1. Applied Psychology - The First Five Years.docx

CRITICAL READING: CORNELL NOTES Applied Psychology - The First Five Years Name: Date: 13 September 2023 Section: Lecture 1 Period: Questions/Main Ideas/Vocabulary Notes/Answers/Definitions/Examples/Sentences The First Five Years Period of rapid development and growth. ‘Sets the scene’...

CRITICAL READING: CORNELL NOTES Applied Psychology - The First Five Years Name: Date: 13 September 2023 Section: Lecture 1 Period: Questions/Main Ideas/Vocabulary Notes/Answers/Definitions/Examples/Sentences The First Five Years Period of rapid development and growth. ‘Sets the scene’ for later development in adolescence and adulthood. Strongly influenced by the environment. Brain growth and synaptic pruning. Importance of school readiness and social determinants of health. Early intervention. Children don’t get to choose the circumstances in which they’re born. As vulnerable members of society, they all deserve the right to the resources and experiences that support healthy development. Nearly every country in the world has agreed to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC). 5 Dimensional Stages Physical Language Attachment Social emotional Cognitive 5 Developmental Stages -9 months 6 weeks 12 months 24 months 36 months 60 months Social Determinants of Health Are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. Examples of social determinants of health which can influence health equity in positive and negative ways: Income and social protection. Education. Unemployment and job insecurity. Working life conditions. Food insecurity. Housing, basic amenities and the environment. Early childhood development. Social inclusion and non-discrimination. Structural conflict. Access to affordable health services of decent quality. Importance of School Readiness Average gap between children with ADHD and those with no disorder. Year 3: 9 months behind for writing. 1 year behind for reading. Year 9: 4.5 years behind for writing. 2.5 years behind for reading. The First Five Years – Opportunity Early investment most cost-effective: Cascade of development. Skills beget skills. Mental Health Problems Used to describe alterations in thinking, mood or behaviour that are associated with distress or impaired functioning. Common in research where we use a self-report screening question: Child behaviour checklist. Strengths and difficulties questionnaire. High scores are a good indicator of children who may be at risk for meeting criteria for a mental health disorder. Often divided into internalising and externalising problems. Examples of externalising problems: Restless, overactive, cannot stay still for long. Often loses temper. Often fights with other children or bullies them. Easily distracted, concentrations wanders. Examples of internalising problems: Often complains of headaches, stomach aches or sickness. Many worries or often seems worried. Often unhappy, depressed or tearful. Nervous or clingy in new situations, easily loses confidence. Mental Health Disorders Characterised by clinically significant sets of symptoms or emotional and behavioural problems associated with personal distress and impaired functioning. Defined in psychiatric diagnostic classification systems. Pros and cons. Pros – Why Are Psychiatric Diagnoses Important? As ‘short-hand’ descriptions, for communication between patients, clinicians and families. To indicate which treatments are most likely to be effective. To facilitate research. Cons – When Are Psychiatric Diagnoses Problematic? They may result in stigma, discrimination and a loss of personal dignity. They may be incorrect. They may change for various reasons. Once applied, they are difficult to remove. They may be perceived as always indicating a permanent and biologically-based condition, and so may reduce hope and motivation for change. How Are Classification Systems Created? Work on the DSM-5 started in 1999 and 2000 with three planning conferences held by the APA and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The meetings, which included not only psychiatrists, but psychologist, other mental health professionals and research experts, set the stage for the development process. Signs of Poor Mental Health in Children 3 – 8 Years Emotional and behaviour signs: Has repeated tantrums or consistently behaves in a defiant or aggressive way. Seems sad or unhappy or cries a lot. Is afraid or worried a lot. Gets very upset about being separated from you or avoids social situations. Has trouble paying attention, can’t sit still or is restless. Physical signs: Trouble sleeping or eating. Physical pain that doesn’t have a clear medical cause. For example, headaches, stomach aches, nausea or other physical pains. School and social signs: Not doing as well as usual at school. Having problems fitting in at school along with other children. Not wanting to go to social events like birthday parties. Risk Factors for Childhood Wellbeing Individual: Temperament. Low birth weight. Genetics. Marginalisation. Family: Mental illness. Divorce. Unemployment. Abuse/neglect. Overcrowding in house. Community: Low SES. Violence. Facilities available. Macro-system: Policies relating to childhood wellbeing. Infant Mental Health Refers to how well a child develops socially and emotionally from birth to the age of three. Parental Mental Health – Postnatal Period Important support to infant mental health. Factors that impact a parent’s ability to ‘parent’ during the postnatal period can affect mental health. Babies development can’t wait – attachment relationship. Signs of Good Mental Health Under Age of 1 Make eye contact. Show interest in people and surroundings people. Enjoy attention from their parents or carers and respond with smiles or cuddles. Start to communicate with their face, voice and gestures like waving and pointing. Start copying and get your gestures. Cry when they need something and calm down when their needs are met. Get upset or uncomfortable around people they don't know and want reassurance from you, especially towards the end of their first year. Signs of Good Mental Health Ages 1 – 2 Be strongly attached to you; for example, they might get upset when they're separated from you, but they can be soothed and cope with brief separations. Start to develop self-regulation; that is, the ability to understand and manage their own behaviour and reactions. Have tantrums but also start learning how to manage big feelings. Start to show that they understand other people's feelings; for example, they might hug you or say ‘kiss it better’ if you stub your toe. Start wanting to do things themselves. Signs of Good Mental Health Ages 2 – 3 Continue to interact with other people and build healthy relationships. Enjoy being around people other than their parents or carers. Copy what other people say and do; that is, they're learning how to behave appropriately. Start learning about taking turns and sharing. Start using words to express their emotions. Signs Babies & Toddlers Might Need Help with Mental Help (For 3 & Under) Crying in an inconsolable way. Being frequently unsettled or irritable and difficult to soothe. Not wanting to make eye contact. Withdrawing from you or not responding to you. Consistently not sleeping or eating well. Consistently losing weight and not growing as expected. Being extremely stressed and anxious about separating from you. Losing skills over several months. Behaving in difficult ways; for example, throwing things, hitting, having persistent and severe tantrums or persistently biting, pinching or pulling people's hair. Having unexplained or sudden changes in behaviour. Young Minds is the Second Australian Child & Adolescent Survey of Mental Health & Wellbeing More than 6000 Australian families were selected randomly and interviewed as part of their young minds matter the survey, which looked at the emotional and behavioural development of children and young people aged between 4 and 17 years. Almost one in seven 4 – 17 year olds were assessed as having mental disorder in the previous 12 months. This is equivalent to 560,000 Australian children and adolescents. Young minds matter found strong associations between the prevalence of mental disorders and key indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage. There is a substantial number of families dealing with child mental illness while dealing with other challenges in their lives. Increasing remoteness and higher socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with lower usage of mental health care support through Medicare. Age of Onset of Mental Disorders 50% less than 14 years old. 75% less than 24 years old. “Typically treatment doesn’t occur until a number of years later”.