1
Week 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
Developmental psychopathology: we gain a better understanding of children’s disorders
when we think about those disorders within the context of typical development. It can only be
understood by placing descriptions of disorders against the background of usual emotional,
cognitive, and behavioral development.
Defining Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence
Typical development must be viewed dynamically, considering children’s strengths and
weaknesses when facing age-related challenges, as well as cultural and societal beliefs
about desirable outcomes.
What Is Normal?
1. Statistical deviance: infrequency of certain emotions, cognitions, or behaviors.
○ A child showing too much or too little of an age-expected behavior might have
a disorder.
2. Sociocultural norms: beliefs and expectations about what kinds of emotions,
cognitions, or behaviors are (un)acceptable.
○ Failing to meet age, gender, or culture-related expectations can lead to
perceptions of disorder.
3. Mental health definitions: theoretical or clinical notions of distress and dysfunction.
○ Children who have poor functioning, low quality of life, or show certain
symptoms might have a disorder.
The Roles of Values
● Adequate adaptation: okay, acceptable, good enough.
● Optimal adaptation: excellent, superior, or the best possible outcome.
Definitions of Psychopathology and Developmental Psychopathology
● Psychopathology: refers to intense, frequent, and/or persistent maladaptive patterns
of emotion, cognition, and behavior.
● Developmental psychopathology: emphasizes that these maladaptive patterns occur
in the context of typical development and result in current and potential impairment of
infants, children, and adolescents.
Rates of Disorders in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence
Estimations involve:
1. Identifying children with distress or dysfunction (in or out of treatment).
2. Calculating general and specific disorder rates (e.g., anxiety, ADHD).
, 2
3. Tracking diagnostic trends over time.
Developmental epidemiology studies frequencies and patterns of disorders:
● Prevalence: proportion of the population with a disorder.
● Incidence: rate of new cases.
Rates may rise due to increased help-seeking, improved screening, or societal changes.
Allocation of Resources, Availability, and Accessibility of Care
Access to care varies by age, race, gender, and geography:
● 12–17 years > 5–11 years
● White children > Hispanic/Black children
● Boys > girls
● Rural + medication > urban
Barriers to care: denial, stigma, lack of trust, cultural and language differences, and LGBTQ+
identity.
Progress: greater openness about mental health and parental experiences.
The Globalization of Children’s Mental Health
Many countries have limited mental health promotion, resources, and professionals.
Interventions must combine prevention and treatment, tailored to local cultures and
community structures.
Chapter 2: Models of Child Development, Psychopathology, and Treatment
Dimensional and Categorical Models
● Dimensional models: emphasize the ways in which typical feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors gradually become more serious problems, which then may intensify and
become clinically diagnosable disorders.
○ psychopathology develops gradually along a continuum—no sharp line
between normal and abnormal.
● Categorical models: emphasize clear, qualitative distinctions between normality and
disorder.
Physiological Models
Propose that genetic, structural, biological, and chemical factors underlie all psychological
processes.
Brain Structure and Function
Brain regions and their interconnections shape development and function.
● Atypical gray/white matter patterns and connectivity are linked to disorders.
, 3
● Connectome: mapping of neural connections to understand brain networks.
Understanding the roles and activities of the neurotransmitter systems is essential to
understanding central nervous system function and dysfunction.
Knowing the functions of neurotransmitters is very important because many of the most
common medications that are used to treat disorders target neurotransmitters and related
neural signaling functions
Brain Growth and Development in Environmental Context
Brain development adapts to environments through pruning and sensitive periods—times
when experience has strong effects.
Neural plasticity allows adaptation and reorganization throughout life.
Brain–Body–Behavior Processes
Brain development is linked to other physiological systems; stress, trauma, puberty, and
hormones all influence outcomes.
Genes and Environments
● Genotype: genetic makeup of an individual.
● Phenotype: observable characteristics of an individual.
Behavior genetics: examines joint effects of genes and environments, estimating heritability.
Modern models consider gene-by-environment-by-time (G × E × T) effects and epigenetics:
how environments influence gene activity.
Physiological Models and Disorder
Disorders result from interactions between genes and stress.
