families in need. The past 30 years have witnessed a remarkable increase in the scientific study of child psychopathology. New research has advanced the field, enabling us to more fully understand the causes of these conditions. Research depends on teams of professionals, working together to discover the causes of these disorders across multiple levels of analysis: genetic, biological, psychological, familial, and social–cultural.
Similarly, we have made great strides in developing evidence-based treatments for children with mental health problems. These treatments include new medications, psychotherapies, and prevention strategies that can be delivered in clinics, hospitals, schools, and the community. There is also increased effort to tailor these interventions to meet the needs of children and families from diverse cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The recent global pandemic has also required children and families to cope with enormous stress. Children must adjust to education at home, separation from friends at school, and the suspension of many activities they used to enjoy. Parents must juggle the demands of work with the responsibilities associated with caring for their children and other relatives. Families must tolerate the sadness that arises from the loss of loved ones and the anxiety that stems from uncertainty in nearly all domains of life. The recent health crisis challenges us to face these stressors with resilience, courage, and compassion.
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Now, more than ever, the world desperately needs caring professionals who are willing to dedicate their professional lives to serving children and families in need. Even if you do not intend to become a mental health professional, it is likely that you will play a significant role in the life of a child (if you haven’t already). Not all of us are called to be researchers or therapists, but everyone has the opportunity to promote the welfare of children in some capacity: as a caregiver, parent, teacher, coach, or mentor. This book is intended to introduce you to this intellectually exciting and personally rewarding field. Welcome!
Goals of This Book
This book is designed for students interested in the scientific study of abnormal child and adolescent psychology, child psychopathology, children with special needs, or otherwise exceptional children. It adopts a developmental psychopathology approach to understanding youths with behavioral, cognitive, and social–emotional problems. The developmental psychopathology perspective examines the emergence of child and adolescent disorders over time, pays special attention to risk and protective factors that influence developmental processes and trajectories, and examines child psychopathology in the context of typical development and children’s social–cultural identities and values.
This book has four overarching goals: (1) to introduce you to the principles of developmental psychopathology; (2) to help you appreciate the importance of integrating psychological science with real-world clinical practice; (3) to emphasize the need for evidence-based, ethical treatment for children and families; and (4) to be applicable to your life.
Goal 1: Introduce the Principles of Developmental Psychopathology
The first goal of this book is to introduce you to the principles of developmental psychopathology and to show you how this perspective can aid our understanding of childhood disorders. Children’s problems are multiply determined and constantly changing. The best understanding of these problems requires us to integrate research from many disciplines and to apply this information to children and families in specific developmental and social–cultural contexts. Beginning students can find this task overwhelming. However, the developmental psychopathology perspective allows us to appreciate the complexity of children’s development over time and across contexts, without oversimplifying the research literature or making the field too daunting for newcomers.
This book will introduce you to the multitude of factors that contribute to children’s development and the emergence of psychological problems. To help organize the research literature, I present each disorder across three broad levels of analysis.
The biological level includes genetic and epigenetic influences on development, brain structure and functioning, neurotransmitters and hormones, and children’s physical maturation over time.
The psychological level encompasses the interplay between children’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
The social–cultural level includes children’s relationships with family and friends, their ethnic and cultural backgrounds and identities, their socioeconomic status, and the characteristics of their schools, neighborhoods, and communities.
Childhood disorders can be analyzed at each of these levels. However, the most complete accounts of child psychopathology usually involve interactions across multiple levels of analysis and across time. I hope this book will help you to see how the field of abnormal child psychology is interdisciplinary and complex.
Goal 2: Appreciate the Importance of Integrating Science and Practice
Psychological research and clinical practice are not separate endeavors. On the contrary, effective therapy draws upon existing psychological research, while the most meaningful psychological research is often inspired by clinical practice.
This book highlights the relationship between research and practice in two ways. First, I’ve included detailed case studies throughout the text. These case studies are based on real clients (with names and other identifying information altered) to illustrate each disorder and show the complex nature of children’s problems and their impact on families. I hope that these case studies will not only help you differentiate the various disorders but also draw your attention to the experiences of children, parents, and other caregivers who are impacted by these conditions.
You will also find special From Science to Practice features in this book, which illustrate the way clinicians use research findings to help their clients. Most of these features provide concrete examples of evidence-based therapies. I hope that these features will show how practitioners translate research into real-world settings.
Goal 3: Focus on Evidence-Based and Ethical Treatment
My third goal is to provide you with an understanding of evidence-based treatments and evidence-based practice. Evidence-based treatments include psychosocial therapies, medications, and prevention strategies that have been shown to be effective in the scientific research literature. To the extent possible, I provide a detailed description of each form of therapy so that you can appreciate both the theory behind the intervention and how the treatment plays out in clinics, hospitals, and schools. Then, I briefly review the efficacy and effectiveness of each treatment.
Evidence-based practice involves adapting high-quality treatments to meet the needs, preferences, and social–cultural contexts of children and families. Skillful therapy begins with a thorough knowledge of the research literature. However, it also depends on the ability to implement this knowledge in a way that addresses families’ immediate concerns, capitalizes on their strengths, and respects their values and traditions.
My goal is not to teach you how to conduct therapy. Instead, I hope that you will be able to make connections between the causes of each disorder and the ways clinicians might treat it. I also hope that my emphasis on evidence-based therapies will help you become better consumers of psychological services. Unfortunately, there are too many interventions available to children and families that lack empirical support and too few evidence-based treatments accessible to families most in need. Perhaps this book will
