing kids, but also within groups of
typically developing kids
Genotype (genetic makeup) influences phenotype (observable characteristics) ->
Genes interact with environment over time ->
Environment influences gene expression & activation (experiences become biologically
embedded).
Basic tenet = a physiological basis for all psychological processes.
Treatment = focuses on physiological processes (like medication)
- A few disorders are innately related to damage or dysfunction (like intellectual
developmental disorder)
- Risk alleles: gene variations that are connected with psychopathology
- Polygenic models: interplay of multiple genes in disorders
Lecture 2 09/09/2024
Fundamental principles of developmental psychopathology
What is developmental psychopathology?
An intense, frequent and/or persistent maladaptive pattern of emotion, cognition,
behavior. It emphasizes that these maladaptive patterns occur in the context of typical
development and result in the current and potential impairment of infants, children, and
adolescents.
Psychopathology in the context of typical development:
1. Dynamic appreciation of children’s strengths and weaknesses as they
experience salient, age-related challenges.
2. Individual, familial, ethnic, cultural, societal beliefs about desirable vs
undesirable outcomes (= definitions of normality).
Defining typical/normal vs atypical/abnormal:
- Statistical deviance (how differently the person feels/thinks/acts compared to
others) → issues: where is the cutoff? Which side of the spectrum is concerning?
- Sociocultural norms (how the person is expected to think/feel/act) → issues:
group values are not universal truths.
- Mental health definitions (what experts consider as mental health/illness) →
issues: experts’ subjectivity and values steer the definition/absence of
psychopathology vs flourishing?
How does developmental psychopathology emerge?
1. Delay or dysfunction → delay means that a certain skill comes later, dysfunction
doesn’t necessarily mean delay, but it means that they have the skill, but they
simply don’t put it into use.
2. Typical vs atypical development as a process: adjustment and maladjustment
are points along a lifelong map.
Pathways:
1. Multifinality > the same underlining mechanism is leading to many different
outcomes, for example:
, 2. Equifinality > different starting points lead to similar outcomes, for example:
Continuity and stability:
Three profiles of development based on continuity and stability are;
Continuity and stability > overall levels and ranking do not
change
Discontinuity and stability > overall levels decrease
Discontinuity and instability > overall levels and ranking
change
,Types of continuity (that also underlie stability):
- Homotypic continuity = stable expression of symptoms
- Heterotypic continuity = symptom expression changes with development
- Cumulative continuity = environment that perpetuates maladaptive style
Important take-home messages:
➢ Change is possible at many points
➢ Change is constrained/enabled by previous adaptations
➢ Transitions & turning points shut down/create opportunities
➢ Developmental coherence
Risk & resilience factors:
What makes us more vulnerable is a risk factor and what makes us more protected
towards psychopathology is a resilience factor. These factors can be individual, family
and social characteristics. For example: genes, temperament, parenting, friends with
peers, support in the system or extreme poverty.
→ A risk factor for one disorder can be a protective factor for another, for example:
stress-proneness for anxiety vs conduct disorder.
→ Strength-based approach: kids in high-risk environments are stress-adapted.
Risk factors:
Nonspecific risk factors = they underlie a bunch of different pathologies like maternal
psychopathology or poverty
Specific risk factors = specific pathologies like disorted body image > body dysmorphic
disorder, anorexia nervosa)
They can have differential impact, depending on the severity of the risk factor → high
risk levels may override resilience factors. Timing of the risk may dampen/strengthen its
impact.
Resilience factors:
Promotive resilience factors > for positive youth development like high self-esteem
Protective resilience factors > from risk like social support
Patterns & pathways of protective factors:
1. Reducing impact of risk
2. Reducing the negative chain of reactions following risk
3. Establishing and maintaining self-esteem and self-efficacy
, 4. Opening up opportunities for growth
Final remark on resilience:
- Resilience is dynamic and extends beyond the child/family system level
How do we explain developmental psychopathology?
Theoretical models:
Why do we need theories? They organize clinical observations, research & treatment.
How to approach theories? They are diverse perspectives on complex realities;
- They often overlap.
- They are complementary but not mutually exclusive.
Which? Physiological, psychodynamic, cognitive & behavioral, humanistic, family
systems, sociocultural.
Physiological models (principles):
a physiological basis for all psychological processes
(brain – body – behavior processes)
The human brain develops over a very lengthy timeline.
- Collaboration between child and caregivers in co-construction of brain
- Adaptation of children embedded in specific environments
→ Sensitive (critical) periods have powerful and enduring impacts
- Neural plasticity (brain development, organization and reorganization) helps
overcome earlier adversity
→ differences between typically vs atypically developing kids, but also within groups of
typically developing kids
Genotype (genetic makeup) influences phenotype (observable characteristics) ->
Genes interact with environment over time ->
Environment influences gene expression & activation (experiences become biologically
embedded).
Basic tenet = a physiological basis for all psychological processes.
Treatment = focuses on physiological processes (like medication)
- A few disorders are innately related to damage or dysfunction (like intellectual
developmental disorder)
- Risk alleles: gene variations that are connected with psychopathology
- Polygenic models: interplay of multiple genes in disorders
