Chapter 1: The Science and Practice of Abnormal Child
Psychology
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Epidemiologists often report the prevalence of a medical or psychological disorder. What is
“prevalence”?
a. the number of people in a population with a given disorder
b. the percentage of people in a population with a given disorder
c. the number of new cases of a disorder in a population
d. the percentage of new cases of a disorder in a population
Ans: B
Learning Objective: LO 1.1. Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how prevalence
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Overall Prevalence
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Which of the following is NOT an essential component of the DSM-5 definition of a mental
disorder?
a. a pattern of behavior that occurs within an individual
b. a behavior that reflects an underlying dysfunction
c. the consequences of the behavior cause distress or disability
d. the disturbance is long lasting
Ans: D
Learning Objective: LO 1.2. Critically evaluate the DSM-5 concept of “mental disorder” as it
applies to children and adolescents.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
,Answer Location: How Does DSM-5 Define a Mental Disorder?
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. How do developmental psychopathologists characterize abnormal behavior?
a. behavior that interferes with children’s competence and does not meet the demands of the
environment
b. behavior that leads to psychological distress, impairment, and risk of harm to self or others
c. behavior that leads to psychological distress, impairment, or risk of harm to self or others
d. behavior that is statistically different than the behavior of the typical child
Ans: A
Learning Objective: LO 1.3. Understand and give examples of some of the basic principles of
developmental psychopathology.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Adaptive vs. Maladaptive Development
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Clinical interventions that are not grounded in psychological science can harm children and
families. Which of the following is NOT a way identified in the text that scientifically uninformed
practice can hurt clients?
a. Ineffective treatments can cause parents to lose hope in psychology and treatment in general.
b. Ineffective interventions can cost parents time and money.
c. Ineffective treatments have been proven to substantially increase the rates of depression in
parents.
d. Ineffective treatments can be physically harmful to children.
Ans: C
Learning Objective: LO 1.4. Explain why evidence-based practice is important when treating
children and families.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Importance
Difficulty Level: Hard
5. Wakefield’s (1992) concept of “harmful dysfunction” ______.
,a. provides criteria for differentiating normal from abnormal behavior
b. requires all mental disorders to have an underlying biological cause
c. asserts that genetic and biological factors play a greater role in psychopathology than social-
cultural factors
d. assumes that a biological or medical cause of a person’s psychopathology has been ruled out
before a psychiatric diagnosis is assigned
Ans: A
Learning Objective: LO 1.2. Critically evaluate the DSM-5 concept of “mental disorder” as it
applies to children and adolescents.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: How Do We Identify “Abnormal” Behavior in Children?
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Which of the following is true of students providing services to children in need?
a. If students have been trained to provide evidence-based treatment, the treatment will be
effective.
b. Students should not question the evidence for the intervention or the ethics behind the
intervention.
c. Once students have been trained to provide an intervention, it is safe and ethical for them to do
so without supervision.
d. It is recommended that students ask themselves whether there are alternative services that
might provide greater benefits to the clients than the ones being provided.
Ans: D
Learning objective: LO 1.4. Explain why evidence-based practice is important when treating
children and families.
Answer Location: How Can Students Help Children in an Evidence-Based Manner?
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Difficulty Level: Medium
7. Which of the following statements about prevalence is true?
a. Point prevalence can never be less than lifetime prevalence for a given disorder.
b. Point prevalence can never be more than lifetime prevalence for a given disorder.
, c. Only lifetime prevalence measures the percentage of people with a disorder at each age.
d. Only point prevalence measures the severity of people’s disorders.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: LO1.1. Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how prevalence
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Overall Prevalence
Difficulty Level: Hard
8. Which of the following is NOT a challenge mentioned in your text when determining prevalence
of mental disorders in children and adolescents?
a. There is no single agency that tracks the prevalence of mental disorders in children and
adolescents.
b. There is no standard definition of what constitutes mental disorder.
c. Epidemiological studies use different methods to collect data, each of which yields a slightly
different result.
d. Some people do not want to participate in lengthy surveys, or provide inaccurate information.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: LO 1.1. Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how prevalence
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity; LO 1.2.
Critically evaluate the DSM-5 concept of “mental disorder” as it applies to children and
adolescents.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Overall Prevalence
Difficulty Level: Medium
9. How has the overall prevalence of mental health disorders among children changed over the
past several decades?
a. It has increased.
b. It has decreased.
c. It has remained unchanged.
d. It increased initially and then decreased to former levels.
