Child Psychopathology Concepts Quiz

Atypical Development in Children and Adolescents

• Atypical behavior deviates significantly from typical behavior in children and adolescents. Behaviors can be inappropriate for the child's developmental stage.
• Parents often question if behaviors are typical, or indicative of a disorder, particularly when children exhibit social difficulties. Concerns often arise during transitional periods like starting school or adolescence.
• Atypical behaviors are those that do not fit the typical developmental stage, or significantly interfere with daily functioning.
• Persistent, severe, and behaviors that interfere with daily life warrant concern.
• Continuous development means gradual changes, while discontinuous development involves distinct stages of change. Recognizing these patterns can aid understanding of atypical development.

Concrete Risk Factors

• Poverty, drug exposure, and gun violence can exacerbate, or contribute to the development of atypical behaviors. These environmental stressors impact mental health and development.
• Risk factors need to be assessed when considering atypical development
• Addressing these factors is essential for ensuring developmental wellbeing in children.

Child Psychopathology

• Child psychopathology is multi-layered and not straightforward. Understanding various factors, including visible issues, subtle factors, and hidden patterns affecting a child's life, is crucial when assessing psychopathology.
• Identifying and distinguishing issues across contexts
• Understanding children's differences and needs rather than categorizing as 'mini-adults' is essential when treating and assessing them.

Developmental Pathways

• Developmental pathways show that similar initial experiences do not always lead to similar later problems. Likewise, similar disorders may show different early experiences in individuals.
• The timing of events (behaviors, life events) and the interaction over time are crucial elements in understanding developmental pathways.
• These factors give us insight into why some children display developmental issues and where issues can be addressed.

Child Developmental Tasks

• Competencies are defined developmentally. Competence requires comparing a child's development to peers of the same age, and understanding typical development.
• Early development encompasses attachments, language skills, motor skills, self-regulation, and behaviors that comply with parental guidance.
• Middle childhood development includes peer relations, academics, and social competence.
• Adolescent development encompasses transitions to secondary school, academics, social activities, forming relationships and developing independence.

Diagnosis

• Diagnosis is based on what is considered normal/typical development. Recognizing deviations can help identify disorders.
• Children's mental health differs from adults, emphasizing the importance of understanding typical development.
• Considering individual differences and developmental context is crucial when diagnosing disorders.

Diagnosis of Atypical Development

• Typical but undesirable behaviors vary based on the child's age. Patterns of these behaviors, intensities, frequencies and context should be taken into account. Examples include tantrums, anxieties, sleep problems.
• Accurate assessment of behaviors, considering the child's context is crucial for treatment.

Is the Behavior "Normal"?

• This refers to if the behavior itself is within the realm of typical development, considering the context of the child
• Assess the danger the behavior could pose to the child or others. Does the behavior include or contribute to self harm (e.g. SIB - self-injurious behavior)?
• Examine the intensity of the behavior(e.g. excessive tantrums) and duration (how frequently does the behavior occur.)

Defining Atypical Developmental Behaviors

• Continuous development: Gradual changes, exhibiting a consistent pattern over time; example: Physical aggression in preschool could predict behavioral issues later in life.
• Discontinuous development: Abrupt changes; example: eating disorders may suddenly begin during adolescence.

Scientific Approach to Research

• Systematic, Rule-Based Inquiry: This approach uses structured methods to explore questions, especially crucial in atypical development studies. The scientific method prevents integration of unverified beliefs, folklore, home remedies into scientific understanding.
• Skepticism: Oversimplification of complex scientific findings by media can negatively impact public understanding. Expert disagreement is also common, with reliability varying according to expertise. There may be conflicting findings depending on factors like sample recruitment and design.
• Illusion of Knowledge: Belief that one knows more than they do about complex issues/topics can hinder progress.

Research Methods

• Experimental Designs: Random assignment and manipulation of independent variables are used to determine cause and effect, offering high control. Strong inferences about cause and effect are drawn from this method.
• Non-experimental designs: Describe relationships without inferring causation, avoiding random assignment. These studies can identify trends and patterns, though cause and effect cannot be strongly inferred. Various types of non-experimental designs are available: quasi, cross-sectional, and longitudinal.

Understanding Factors Related to Atypical Development

• Risk Factors, like poverty and exposure to violence, increase likelihood of negative outcomes.
• Protective factors, like supportive communities and stable family structures, enhance positive outcomes.
• Resilience is not universal; it's how the child, family, and community interact within the particular context.

Purpose of Assessments, Diagnosis, and Treatment

• Classification and diagnosis: Organizing disorders into categories and boundaries; helps professionals communicate and informed decision making. Description & diagnosis are integral to understand how behaviors present and what type of intervention might be necessary.
• Profiling: Gathering information ( symptoms, behaviors) for an individual, which can be structured and comprehensive, to identify an accurate diagnosis.
• Match with Diagnosis: Symptoms that match with a particular diagnostic category.
• Need for assessment: Accurate, structured, and multi-layered assessments are needed for appropriate diagnosis.
• Developmental considerations: Age, gender, and cultural context must be considered when assessing and providing treatment.