Developmental psychopathology is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding normal and abnormal development over the lifespan. It conceptualizes development in terms of risk and protective factors that place individuals on developmental pathways toward adaptation or maladaptation (Cicchetti & Rogosch, 2002).
Developmental psychopathologists are interested in continuity versus change across development. Almost a century ago, Sigmund Freud wrote about the difficulty in predicting children’s development over time:
©iStockphoto.com/Tomwang112
So long as we trace development from its final outcome backwards, the chain of events appears continuous. … But if we proceed the reverse way, if we start from the premises and try to follow these up to the final result, we notice at once that there might have been another result and we might have been just as well able to understand and explain the latter. Hence the chain of causation can always be recognized with certainty if we follow the line of analysis backwards, whereas to predict it is impossible. (Sroufe & Rutter, 1984)
Read the following scenarios and answer each question. What principle of developmental psychopathology does each scenario illustrate?
1 Carlos is a 14-year-old boy with a long-standing history of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He began to show problems with hyperactivity and impulsivity as a preschooler. In early elementary school, he also began exhibiting poor attention and concentration. Now in the eighth grade, Carlos continues to show all of these symptoms. He manages these symptoms with medication and behavioral interventions administered by his parents and teachers.What principle of developmental psychopathology does Carlos illustrate?
2 Haley is a 17-year-old high school student with a history of separation anxiety disorder. When Haley was a toddler, she followed her parents around the house and cried when they left her with a babysitter. Haley refused to attend preschool and was resistant to begin kindergarten when she turned 6 years old. In early elementary school, Haley’s separation anxiety decreased, but she continued to worry about “bad things” happening to her parents when she was separated from them.Now in high school, Haley reports no significant problems with separation anxiety. However, in the past 6 months, she has experienced several panic attacks—intense episodes of fear characterized by rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, and intense distress. Her pediatrician confirmed that these attacks are not caused by a medical problem. Her mother has sought help from a psychologist who specializes in adolescent anxiety disorders.What principle of developmental psychopathology does Haley illustrate?
3 The juvenile court in one county hears cases for approximately 75 youths and families each month. Although the children who appear before the court come from different backgrounds and have different histories, they almost always show problems with antisocial behavior or substance use.What principle of developmental psychopathology does this scenario illustrate?
4 Adeba is a social worker who is employed by Child Protective Services. Adeba is assigned a new case, an 11-year-old girl who experienced repeated sexual abuse by her stepfather. Adeba wants to determine the girl’s prognosis, but she can’t predict the girl’s future with much certainty.What principle of developmental psychopathology does she illustrate?
References
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2002). A developmental psychopathology perspective on adolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 6–20.
Sroufe, L. A., & Rutter, M. (1984). The domain of developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 17–29.
This case study accompanies the textbook: Weis, R. (2021). Introduction to abnormal child and adolescent psychology (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Answers appear in the online instructor resources. Visit https://sagepub.com.
Case Study: Bio-Psycho-Social Causes of Children’s Problems
Just like the characters in The Blind Men and the Elephant, we obtain the most complete picture of children’s development (and developmental problems) when we look at it from multiple perspectives. Developmental psychopathologists study childhood disorders across multiple levels of analysis: biological, psychological, and social–cultural. Then, they combine information from across these levels to explain how disorders emerge over time.
©iStockphoto.com/148489923
Now it’s your turn to apply the various levels of analysis presented in the text to a clinical case. Read the case study and briefly explain how Valerie’s disorder can be explained in terms of each level, and how the levels might interact with each other, over time, to shape development.
Description
Valerie Connell was a 16-year-old girl who was referred to an inpatient residential treatment program for adolescents with substance use disorders. Val was ordered to participate in treatment by the juvenile court after she was arrested for opioid possession and distribution.
Val grew up in a western suburb of Chicago. Her father was a musician with a history of alcohol and marijuana use problems. He left Val and her mother when Val was 5 years old. Although he continued to live in the Chicago area, he had only occasional contact with Val. Val had mixed feelings about her father. On one hand, she was attracted to his glamorous lifestyle: performing, traveling, and socializing. On the other hand, she resented his decision to abandon his family when she was so young and harbored anger toward him because of the many times he disappointed her over the years. “If your own dad doesn’t care about you, no one will,” said Val. “I saw myself as pretty worthless—like no one will ever really love me.”
Val’s mother also had a history of alcohol use. She became pregnant with Val when she was 17, a single parent by the time she was 22, and a recovering alcoholic by the time she was 26. Mrs. Connell attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to maintain her sobriety and supports herself and Val by working two jobs. Long hours limit her ability to be involved in Val’s school or extracurricular activities. Although she says, “Val means the world to me—the one thing I live for,” she admits that stress at work and concerns about her ability to pay the bills “sometimes cause me to lose my temper with her.”
Val exhibited problems with hyperactivity and oppositional behavior as a preschooler. “She was a handful,” recalled her mother. “She’d always be on the go, she never wanted to be quiet and listen to me. If I would tell her to do something, she’d ignore me, yell, or scream.” Val’s disruptive behavior persisted into elementary school. Her pediatrician prescribed stimulant medication to manage her hyperactive-impulsive behavior, but it had little effect on her defiance and tantrums. By the time Val was in the third grade, she was behind her classmates in reading and math and had gained a reputation as a troublemaker.
Val’s substance use began with her transition to middle school. She was referred to a special education program for children with behavior problems and learning disabilities. She quickly made friends with several girls who introduced her to smoking (age 12) and marijuana (age 13). Although she tried alcohol at approximately the same age, she did not like its taste and limited its use to parties and social gatherings. By the time Val was 14 years old, she was using marijuana several times per week and drinking five to six sweet alcoholic drinks at parties on the weekends. She found it easy to hide her substance use from her mother.
