SUBJECT

Applied Developmental Psychology

practical

master

Faculty of Education and Psychology

3

Semester 4

Spring semester

Aim of the course:

The goal of the course is to lay the foundations of applied developmental psychology and to give insight to the psychological work with at risk children. The course give knowledge about family risk and development in risky environment, about protective factors which are important for prevention and intervention. The students will learn about atypical development, dysfunctional families and about the heterogeneity in developmental outcome. Knowledge will be based on current empirical findings and the consequences for practice will be discussed. The course deals with the ways how students can use developmental psychological knowledge in understanding cases of children or families.

Learning outcome, competences

knowledge:

• knowledge about risk factors within and outside families
• understanding the certain dynamics within families; knowledge about typical reactions and roles of children living in high risk environment
• an overall view of disorganized attachment, atypical parent-child interactions and parenting
• knowledge of the role of loss and trauma in child development
• understanding of the psychological aspects of adoption

attitude:

• capable of thinking in system theories; complex view of the multidetermined feature of development
• thinking in risk and protective factors
• intention to recognise family strengths and coping capacities
• aspiration for reading current articles in the field of developmental psychology and applied developmental science

skills:

• capable of applying developmental psychological knowledge during case analyses
• can understand that certain environmental effects might impact upon child’s development differently in relation to the child’s age
• capable of analyse the risk and protective factors and understand the mechanisms when facing with a child’s developmental history

Content of the course

Topics of the course

• Mother-child interaction and attachment
• Alcohol and drug abuse of parents
• Child maltreatment
• Divorce and repartnering, patchwork families
• Parental mental illness and child development
• Bullying
• Adoption
• Loss in family, grieving
• Recovery from trauma
• Forensic developmental psychology: child witnesses

Learning activities, learning methods

Evaluation of outcomes

Learning requirements, mode of evaluation, criteria of evaluation:

requirements

• compulsory readings for the classes
• paper: how the student can apply his/her knowledge of development in understanding children and families

mode of evaluation: ………grades (1-5)….

criteria of evaluation:

• level of knowledge and understanding

Compulsory reading list

• Alink, L. A., Cicchetti, D., Kim, J., & Rogosch, F. A. (2012). Longitudinal associations among child maltreatment, social functioning, and cortisol regulation. Developmental Psychology, 48(1), 224-236. doi:10.1037/a0024892
• Bruck, M., & Ceci, S. (2004). Forensic developmental psychology: Unveiling four common misconceptions. Current Directions In Psychological Science, 13(6), 229-232. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00314.x
• Carr, A. (2012).Family therapy: Concepts, process and practice. John Wiley & Sons.
• Fergusson, D. M., McLeod, G. F. H., Horwood L. J. (2014): Parental separation/divorce in childhood and partnership outcomes at age 30. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 55:4, pp 352–360
• Graham-Bermann, S. A., Gruber, G., Howell, K. H., Girz, L. (2009): Factors discriminating among profiles of resilience and psychopathology in children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 648-660.
• Hennon, C. B., Hildenbrand, B., & Schedle, A. (2008). Stepfamilies and children. In T. P. Gullotta, G. M. Blau, T. P. Gullotta, G. M. Blau (Eds.) , Family influences on childhood behavior and development: Evidence-based prevention and treatment approaches(pp. 161-185). New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
• Jones, M., Pietilä, I., Joronen, K., Simpson, W., Gray, S., & Kaunonen, M. (2016). Parents with mental illness – a qualitative study of identities and experiences with support services. Journal Of Psychiatric And Mental Health Nursing, doi:10.1111/jpm.12321
• Kljakovic, M., Hunt, C. (2016): A meta-analysis of predictors of bullying and victimisation in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence. 49. 134-145
• Macfie,J., Brumariu, L. E., Lyons-Ruth, K. (2015):Developmental Review, Volume 36, June 2015, 34-57
• Power, J., Cuff, R., Jewell, H., McIlwaine, F., O'Neill, I., & U'Ren, G. (2014). Working in a family therapy setting with families where a parent has a mental illness: Practice dilemmas and strategies. Journal Of Family Therapy, doi:10.1111/1467-6427.12052
• Rotter, J. C. (2000). Family grief and mourning. The Family Journal, 8(3), 275-277. doi:10.1177/1066480700083010
• Weaver, J. M., & Schofield, T. J. (2015). Mediation and moderation of divorce effects on children’s behavior problems. Journal Of Family Psychology, 29(1), 39-48. doi:10.1037/fam0000043

