Test Bank Abnormal Child Psychology 7th Edition
Mash Chapter 1 - 14 Updated Guide 2022
PART I: UNDERSTANDING ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY (Chapters 1–4)
Chapter 1: Introduction to Normal and Abnormal Behavior in Children and Adolescents
1. A child typically enters the mental health system:
A. By asking for a referral from a pediatrician
B. Through the criminal justice system
C. By the actions, positive or negative, of peers
D. Through teachers, counselors, or parents
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Children rarely self-refer for mental health services. They typically enter the
system through the adults who first identify and refer them—teachers, counselors, or parents.
This reflects a key distinction between child and adult mental health: it is often unclear whose
"problem" it is when adults seek services for a child .
2. Many child and adolescent problems can be best described as the:
A. Failure to demonstrate expected developmental progress
B. Absence of the key survival skills needed to thrive
C. Result of excessive expectations by parents
D. Stresses associated with educational demands
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Many child and adolescent problems involve a failure to demonstrate expected
developmental progress rather than the presence of qualitatively different behaviors. This
developmental orientation distinguishes child psychopathology from adult psychopathology .
,3. Patterns of behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or physical symptoms shown by an individual
are defined as:
A. Psychological disorders
B. Defiance of norms
C. Disobedience
D. Distress
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A psychological disorder is traditionally defined as a pattern of behavioral,
cognitive, emotional, or physical symptoms shown by an individual. Labels describe behavior
patterns, not people, and are not meant to imply causation .
4. Interventions for children and adolescents are often intended to:
A. Restore previous levels of functioning
B. Serve as a warning for negative behavior
C. Reform behavior to conform to norms
D. Eliminate distress and promote further development
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Because children are still developing, interventions aim not just to reduce
symptoms but to eliminate distress and redirect developmental trajectories toward healthier
outcomes. This differs from adult interventions, which often focus on restoring previous
functioning .
5. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, children's mental health problems were
attributed to:
A. Possession by the devil or other evil forces
B. Poor parenting practices
C. Chemical imbalances
D. Low self-esteem
, Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, children's mental health problems
were attributed to possession by the devil or other evil forces. This reflected the religious and
supernatural explanations of abnormal behavior common in that era .
6. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, acts of child maltreatment were:
A. Illegal and punishable by severe fines
B. Very uncommon but largely overlooked
C. Practiced primarily among lower socioeconomic classes
D. Considered to be a parent's right for educating or disciplining a child
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: During this era, children were considered the property of their parents, and
harsh treatment, including maltreatment, was viewed as a parent's right for educating or
disciplining a child. Child maltreatment was not legally prohibited .
7. John Locke advanced the belief that children should be raised with:
A. Strict discipline and physical punishment
B. Thought and care rather than indifference and harsh treatment
C. Religious instruction emphasizing original sin
D. Minimal intervention to allow natural development
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: John Locke, an English philosopher and physician, advanced the belief that
children should be raised with thought and care, rather than indifference and harsh treatment.
He saw children as emotionally vulnerable and emphasized the importance of education and
kindness .
8. The work of Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard is notable because:
A. His orientation toward children was one of care and helping, in contrast to the times
, B. He was the first documented individual to use behavioral techniques with children
C. He was a strong advocate for sending disturbed children to asylums
D. He initiated the Massachusetts' Stubborn Child Act
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Itard's work with the "wild boy of Aveyron" demonstrated a belief that children
with intellectual disabilities could benefit from education and environmental stimulation. This
helping orientation was a radical departure from the prevailing view that such children were
hopeless .
9. Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard believed he could tame the "wild boy of Aveyron" through:
A. Exorcism
B. Environmental stimulation
C. Allowing him to behave as he did in the wild
D. Peer modeling
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Itard believed that the boy's intellectual and social deficits were the result of
isolation and lack of human contact, and that he could be civilized through education and
environmental stimulation. This belief in the power of environment was progressive for its time
.
