SLK 310
Chapter 1 Normal and Abnormal behavior in children &
adolescents
Historical views and breakthroughs:
o Early writings suggest that children were considered servants of the state in the city-states of early Greece.
o Ancient Greek and Roman societies believed that any person (young or old) with a physical or mental
handicap, disability or deformity was an economic burden and a social embarrassment, and thus, was to
be scorned, abandoned and put to death.
o End of the 18th century, the church used its strong influence to attribute children’s’ unusual or disturbing
behaviors to their inherently uncivilized and provocative nature.
Non-religious explanations for disordered behavior in children were rarely given serious
consideration because possession by the devil and similar forces of evil was the only explanation
anyone needed.
o 2/3 children died before their 5th birthday due to the lack of antibiotics to treat deadly diseases.
o Many children were treated harshly or indifferently by their parents. Cruel acts ranging from extreme
parental indifference and neglect to physical and sexual abuse of children went unnoticed or were
considered an adult’s right in the education or disciplining of a child.
o Massachusetts Stubborn Child act of 1654 permitted parents to put “stubborn” children to death for
misbehaving.
o Mid-1800’s, specific laws allowed children with severe developmental disabilities to be kept in cages and
cellars.
The emergence of social conscience:
1. John Locke (1632-1704)
English philosopher and physician.
He believed in individual rights, and he expressed the novel opinion that children should be raised
with thought and care instead of indifference and harsh treatment.
Rather than seeing children as uncivilized tyrants, he saw them as emotionally sensitive beings who
should be treated with kindness and understanding and given proper educational opportunities.
“The only fence (defense) against the world is a thorough knowledge of it”.
2. Jean Marc Itard (1774-1838)
Victor Aveyron was treated by him. Itard treated him for his severe developmental delays rather than
sending him to an asylum. READ CASE STUDY ON PAGE: 5.
This launched a new era of helping orientation toward special children, which initially focused on the
care, treatment and training of the people termed “mental defectives”.
3. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813)
Pioneer in psychiatry.
Argued that children were incapable of true adult-like insanity, because the immaturity of their
developing brains prevented them from retaining the mental events that caused insanity.
The term Moral insanity grew in acceptance as a means of accounting for nonintellectual forms of
abnormal child behavior.
4. Leta Hollingworth (1886-1939)
, Argued that many mentally defective children were actually suffering from emotional and behavioral
problems primarily due to inept treatment by adults and lack of appropriate intellectual challenge.
This vie led to an important and basic distinction between persons with intellectual disability
(imbeciles) and those with psychiatric or mental disorders (lunatics).
The only guidance they previously had in distinguishing children with intellectual deficits from children
with behavioral and emotional problems, was derived from religious views of immoral behavior:
Children who had normal cognitive abilities but who were disturbed, were thought to suffer from
moral insanity a disturbance in personality or character.
The welfare of children with mental and behavioral disturbances began to rise in conjunction with
2 influences:
1) With advances in general medicine, physiology and neurology. The moral insanity view of
psychological disorders was replaced by the organic disease model, which emphasized more
humane ways of treatment.
2) The growing influences of the philosophies of Locke and others led to the view that children
needed moral guidance and support.
5. Dorothy Dix (1802-1887)
Established 32 humane mental hospitals for the treatment of troubled youths previously relegated
to cellars and cages.
Chapter 1 Normal and Abnormal behavior in children &
adolescents
Historical views and breakthroughs:
o Early writings suggest that children were considered servants of the state in the city-states of early Greece.
o Ancient Greek and Roman societies believed that any person (young or old) with a physical or mental
handicap, disability or deformity was an economic burden and a social embarrassment, and thus, was to
be scorned, abandoned and put to death.
o End of the 18th century, the church used its strong influence to attribute children’s’ unusual or disturbing
behaviors to their inherently uncivilized and provocative nature.
Non-religious explanations for disordered behavior in children were rarely given serious
consideration because possession by the devil and similar forces of evil was the only explanation
anyone needed.
o 2/3 children died before their 5th birthday due to the lack of antibiotics to treat deadly diseases.
o Many children were treated harshly or indifferently by their parents. Cruel acts ranging from extreme
parental indifference and neglect to physical and sexual abuse of children went unnoticed or were
considered an adult’s right in the education or disciplining of a child.
o Massachusetts Stubborn Child act of 1654 permitted parents to put “stubborn” children to death for
misbehaving.
o Mid-1800’s, specific laws allowed children with severe developmental disabilities to be kept in cages and
cellars.
The emergence of social conscience:
1. John Locke (1632-1704)
English philosopher and physician.
He believed in individual rights, and he expressed the novel opinion that children should be raised
with thought and care instead of indifference and harsh treatment.
Rather than seeing children as uncivilized tyrants, he saw them as emotionally sensitive beings who
should be treated with kindness and understanding and given proper educational opportunities.
“The only fence (defense) against the world is a thorough knowledge of it”.
2. Jean Marc Itard (1774-1838)
Victor Aveyron was treated by him. Itard treated him for his severe developmental delays rather than
sending him to an asylum. READ CASE STUDY ON PAGE: 5.
This launched a new era of helping orientation toward special children, which initially focused on the
care, treatment and training of the people termed “mental defectives”.
3. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813)
Pioneer in psychiatry.
Argued that children were incapable of true adult-like insanity, because the immaturity of their
developing brains prevented them from retaining the mental events that caused insanity.
The term Moral insanity grew in acceptance as a means of accounting for nonintellectual forms of
abnormal child behavior.
4. Leta Hollingworth (1886-1939)
, Argued that many mentally defective children were actually suffering from emotional and behavioral
problems primarily due to inept treatment by adults and lack of appropriate intellectual challenge.
This vie led to an important and basic distinction between persons with intellectual disability
(imbeciles) and those with psychiatric or mental disorders (lunatics).
The only guidance they previously had in distinguishing children with intellectual deficits from children
with behavioral and emotional problems, was derived from religious views of immoral behavior:
Children who had normal cognitive abilities but who were disturbed, were thought to suffer from
moral insanity a disturbance in personality or character.
The welfare of children with mental and behavioral disturbances began to rise in conjunction with
2 influences:
1) With advances in general medicine, physiology and neurology. The moral insanity view of
psychological disorders was replaced by the organic disease model, which emphasized more
humane ways of treatment.
2) The growing influences of the philosophies of Locke and others led to the view that children
needed moral guidance and support.
5. Dorothy Dix (1802-1887)
Established 32 humane mental hospitals for the treatment of troubled youths previously relegated
to cellars and cages.