Recommended reading list

• Belsky, J.,Jaffee, S. R. (2006): The multiple determinants of parenting. In D. Cicchetti & D. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental Psychopathology: Risk, disorder and adaptation (pp. 38-85). NY: Wiley.
• Berg-Nielsen, T. S., Vikan, A., Dahl, A., A. (2002): Parenting Related to Child and Parental Psychopathology: A Descriptive Review of the Literature. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 7; 529-552.
• Borstein M. H. (2002): Handbook of parenting. Erlbaum.
• Cicchetti, D. (2016). Socioemotional, Personality, and Biological Development: Illustrations from a Multilevel Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Child Maltreatment. Annual Review Of Psychology, 67187-211. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033259
• Cook, A. S. (2013). The family, larger systems, and loss, grief, and mourning. In D. K. Meagher, D. E. Balk, D. K. Meagher, D. E. Balk (Eds.) , Handbook of thanatology: The essential body of knowledge for the study of death, dying, and bereavemen, 2nd ed(pp. 171-178). New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group
• Cowan, P. A., Cowan, C. P. (2006):Developmental psychopathology from family systems and family risk factors perspectives: Implications for family research, practice, and policy. In D. Cicchetti & D. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental Psychopathology: Risk, disorder and adaptation (pp. 530—587).
• Faller, K. C., Cordisco-Steele, L., & Nelson-Gardell, D. (2010). Allegations of sexual abuse of a child: What to do when a single forensic interview isn't enough. Journal Of Child Sexual Abuse: Research, Treatment, & Program Innovations For Victims, Survivors, & Offenders, 19(5), 572-589. doi:10.1080/10538712.2010.511985
• Gunnar M, Kertes D. Prenatal and Postnatal Risks to Neurobiological Development in Internationally Adopted Children.Psychological issues in adoption: Research and practice [e-book]. Westport, CT, US: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group; 2005:47-65.
• Mcginn, M. (2007) Developmental Challenges for Adoptees across the LifeCycle. In: Handbook of Adoption: Implications for Researchers,Practitioners, and Families. RA. Javier, AL. Baden, FA. Biafora & A Camacho-Gingerich (Eds.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Milgrom, J., Ericksen, J., & Sved-Williams, A. (2016). Impact of parental psychiatric illness on infant development. In A. L. Sutter-Dallay, N. M. Glangeaud-Freudenthal, A. Guedeney, A. Riecher-Rössler, A. L. Sutter-Dallay, N. M. Glangeaud-Freudenthal, ... A. Riecher-Rössler (Eds.) , Joint care of parents and infants in perinatal psychiatry (pp. 47-78). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-21557-0_4
• Park, S., & Schepp, K. G. (2015). A systematic review of research on children of alcoholics: Their inherent resilience and vulnerability. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(5), 1222-1231.
• Reupert, A., Maybery, D., Nicholson, J., Göpfert, M., & Seeman, M. V. (2015). Parental psychiatric disorder: Distressed parents and their families., 3rd ed. New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107707559
• Roberts, K. P. (2002). Children's ability to distinguish between memories from multiple sources: Implications for the quality and accuracy of eyewitness statements. Developmental Review, 22(3), 403-435. doi:10.1016/S0273-2297(02)00005-9
• Rosenthal, J. R. (2002). Suggestibility, reliability, and the legal process. Developmental Review, 22(3), 334-369. doi:10.1016/S0273-2297(02)00002-3
• Saywitz, K. J., Larson, R. P., Hobbs, S. D., & Wells, C. R. (2015). Developing rapport with children in forensic interviews: Systematic review of experimental research. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, 33(4), 372-389. doi:10.1002/bsl.2186
• Shor, R., Kalivatz, Z., Amir, Y., Aldor, R., & Lipot, M. (2015). Therapeutic factors in a group for parents with mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 51(1), 79-84. doi:10.1007/s10597-014-9739-2
• Sun, S., Greenhoot, A. F., & Kelton, R. (2016). When parents know little about what happened: Parent‐guided conversations, stress, and young children's eyewitness memory. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, doi:10.1002/bsl.2231
• Tabak, I., Zabłocka‐Żytka, L., Ryan, P., Poma, S. Z., Joronen, K., Viganò, G., & ... Dawson, I. (2016). Needs, expectations and consequences for children growing up in a family where the parent has a mental illness. International Journal Of Mental Health Nursing, 25(4), 319-329. doi:10.1111/inm.12194
• Tyler, K. A. (2002): Social and emotional outcomes of childhood sexual abuse. A review of recent research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 7, 567–589.
• Weed,K., Keogh,D., Borkowski, J.(2006): Stability of resilience in children of adolescent mothers. Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 1, 60-77.
• Zumbach, J., & Koglin, U. (2015). Psychological evaluations in family law proceedings: A systematic review of the contemporary literature. Professional Psychology: Research And Practice, 46(4), 221-234. doi:10.1037/a0039329