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Developmental Psychopathology
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INTRODUCTIONDevelopmental Psychopathology:
● The study of developmental processes that contribute to or protect against
psychopathology (Kerig, Ludlow & Wenar, 2012)
● Related courses
○ Developmental psychology
○ Child and youth psychiatry
● Emphasis on:
○ developmental perspective
○ transdiagnostic mechanisms
○ integrative models
○ multiple levels of analysis
● Dunedin Study (Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development
Study) in New Zealand
○ All babies born between April 1, 1972 and March 31, 1973 in the city
of Dunedin (NZ) are being followed up until now
○ over 1000 participants
○ questionnaires, interviews, physical tests, … during 13 measurement
occasions
○ exceptionally rich dataset to examine a broad range of questions
relevant for the study of developmental psychopathology
○ founder: Phil Silva
○ current director: Ritchie Poulton
○ associate director: Terrie Moffitt → awarded an honorary doctorate
for her pioneering research into the development of antisocial and criminal behavior
○ Relevance:
■ by following-up participants lifelong, processes and mechanisms that play a role in the development of
problems can be examined
■ this necessitates a different type of research design than research on processes and mechanisms that play a
role in the maintenance of problems
● (non-clinical) community sample (to avoid confounding with clinical status)
● large sample (as some problems have a low incidence)
● assess many different factors (as some factors unexpectedly emerge as significant predictors + there is a
interplay of many different factors)
● focus on different levels of analysis
○ the study is unique because of:
■ the recruitment of an entire birth cohort
■ the very long follow-up
■ the extremely low drop-out
○ as there is only one cohort, it is not possible to rule out cohort effects (e.g., in the year this cohort leaves school,
employment possibilities are very limited)
○ given the long duration of the study, research questions change (currently one focus is early aging processes)
○ 'famous' scholars speaking in the documentary
■ Avshalom Caspi & Terrie Moffitt
■ Michael Rutter
■ Jay Belsky
○ “The Origins of You” by Jay Belsky, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie Moffitt, & Richie Poulton is based on the Dunedin
Study
,TOPIC 1A: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1a.1) Definition:
● "Developmental psychopathology is an evolving interdisciplinary scientific field that seeks to elucidate the interplay
among the biological, psychological, and social-contextual aspects of normal and abnormal development across the
life course" (Cicchetti, 2000)
● "Developmental psychopathology is the study of developmental processes that contribute to, or protect against
psychopathology" (Kerig, Ludlow & Wenar, 2012)
● broad focus
○ typical as well as atypical development
○ biological, psychological and socio-cultural
influences
○ risk as well as protection
● need for an interdisciplinary approach
○ different scientific disciplines
○ different theories within each discipline
○ ‘macroparadigm’
1a.2) Typical and Atypical Development
● typical and atypical development occur according to
the same principles
○ insight in typical development helps us to
understand atypical development
○ by studying atypical development we also learn about typical development
● supported by evidence suggesting that most psychiatric problems are dimensional
1a.3) Continuity and Discontinuity
● Is the child the father of the man?
○ does how we behave and function as adults reflect who were as children?
○ does how we are as children forecast who we will become later in life?
- these questions refer to the issue of continuity versus discontinuity in development
● Discontinuity
○ (dis)continuity can be conceptualized in different ways:
■ ‘Mean-level’-stability
● the mean level of a trait or symptom remains stable across time
● In some developmental stages, however, normative mean-level
changes are observed
e.g., antisocial behavior in adolescence
■ Rank order continuity
● Rank order continuity means that over time, individuals keep
their rank order in the group
● continuity may be homotypic or heterotypic
1. Homotypical - rank order and manifestation remain the
same
2. Heterotypical - rank order remains the same but
manifestation changes
● manifestations of problem behavior, anxiety,... can change in the course of development
● heterotypic continuity may be considered at different levels:
e.g.,
○ separation anxiety → worry
○ anxiety → depressive symptoms
○ oppositional behavior → depressive symptoms
, Example study on homo- and heterotypic
● cohort study, n>6000 children
● assessment of psychopathological
symptoms at 7,5 and 14 years
○ internalizing/fear (specific phobia, social
phobia)
○ internalizing/distress (post-traumatic
stress, generalized stress, depression)
○ externalizing (ADHD, ODD, CD)
● 3 models of possible continuity (3 possible scenarios)
○ A: homotypic continuity only
○ B: homotypic continuity + heterotypic continuity within higher-order dimension
hogereordedimensie → ADHD predicts ADHD later on, but also conduct disorder
○ C: homotypic continuity + heterotypic continuity across higher-order dimensions
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