● Polygenic models: many genes have small effects. attempt to account for the multiple
types of genetic variations and processes that influence the development of both mild
and severe forms of disorders
● Diathesis–stress model: disorder emerges when vulnerability meets stress.
● Differential susceptibility: some children are more sensitive to both positive and
negative environments.
Psychodynamic Models
● Focus on unconscious processes, early experiences, and internal conflicts (id, ego,
superego).
● Modern psychodynamic theory emphasizes unconscious motives,
self-representations, and the developmental origins of personality.
, 4
Behavioral and Cognitive Models
● Behavioral models: focus on learned behaviors through conditioning and
reinforcement.
○ Psychopathology arises from maladaptive learning or lack of adaptive
reinforcement.
● Cognitive models: examine mental processes and how thinking influences emotion
and behavior.
○ Developmental cognitive neuroscience integrates brain and cognitive
research.
Humanistic and Positive Psychology Models
● Humanistic framework: psychopathology results from interference with the child’s
natural drive for self-integration.
● Positive psychology: promotes positive traits, experiences, and institutions.
○ Positive youth development: emphasizes strengths, plasticity, and resilience.
Family Models
Understanding a child requires understanding their family context.
● Study both shared environment (common family influences) and nonshared
environment (unique individual experiences).
● Peers also shape development—both positively (support, belonging) and negatively
(rejection, isolation).
Sociocultural Models
Culture fundamentally shapes development.
● The cultural microsystem focuses on mutual influence between individuals and
cultural practices.
● Social media has become a key sociocultural factor, affecting self-concept, emotions,
and mental health.
● Understanding adjustment requires examining both cross-cultural and within-culture
differences.
Chapter 3: Principles and Practices of Developmental Psychopathology
The Framework of Developmental Psychopathology
● Psychopathology: maladaptive patterns of emotion, cognition, and behavior that are
intense, frequent, or persistent.
● Developmental psychopathology: emphasizes that these maladaptive patterns occur
within the context of normal development, affecting infants, children, and
adolescents’ current and future functioning.
Week 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
Developmental psychopathology: we gain a better understanding of children’s disorders
when we think about those disorders within the context of typical development. It can only be
understood by placing descriptions of disorders against the background of usual emotional,
cognitive, and behavioral development.
Defining Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence
Typical development must be viewed dynamically, considering children’s strengths and
weaknesses when facing age-related challenges, as well as cultural and societal beliefs
about desirable outcomes.
What Is Normal?
1. Statistical deviance: infrequency of certain emotions, cognitions, or behaviors.
○ A child showing too much or too little of an age-expected behavior might have
a disorder.
2. Sociocultural norms: beliefs and expectations about what kinds of emotions,
cognitions, or behaviors are (un)acceptable.
○ Failing to meet age, gender, or culture-related expectations can lead to
perceptions of disorder.
3. Mental health definitions: theoretical or clinical notions of distress and dysfunction.
○ Children who have poor functioning, low quality of life, or show certain
symptoms might have a disorder.
The Roles of Values
● Adequate adaptation: okay, acceptable, good enough.
● Optimal adaptation: excellent, superior, or the best possible outcome.
Definitions of Psychopathology and Developmental Psychopathology
● Psychopathology: refers to intense, frequent, and/or persistent maladaptive patterns
of emotion, cognition, and behavior.
● Developmental psychopathology: emphasizes that these maladaptive patterns occur
in the context of typical development and result in current and potential impairment of
infants, children, and adolescents.
Rates of Disorders in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence
Estimations involve:
1. Identifying children with distress or dysfunction (in or out of treatment).
2. Calculating general and specific disorder rates (e.g., anxiety, ADHD).
, 2
3. Tracking diagnostic trends over time.
Developmental epidemiology studies frequencies and patterns of disorders:
● Prevalence: proportion of the population with a disorder.
● Incidence: rate of new cases.
Rates may rise due to increased help-seeking, improved screening, or societal changes.
