Psychopathology

Scientific study of emotions, cognitions, behaviors that may differ from norms based on age, gender identity, culture and community, and may increase the risk of psychological distress

Psychopathology and clinical science

-Assessment of psychological disorders - Identifying risk and protective factors - Making predictions about long-term outcomes - Developing and testing the effectiveness of treatments/interventions or prevention approaches

Neurobiological perspective

brain and nervous system functions seen as underlying causes of psychological disorders (cause or consequence?)

Genetic Contributions

Most forms of abnormal behavior are polygenic: many susceptibility genes interacting with each other and with environmental influences

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model

Describes the child’s environment as a series of nested and interconnected structures with the child at the center

Multifinality

Children who have similar outcomes at time 1 may diverge at time 2. A single cause or developmental pathway can lead to multiple outcomes

Equifinality

Children who are very different at time 1 may all have the same outcome at time 2… children who reach the same point by very different routes

Risk

Processes that precede negative outcomes of interest, and which increase the probability that the outcomes will occur

Resilience

children functioning well in the face of adversity

Organic group

there is a clear biological basis, Associated with severe and profound deficits

Cultural-familial group

there is no clear organic basis, Associated with mild deficits

Prevention and Intervention

- Prenatal education/ screening - Early intervention -Academic modifications and tailoring the curriculum to the child’s needs - Behavioral treatments: shaping successive approximations, modeling, graduated guidance - Cognitive-Behavioral (e.g., self-instructional training)

Who typically refers children to mental health services?

Parents or caregivers • Teachers or school personnel • Physicians or pediatricians • Sometimes child welfare or juvenile justice systems

What life experience makes children the most vulnerable to psychopathology?

ACES: abuse, neglect, household dysfunction

What is the primary cause of child and adolescent problems?

Child psychopathology is multiply determined: problems arise from interacting biological, psychological, and environmental influences

What context(s) (e.g., family, culture, etc.) are most important to consider when understanding children?

Kids behavior must be understood within multiple contexts: Family, school, peers, cultural and ethnic, socioeconomic environment • Kids develop within ecological systems where these contexts interact

What is the difference between chronological age and developmental age?

Chronological: actual age in years • Developmental: level of functioning based on developmental milestones (cognitive, emotional, or social development) (use this for assessment)

What are the primary developmental differences between early, middle, and adolescent development?

Early (infancy to preschool): attachment to caregivers, language development, differentiating self from environment • Middle: self-control, school adjustment, academic achievement, peer relationships • Adolescence: identity formation, independence, close relationships, academic and social development

What are the top three most commonly reported ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), in order?

Parent separation/divorce • Household substance abuse • Emotional abuse or neglect

What is attachment? What are the different types?

• Strong emotional bond between a child and caregiver that provides safety • Secure: child trusts caregiver • Insecure avoidant: child avoids caregiver • Insecure-ambivalent: child anxious and clingy • Disorganized: confused, fearful

Serotonin

depression, anxiety

Dopamine

ADHD, Schizophrenia

Norepinephrine

depression, anxiety

GABA

anxiety disorders

Glutamate

schizophrenia, mood disorders

What is the HPA axis and how does it impact mental health?

• HPA axis: body's stress response system; regulates cortisol • Chronic activation due to trauma or stress can lead to anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation

What is temperament?

• A child's innate emotional and behavioral style • EX: emotional reactivity, activity level, ability to regulate emotions

What are commonly reported concerns by female-identifying children, male-identifying children, and those equally reported across genders?

• Male more common: ADHD, conduct disorder, ID, ASD, learning disorders • Female: anxiety, depression, eating disorders • Equal: childhood repression, abuse and neglect

What is the difference between social cognition and observational learning?

• Social cognition: how kids think about, interpret, and understand social interactions • Observational learning: learning behaviors by watching others and modeling their actions

What are ways other types of assessments we give and use, including physical assessments?

• Interviews: structured or unstructured • Questionaries or rating scales: teacher report • Behavioral observations • Psychological testing • Neuropsychological tests • Psychophysiological measures • Neuroimaging

What is the cultural formulation interview? What are the parts and how is it used?

• Helps clinicians understand clients cultural context • Cultural definition, perceptions, factors affecting coping, factors affecting help seeking

What are the differences between comorbidity, prevalence, and incidence?

• Comorbidity: two or more disorders occurring together • Prevalence: total number of cases new and existing in a population during a time period • Incidence: number of new cases during a time period

Protective factor

Personal or situational variable that helps reduce the chances for a child to develop a disorder

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal axis

Mediated neuroendocrine response to stress in the body, composed of three areas of the body, critical for responding to stress

Temperament

Early self-regulatory styles linked to distinct brain activities that may influence later development by affecting a child's development of self-control

Infant Caregiver attachment model

Sensitive period of 6-12 months

Competence

Child ability to successfully adapt in their environment

Resilience

Reminds us that a direct causal pathway rarely leads to a particular outcome

EEG

Biomarker to link brains measurable electrical activity with ongoing thinking, emotion or arousal