child assessment

Developmental Psychopathology

"It is the 'developmental' component

of developmental psychopathology

that distinguishes this discipline from

abnormal psychology, psychiatry, and

even clinical child psychology. At the

same time, the focus on individual

patterns of adaption and

maladaptation distinguishes this field

from the larger discipline of

developmental psychology, " Sroufe

& Rutter, 1984.

Sroufe, L. A., & Rutter, M. L. (1984).

The domain of developmental

psychopathology. Child

Development, 55, 17-29.

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Key Terms

• Continuous vs. Discontinuous

• Diathesis-stress model

Sameroff, A. J. (2000). Developmental

systems and psychopathology.

Development and Psychopathology,

12, 297-312.

Developmental Pathways

• Equifinity • Multifinity

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Developmental Pathways

Conception

Adulthood

Most will stay

in here

Risk and Protective Factors (Resiliency)

• Risk and protective factors are things in the world that exist that

effect our functioning and development

• Any factor that increases the likelihood of psychopathology is a risk

factor

• Any factor that decreases the likelihood of psychopathology is a

protective factor

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Resilience

• Definition: "the capacity of a dynamic system to withstand or recover

from significant threats to its stability, viability, or development

• Three pieces operationalized – competence (the criteria for adaptive

success), exposures to stressors (the risk criteria), and individual

attributes of the child and family that might account for the variations

in adaption (protective factors?)

• "The short list"

Masten, A., & Tellegen, A. (2012). Resilience in

developmental psychopathology: Contributions of the

Project Competence Longitudinal Study. Dev

Psychopathol Development and Psychopathology, 345-

361.

Examples of Protective Factors

• Within the Child

Strong cognitive abilities

Easy temperament in infancy

Good self-regulation

• Within the Family

Close relationships with caregiving adults

Authoritative parenting (high on warmth, structure/monitoring, expectations)

Positive family climate

Minimal discord between parents

• Within Family or Other Relationships

Close relationships with competent and supportive adults

Relationships with prosocial and rule-abiding peers

• Within the Community

Effective schools

Ties to prosocial organizations (e.g., schools, clubs)

Neighborhoods with high "collective efficacy" Source: Masten & Reed (2002).

Risk Factors

• Less positive parenting (poor parenting quality)

• Limited cognitive skills

• High neuroticism and negative emotionality

• Fewer resources

Masten, A., & Tellegen, A. (2012). Resilience in

developmental psychopathology: Contributions of

the Project Competence Longitudinal Study. Dev

Psychopathol Development and

Psychopathology, 345-361.

Intervention in the Developmental Psychopathology Model

• Generally promoting resiliency and reducing risk factors

• As practitioners how can we introduce and enhance protective factors

and reduce risk factors

• Keep in mind that symptoms could be a protective factor – removing

the symptoms could put a child at more risk (i.e. isolation in domestic

violence)

• Evidence based practice can be applied within this model, but not all

aspects researched yet (how to introduce protective factors)