Psychology
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Epidemiologists often report the prevalence of a medical or psychological disorder. What is
“prevalence”?
a. the number of people in a population with a given disorder
b. the percentage of people in a population with a given disorder
c. the number of new cases of a disorder in a population
d. the percentage of new cases of a disorder in a population
Ans: B
Learning Objective: LO 1.1. Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how prevalence
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Overall Prevalence
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Which of the following is NOT an essential component of the DSM-5 definition of a mental
disorder?
a. a pattern of behavior that occurs within an individual
b. a behavior that reflects an underlying dysfunction
c. the consequences of the behavior cause distress or disability
d. the disturbance is long lasting
Ans: D
Learning Objective: LO 1.2. Critically evaluate the DSM-5 concept of “mental disorder” as it
applies to children and adolescents.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
,Answer Location: How Does DSM-5 Define a Mental Disorder?
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. How do developmental psychopathologists characterize abnormal behavior?
a. behavior that interferes with children’s competence and does not meet the demands of the
environment
b. behavior that leads to psychological distress, impairment, and risk of harm to self or others
c. behavior that leads to psychological distress, impairment, or risk of harm to self or others
d. behavior that is statistically different than the behavior of the typical child
Ans: A
Learning Objective: LO 1.3. Understand and give examples of some of the basic principles of
developmental psychopathology.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Adaptive vs. Maladaptive Development
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Clinical interventions that are not grounded in psychological science can harm children and
families. Which of the following is NOT a way identified in the text that scientifically uninformed
practice can hurt clients?
a. Ineffective treatments can cause parents to lose hope in psychology and treatment in general.
b. Ineffective interventions can cost parents time and money.
c. Ineffective treatments have been proven to substantially increase the rates of depression in
parents.
d. Ineffective treatments can be physically harmful to children.
Ans: C
Learning Objective: LO 1.4. Explain why evidence-based practice is important when treating
children and families.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Importance
Difficulty Level: Hard
5. Wakefield’s (1992) concept of “harmful dysfunction” ______.
,a. provides criteria for differentiating normal from abnormal behavior
b. requires all mental disorders to have an underlying biological cause
c. asserts that genetic and biological factors play a greater role in psychopathology than social-
cultural factors
d. assumes that a biological or medical cause of a person’s psychopathology has been ruled out
before a psychiatric diagnosis is assigned
Ans: A
Learning Objective: LO 1.2. Critically evaluate the DSM-5 concept of “mental disorder” as it
applies to children and adolescents.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: How Do We Identify “Abnormal” Behavior in Children?
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Which of the following is true of students providing services to children in need?
a. If students have been trained to provide evidence-based treatment, the treatment will be
effective.
b. Students should not question the evidence for the intervention or the ethics behind the
intervention.
c. Once students have been trained to provide an intervention, it is safe and ethical for them to do
so without supervision.
d. It is recommended that students ask themselves whether there are alternative services that
might provide greater benefits to the clients than the ones being provided.
Ans: D
Learning objective: LO 1.4. Explain why evidence-based practice is important when treating
children and families.
Answer Location: How Can Students Help Children in an Evidence-Based Manner?
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Difficulty Level: Medium
7. Which of the following statements about prevalence is true?
a. Point prevalence can never be less than lifetime prevalence for a given disorder.
b. Point prevalence can never be more than lifetime prevalence for a given disorder.
, c. Only lifetime prevalence measures the percentage of people with a disorder at each age.
d. Only point prevalence measures the severity of people’s disorders.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: LO1.1. Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how prevalence
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Overall Prevalence
Difficulty Level: Hard
8. Which of the following is NOT a challenge mentioned in your text when determining prevalence
of mental disorders in children and adolescents?
a. There is no single agency that tracks the prevalence of mental disorders in children and
adolescents.
b. There is no standard definition of what constitutes mental disorder.
c. Epidemiological studies use different methods to collect data, each of which yields a slightly
different result.
d. Some people do not want to participate in lengthy surveys, or provide inaccurate information.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: LO 1.1. Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how prevalence
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity; LO 1.2.
Critically evaluate the DSM-5 concept of “mental disorder” as it applies to children and
adolescents.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Overall Prevalence
Difficulty Level: Medium
9. How has the overall prevalence of mental health disorders among children changed over the
past several decades?
a. It has increased.
b. It has decreased.
c. It has remained unchanged.
d. It increased initially and then decreased to former levels.