Allocation of Resources, Availability, and Accessibility of Care
Access to care varies by age, race, gender, and geography:
● 12–17 years > 5–11 years
● White children > Hispanic/Black children
● Boys > girls
● Rural + medication > urban
Barriers to care: denial, stigma, lack of trust, cultural and language differences, and LGBTQ+
identity.
Progress: greater openness about mental health and parental experiences.
The Globalization of Children’s Mental Health
Many countries have limited mental health promotion, resources, and professionals.
Interventions must combine prevention and treatment, tailored to local cultures and
community structures.
Chapter 2: Models of Child Development, Psychopathology, and Treatment
Dimensional and Categorical Models
● Dimensional models: emphasize the ways in which typical feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors gradually become more serious problems, which then may intensify and
become clinically diagnosable disorders.
○ psychopathology develops gradually along a continuum—no sharp line
between normal and abnormal.
● Categorical models: emphasize clear, qualitative distinctions between normality and
disorder.
Physiological Models
Propose that genetic, structural, biological, and chemical factors underlie all psychological
processes.
Brain Structure and Function
Brain regions and their interconnections shape development and function.
● Atypical gray/white matter patterns and connectivity are linked to disorders.
, 3
● Connectome: mapping of neural connections to understand brain networks.
Understanding the roles and activities of the neurotransmitter systems is essential to
understanding central nervous system function and dysfunction.
Knowing the functions of neurotransmitters is very important because many of the most
common medications that are used to treat disorders target neurotransmitters and related
neural signaling functions
Brain Growth and Development in Environmental Context
Brain development adapts to environments through pruning and sensitive periods—times
when experience has strong effects.
Neural plasticity allows adaptation and reorganization throughout life.
Brain–Body–Behavior Processes
Brain development is linked to other physiological systems; stress, trauma, puberty, and
hormones all influence outcomes.
Genes and Environments
● Genotype: genetic makeup of an individual.
● Phenotype: observable characteristics of an individual.
Behavior genetics: examines joint effects of genes and environments, estimating heritability.
Modern models consider gene-by-environment-by-time (G × E × T) effects and epigenetics:
how environments influence gene activity.
Physiological Models and Disorder
Disorders result from interactions between genes and stress.
● Polygenic models: many genes have small effects. attempt to account for the multiple
types of genetic variations and processes that influence the development of both mild
and severe forms of disorders
● Diathesis–stress model: disorder emerges when vulnerability meets stress.
● Differential susceptibility: some children are more sensitive to both positive and
negative environments.
Psychodynamic Models
● Focus on unconscious processes, early experiences, and internal conflicts (id, ego,
superego).
● Modern psychodynamic theory emphasizes unconscious motives,
self-representations, and the developmental origins of personality.
, 4
Behavioral and Cognitive Models
● Behavioral models: focus on learned behaviors through conditioning and
reinforcement.
○ Psychopathology arises from maladaptive learning or lack of adaptive
reinforcement.
● Cognitive models: examine mental processes and how thinking influences emotion
and behavior.
○ Developmental cognitive neuroscience integrates brain and cognitive
research.
Humanistic and Positive Psychology Models
● Humanistic framework: psychopathology results from interference with the child’s
natural drive for self-integration.
● Positive psychology: promotes positive traits, experiences, and institutions.
○ Positive youth development: emphasizes strengths, plasticity, and resilience.
Family Models
Understanding a child requires understanding their family context.
● Study both shared environment (common family influences) and nonshared
environment (unique individual experiences).
● Peers also shape development—both positively (support, belonging) and negatively
(rejection, isolation).
Sociocultural Models
Culture fundamentally shapes development.
● The cultural microsystem focuses on mutual influence between individuals and
cultural practices.
● Social media has become a key sociocultural factor, affecting self-concept, emotions,
and mental health.
● Understanding adjustment requires examining both cross-cultural and within-culture
differences.
Chapter 3: Principles and Practices of Developmental Psychopathology
The Framework of Developmental Psychopathology
● Psychopathology: maladaptive patterns of emotion, cognition, and behavior that are
intense, frequent, or persistent.
● Developmental psychopathology: emphasizes that these maladaptive patterns occur
within the context of normal development, affecting infants, children, and
adolescents’ current and future functioning.