10. At the end of the nineteenth century, children with intellectual disabilities were regarded
as:
A. "Imbeciles"
B. "Moral insanity"
C. "Lunatics"
D. "Wild children"
Correct Answer: A
Mash Chapter 1 - 14 Updated Guide 2022
PART I: UNDERSTANDING ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY (Chapters 1–4)
Chapter 1: Introduction to Normal and Abnormal Behavior in Children and Adolescents
1. A child typically enters the mental health system:
A. By asking for a referral from a pediatrician
B. Through the criminal justice system
C. By the actions, positive or negative, of peers
D. Through teachers, counselors, or parents
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Children rarely self-refer for mental health services. They typically enter the
system through the adults who first identify and refer them—teachers, counselors, or parents.
This reflects a key distinction between child and adult mental health: it is often unclear whose
"problem" it is when adults seek services for a child .
2. Many child and adolescent problems can be best described as the:
A. Failure to demonstrate expected developmental progress
B. Absence of the key survival skills needed to thrive
C. Result of excessive expectations by parents
D. Stresses associated with educational demands
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Many child and adolescent problems involve a failure to demonstrate expected
developmental progress rather than the presence of qualitatively different behaviors. This
developmental orientation distinguishes child psychopathology from adult psychopathology .
,3. Patterns of behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or physical symptoms shown by an individual
are defined as:
A. Psychological disorders
B. Defiance of norms
C. Disobedience
D. Distress
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A psychological disorder is traditionally defined as a pattern of behavioral,
cognitive, emotional, or physical symptoms shown by an individual. Labels describe behavior
patterns, not people, and are not meant to imply causation .
4. Interventions for children and adolescents are often intended to:
A. Restore previous levels of functioning
B. Serve as a warning for negative behavior
C. Reform behavior to conform to norms
D. Eliminate distress and promote further development
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Because children are still developing, interventions aim not just to reduce
symptoms but to eliminate distress and redirect developmental trajectories toward healthier
outcomes. This differs from adult interventions, which often focus on restoring previous
functioning .
5. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, children's mental health problems were
attributed to:
A. Possession by the devil or other evil forces
B. Poor parenting practices
C. Chemical imbalances
D. Low self-esteem
, Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, children's mental health problems
were attributed to possession by the devil or other evil forces. This reflected the religious and
supernatural explanations of abnormal behavior common in that era .
6. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, acts of child maltreatment were:
A. Illegal and punishable by severe fines
B. Very uncommon but largely overlooked
C. Practiced primarily among lower socioeconomic classes
D. Considered to be a parent's right for educating or disciplining a child
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: During this era, children were considered the property of their parents, and
harsh treatment, including maltreatment, was viewed as a parent's right for educating or
disciplining a child. Child maltreatment was not legally prohibited .
7. John Locke advanced the belief that children should be raised with:
A. Strict discipline and physical punishment
B. Thought and care rather than indifference and harsh treatment
C. Religious instruction emphasizing original sin
D. Minimal intervention to allow natural development
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: John Locke, an English philosopher and physician, advanced the belief that
children should be raised with thought and care, rather than indifference and harsh treatment.
He saw children as emotionally vulnerable and emphasized the importance of education and
kindness .
8. The work of Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard is notable because:
A. His orientation toward children was one of care and helping, in contrast to the times
, B. He was the first documented individual to use behavioral techniques with children
C. He was a strong advocate for sending disturbed children to asylums
D. He initiated the Massachusetts' Stubborn Child Act
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Itard's work with the "wild boy of Aveyron" demonstrated a belief that children
with intellectual disabilities could benefit from education and environmental stimulation. This
helping orientation was a radical departure from the prevailing view that such children were
hopeless .
9. Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard believed he could tame the "wild boy of Aveyron" through:
A. Exorcism
B. Environmental stimulation
C. Allowing him to behave as he did in the wild
D. Peer modeling
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Itard believed that the boy's intellectual and social deficits were the result of
isolation and lack of human contact, and that he could be civilized through education and
environmental stimulation. This belief in the power of environment was progressive for its time
.
10. At the end of the nineteenth century, children with intellectual disabilities were regarded
as:
A. "Imbeciles"
B. "Moral insanity"
C. "Lunatics"
D. "Wild children"
Correct Answer: A
