SUBJECT

Developmental Psychopathology

lecture

master

Faculty of Education and Psychology

2

Semester 1

Autumn semester

Aim of the course

Learning outcome, competences

Knowledge:   Students will become familiar with

• the major theoretical issues of developmental psychopathology
• the emotional and behavioural disorders in infants, children, and adolescents in a developmental perspective
• the complex dynamics of risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology
• the modern, developmental theory-based approaches to prevention and intervention

Attitude:  The student

• should be motivated to understand the complex multi-factorial pathways in the development of psychopathology
• should appreciate the dangers of the superficial approach to thesymptoms

Skills:  The student should be able to

• implement the knowledge learnt in the course either in the practical work of a psychologist or in research
• recognize the simplifications with regard to the infant, childhood, and adolescent psychopathology occurring either in the literature or the clinical practice and treat them critically

Content of the course

Topics of the course

• Conceptualisation of developmental psychopathology; challenges to research.
• Dimensional vs. categorical approach to mental disorders. Reasons for the symptom-based taxonomy. The Child Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock). Shortcomings of the “snapshot” view of symptoms.
• Methodological implications: importance of epidemiological and longitudinal research.
• Pathologic developmental pathways; the role of age and developmental level; multi- and equi-finality.
• Models of developmental psychopathology.
• Vulnerability and resiliency in the development of psychopathology.
• Infant psychopathology:

eating and sleep disorders, excessive crying, non-organic failure-to-thrive.

• Major syndromes in child and adolescent psychopathology:

• Pervasive developmental disorders
• Disorders related to the executive system
• Anxiety, fears, phobias
• Depression
• Aggression and conduct disorders
• Eating disorders
• Elimination disorders

Learning activities, learning methods

• Lecture with presentation

Evaluation of outcomes

Learning requirements, mode of evaluation, criteria of evaluation:

requirements

• knowledge of the course material based on the lectures and the compulsory readings

mode of evaluation: oral exam

criteria of evaluation:

• knowledge
• understanding the complexity of the development of psychopathology

Compulsory reading list

• Sroufe, A. L. &  Rutter, M.:  The domain of developmental psychopathology.
• In  A. Slater & D. Muir (Eds.): The Blackwell Reader in Developmental
• Psychology. Oxford: Blackwells, 2000. 535-554.
• Sameroff, A.J.:Models of development and developmental risk. In C.H. Zeanah, Jr. (Ed), Handbook of  Infant Mental Health. New York: Guilford, 1993, 3-13.
• Werner, E.E.:Protective factors and individual resilience. In S.J. Meisels & J.P. Shonkoff (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 115-132.
• , D. & Toth, S.L. (Eds.), Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology, Rochester, NY: Univ. of Rochester Press, 1991.

Chapters:

• Achenbach, T.M.:The Derivation of Taxonomic Constructs, 60-63
• R.:  Questions and advances in the study of developmental pathways, 97-116.

• Lewis, M. and Miller, S.M.: Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology. New York and London, Plenum Press, 1990.

• Chapter 2.Lewis, M.: Models of Developmental Psychopathology, 14-27.
• Chapter 9.Martin, B. & Hoffman, J.A.: Conduct Disorder, 109-118
• Chapter 12.Eron, L.D. & Huesmann, L.R.: The Stability of Aggressive Behavior
  - Even unto the Third Generation, 147-156
• Chapter 15.Miller, S,M., Boyer,B,A. & Rodoletz, M.: Anxiety in Children, 191-207
• Chapter 21.Wenar, Ch.: Childhood fears and phobias. 281-290.
• Chapter 23.Cantwell, D.P.: Depression across the Early Life Span, 293-310.
• Chapter 24.Miller, S.M., Birnbaum, A. & Durbin, D.: Etiologic Perspectives on Depression in Childhood, 311-325.
• Chapter 31.Attie, I., Brooks-Gunn, J. & Petersen, A.C.: A Developmental Perspective on Eating Disorders and Eating Problems, 409-420.
• Chapter 32.  Liebert, R.M. & Fichel, J.E.: The Elimination Disorders (Enuresis and Encopresis), 421-429

• Frith, U.:  Cognitive explanations of autism. In: Kang Lee (Ed): Childhood Cognitive Development. Oxford: Blackwells, 2000. 324-337.
• Achenbach, T.M. & Rescorla, L. (2000):  Child Behavior Checklist. Burlington.

Recommended reading list

• Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D.J. (Eds),Developmental Psychopathology. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley, 2006