facilitate learning. Psychologists know that completing practice tests and elaborating on one’s reading are two of the most effective strategies to promote learning and memory (Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan, & Willingham, 2013). The questions that appear throughout this book allow students to prepare for exams as they read and test their learning by comparing their answers with the section summaries. Students can also use these summaries to quickly review main points prior to class.
New Features
The fourth edition offers several exciting updates:
A new chapter on research methods has been added. Chapter 3 begins by describing the essential features of scientific thinking and the dangers of relying on pseudoscience when working with children and families. The chapter presents common methods and designs used by researchers to (1) describe, (2) predict, and (3) explain children’s development and (4) replicate their findings.
Each chapter has been revised to integrate information about the way social–cultural factors affect the presentation, prevalence, course, and treatment of each disorder. For example, chapters provide expanded coverage of the way children’s gender, ethnicity, language, religion, acculturation, migration experiences, or socioeconomic status might influence their development. Introductory chapters also include topics like intersectionality, culturally informed assessment practices, and social–ecological models of development.
Evidence-based treatments for each disorder are organized based on their underlying theory or principles, rather than by their name brand. For example, evidence-based treatments for autism spectrum disorder are organized based on whether they emphasize applied behavior analysis, the developmental social–pragmatic model, or functional communication skills. Although specific name-brand treatments are still described in detail (e.g., Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, Early Start Denver Model, Picture Exchange Communication System), the emphasis is on the theory and principles behind each treatment. This emphasis on underlying theory, rather than on name-brand treatments, is consistent with the recommendations of the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry regarding evidence-based treatments for children and families.
Of course, each chapter has been updated to reflect the current, scientific research and recommended clinical practice. The prevalence and demographic distribution of several childhood problems has changed since the last edition of this book. For example, there has been a marked change in the prevalence and gender distribution of autism in the last 3 years that is now reflected in the current edition. Similarly, adolescents’ use of nicotine and marijuana vaping products has supplanted more traditional cigarette smoking and other tobacco use. Advances have also been made regarding risk and protective factors for nearly each disorder and new guidelines or practice parameters have been published regarding recommendations for assessment and treatment. A thorough listing of all of these updates is not possible in this brief summary. However, the text includes hundreds of new references, published in the past 3 years. The fourth edition is not merely an “updated” version of the previous editions; it expands upon its predecessors by presenting emerging topics and exciting new research.
Special Resources for Instructors
Instructors have access to password-protected ancillary materials to facilitate lectures, class discussion, and the creation of exams. I hope that this material will allow instructors greater time and flexibility to engage students in the classroom rather than to worry about the “nuts and bolts” of their courses. Please visit http://edge.sagepub.com/weis4e to access the following:
PowerPoint slides for each chapter, including tables and figures from the text.
A test bank that includes multiple-choice, true/false, and essay questions.
Suggested answers to Case Study materials.
Additional Case Studies to Accompany the Text
The supplemental book Case Studies in Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology is a collection of clinical vignettes designed to accompany each chapter of this textbook. Each vignette is presented briefly (about one page) and reflects an actual child, adolescent, or family with names and other identifying information changed to protect their confidentiality. Each case is followed by a series of discussion questions that correspond to material presented in the text. Questions invite students to critically evaluate or apply principles of developmental psychopathology, describe key diagnostic features for each disorder, identify potential causes for children’s problems from multiple levels of analysis, and/or formulate treatment plans based on empirical evidence.
The password-protected instructor’s material of the case study book provides instructors with each child’s diagnosis and answers to discussion questions. The corresponding student material omits this information to challenge students to answer questions on their own.
Instructors can use these case studies in several ways:
As In-Class Activities
Because the vignettes are written briefly, instructors can present a case to their entire class at the beginning of the class session. Then, after presenting material relevant to that vignette, instructors can ask their students to apply what they have learned at the end of the session.
For Presentations
Alternatively, instructors can assign cases to groups of students ahead of time. Each group might be responsible for presenting their case to the rest of the class and/or addressing the discussion questions the instructor wants to emphasize. Oral presentations can be relatively brief (i.e., 5–10 minutes each) and might be given periodically during the semester or as an end-of-semester project.
As Writing Assignments or Exam Questions
Each case study could be presented either as a writing assignment or test question. As writing assignments, cases give students opportunities to review, evaluate, and apply information from the text. As exam questions, they allow instructors to assess students’ mastery of material at a deeper level of processing than most short-answer or multiple-choice questions.
Perhaps most importantly, these vignettes help students to focus on children and families, rather than on disorders. I hope that these case studies give instructors greater freedom to engage and challenge students in new and creative ways.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to many people for their support and encouragement. First, I am thankful for the professional training and mentorship of Dr. Chris Lovejoy and the faculty at Northern Illinois University, who embody the spirit of the scientist–practitioner tradition. Second, I want to acknowledge three clinician–scholars who have greatly influenced my view of developmental psychopathology and the delivery of psychological services to children, adolescents, and families: Dr. Thomas Linscheid and Dr. Joseph Hatcher of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Dr. Terry Kaddatz of St. Michael Hospital in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Third, I would like to thank Denison University for supporting this project for many years. Finally, I would like to thank the reviewers of this edition of the book for their kind assistance: Kristin E. Austin, Florida State University; Myra Bundy, Eastern Kentucky University; and Ellyn Herb, San Jose State
