PY 461 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Mental Disorder, Developmental Psychopathology

• School: University of Alabama
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PY 461
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Chapter 1: the science and practice of abnormal child psychology. How common are childhood disorders: 15% of youth 6 to 16 have a diagnosable mental disorder at any given time, by age 16, 30% will have experienced a psychological disorder at some point. Accuracy of numbers: challenges related to identification and diagnosis, children have limited insight, parents are stressed, overlapping symptoms, changes in symptoms, homotypic continuity: same problems over time, heterotypic continuity: problems change over time. In general, psychological disorders are more common during adolescence because of things such as puberty. In childhood, boys at greater risk for developmental disorders and disruptive behavior: during adolescence, girls at greater risk for emotional disorders (e. g. depression, anxiety, more common among lower ses. Defining abnormal child behavior: statistical deviancy: an approach that some people take, however, there are limitations, degree of impairment/disability, degree of distress, cultural deviancy, behavioral rigidity, harmful dysfunction. Developmental psychopathology: epigenesist: interaction of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors.