,CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Normal and Abnormal Behavior in Children and Adolescents
PART I: MULTIPLE CHOICE (Q1–Q25)
1. Historically, how were children's mental health problems attributed in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries?
A) Chemical imbalances in the brain
B) Poor parenting practices
C) Possession by the devil or other evil forces
D) Low self-esteem
E) Genetic predisposition
ANS: C
Rationale: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, children's mental health problems were
attributed to possession by the devil or other evil forces, reflecting the religious and supernatural
explanations of abnormal behavior common in that era .
2. What was the prevailing view of child maltreatment in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?
A) It was illegal and punishable by severe fines
B) It was considered a parent's right for educating or disciplining a child
C) It was very uncommon but largely overlooked
D) It was practiced primarily among lower socioeconomic classes
E) It was recognized as a form of abuse
ANS: B
Rationale: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, acts of child maltreatment were considered to
be a parent's right for educating or disciplining a child, and such attributions absolved parents and
society of responsibility .
3. The work of Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard is notable because:
A) He was the first documented individual to use behavioral techniques with children
B) His orientation toward children was one of care and helping, in contrast to the times
C) He was a strong advocate for sending disturbed children to asylums
D) He initiated the Massachusetts' Stubborn Child Act
E) He developed the first diagnostic manual for childhood disorders
ANS: B
Rationale: Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard's work with the "wild boy of Aveyron" demonstrated a belief that
children with intellectual disabilities could benefit from education and environmental stimulation, a
radical departure from the prevailing view that such children were hopeless or possessed .
4. 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
E) Medication
ANS: 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 social interaction .
5. At the end of the nineteenth century, children with intellectual disabilities were regarded as: A)
"Imbeciles"
B) "Morally insane"
C) "Possessed"
D) "Diseased"
E) "Maladjusted"
ANS: A
Rationale: At the end of the nineteenth century, children with intellectual disabilities were regarded as
"imbeciles," reflecting the stigmatizing and deficit-focused language used to describe people with
intellectual disabilities .
6. At the end of the nineteenth century, children with normal cognitive abilities but disturbing behavior
were thought to be:
A) Suffering from "moral insanity"
B) Imbeciles
C) Diseased
D) Possessed by the devil
E) Mentally retarded
ANS: A
Rationale: The term "moral insanity" was used to describe children with normal cognitive abilities but
disturbing behavior .
7. A child typically enters the mental health system:
A) By asking for a referral from a pediatrician
B) Through the criminal justice system
C) Through teachers, counselors, or parents
D) By the actions, positive or negative, of peers
E) Through self-referral
ANS: C
, Rationale: Children typically enter the mental health system through teachers, counselors, or parents, as
they are the adults who first identify and refer children with problems. Unlike adults, children rarely
selfrefer or seek help independently .
8. 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
E) Presence of qualitatively different behaviors
ANS: A
Rationale: Many child and adolescent problems involve a failure to demonstrate expected
developmental progress rather than the presence of qualitatively different behaviors .
9. 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
E) Address only biological factors
ANS: D
Rationale: Interventions for children and adolescents are often intended to eliminate distress and
promote further development, rather than merely restore a previous level of functioning. Because
children are still developing, interventions aim not just to reduce symptoms but to redirect
developmental trajectories toward healthier outcomes .
10. What is a key distinction between child and adult mental health?
A) Children are more likely to self-refer for treatment
B) It is often unclear whose "problem" it is when adults seek services for children
C) Children have more developed coping skills
D) Adults have more developmental considerations
E) Children rarely experience distress
ANS: B
Rationale: A key distinction is that it is often unclear whose "problem" it is when adults seek services for
children. Children rarely self-refer, and the identified problem may involve family dynamics, school
issues, or other contextual factors .
11. Which of the following is a known risk factor for child psychopathology?
PART I: MULTIPLE CHOICE (Q1–Q25)
1. Historically, how were children's mental health problems attributed in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries?
A) Chemical imbalances in the brain
B) Poor parenting practices
C) Possession by the devil or other evil forces
D) Low self-esteem
E) Genetic predisposition
ANS: C
Rationale: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, children's mental health problems were
attributed to possession by the devil or other evil forces, reflecting the religious and supernatural
explanations of abnormal behavior common in that era .
2. What was the prevailing view of child maltreatment in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?
A) It was illegal and punishable by severe fines
B) It was considered a parent's right for educating or disciplining a child
C) It was very uncommon but largely overlooked
D) It was practiced primarily among lower socioeconomic classes
E) It was recognized as a form of abuse
ANS: B
Rationale: In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, acts of child maltreatment were considered to
be a parent's right for educating or disciplining a child, and such attributions absolved parents and
society of responsibility .
3. The work of Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard is notable because:
A) He was the first documented individual to use behavioral techniques with children
B) His orientation toward children was one of care and helping, in contrast to the times
C) He was a strong advocate for sending disturbed children to asylums
D) He initiated the Massachusetts' Stubborn Child Act
E) He developed the first diagnostic manual for childhood disorders
ANS: B
Rationale: Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard's work with the "wild boy of Aveyron" demonstrated a belief that
children with intellectual disabilities could benefit from education and environmental stimulation, a
radical departure from the prevailing view that such children were hopeless or possessed .
4. 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
E) Medication
ANS: 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 social interaction .
5. At the end of the nineteenth century, children with intellectual disabilities were regarded as: A)
"Imbeciles"
B) "Morally insane"
C) "Possessed"
D) "Diseased"
E) "Maladjusted"
ANS: A
Rationale: At the end of the nineteenth century, children with intellectual disabilities were regarded as
"imbeciles," reflecting the stigmatizing and deficit-focused language used to describe people with
intellectual disabilities .
6. At the end of the nineteenth century, children with normal cognitive abilities but disturbing behavior
were thought to be:
A) Suffering from "moral insanity"
B) Imbeciles
C) Diseased
D) Possessed by the devil
E) Mentally retarded
ANS: A
Rationale: The term "moral insanity" was used to describe children with normal cognitive abilities but
disturbing behavior .
7. A child typically enters the mental health system:
A) By asking for a referral from a pediatrician
B) Through the criminal justice system
C) Through teachers, counselors, or parents
D) By the actions, positive or negative, of peers
E) Through self-referral
ANS: C
, Rationale: Children typically enter the mental health system through teachers, counselors, or parents, as
they are the adults who first identify and refer children with problems. Unlike adults, children rarely
selfrefer or seek help independently .
8. 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
E) Presence of qualitatively different behaviors
ANS: A
Rationale: Many child and adolescent problems involve a failure to demonstrate expected
developmental progress rather than the presence of qualitatively different behaviors .
9. 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
E) Address only biological factors
ANS: D
Rationale: Interventions for children and adolescents are often intended to eliminate distress and
promote further development, rather than merely restore a previous level of functioning. Because
children are still developing, interventions aim not just to reduce symptoms but to redirect
developmental trajectories toward healthier outcomes .
10. What is a key distinction between child and adult mental health?
A) Children are more likely to self-refer for treatment
B) It is often unclear whose "problem" it is when adults seek services for children
C) Children have more developed coping skills
D) Adults have more developmental considerations
E) Children rarely experience distress
ANS: B
Rationale: A key distinction is that it is often unclear whose "problem" it is when adults seek services for
children. Children rarely self-refer, and the identified problem may involve family dynamics, school
issues, or other contextual factors .
11. Which of the following is a known risk factor for child psychopathology?
