Developmental Psychopathology
Summary
Lectures
Book
Parritz, R. H., & Troy, M. F. (2023). Disorders of childhood: Development and psychopathology (4 th
Edition). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
Online literature
Crompton, C., DeBrabander, K., Heasman, B., Milton, D. & Sasson, N. (2021). Double empathy: Why
autistic people are often misunderstood. Frontiers Young Minds.
https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2021.554875
Mammarella, I. C., Toffalini, E., Caviola, S., Colling, L., & Szűcs, D. (2021). No evidence for a core deficit
in developmental dyscalculia or mathematical learning disabilities. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 62, 704-714. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13397
McKean, C., Law, J., Morgan, A., & Reilly, S. (2018). Developmental Language Disorder. In S.-A.
Rueschemeyer & M. G. Gaskell (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics (2nd ed).
Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198786825.013.35
Snowling, M. J., Hulme, C. & Nation, K. (2020). Defining and understanding dyslexia: Past, present and
future. Oxford Review of Education, 46, 501-513.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1765756
,Summary DEV PED.
Fundamentals (H1-H4)
Psychopathology: intense, frequent, and/or persistent maladaptive patterns of emotion, cognition,
behavior.
Developmental psychopathology emphasizes that these maladaptive patterns occur in the context of
typical development and result in the current and potential impairment of infants, children, and
adolescents.
1. Dynamic appreciation of children’s strengths and weaknesses as they experience salient, age-
related challenges
2. Individual, familial, ethnic, cultural, societal beliefs about desirable vs undesirable outcomes (=
definitions of normality)
- Statistical deviance (vooral gericht op afwijken van peers)
Issue: Wanneer is iets genoeg afgeweken en welke kant op?
- Sociocultural norms (wat is wel of niet normaal volgens de norm)
Issue: De waardes van een groep zijn niet universeel
- Mental health perspective (well-being staat centraal, theoretisch en clinische kijk)
Issue: Experts hebben ook eigen waarden en zijn subjectief
,1. Delay or dysfunction
2. Typical vs Atypical development as a process:
Adjustment & maladjustment are points along a lifelong map
Adequate or average adaptation: okay
Optimal adaptatation: …
Multifinality: Similar starting point lead to different outcomes
Equifinality: Different starting points lead to similar outcomes
Types of continuity:
- Homotypic continuity (stable expression of
symptoms)
- Heterotypic continuity (symptom expression
change with development)
- Cumulative continuity (Environment that
perpetuates maladaptive styles)
Important!
1. Change is possible at many points
2. Change is constrained/enabled by previous adaptations
3. Transitions & turning points shut down/create opportunities
4. Developmental coherence
Risk factors: Increased vulnerability to disorder
- Nonspecific (poverty)/specific (distorted body image)
- Differential impact -> high risk levels may override
resilience factors
- Timing of risk may dampen/strengthen its impact
Resilience factors: Positive adaptations (or competence) despite adversity
- Promotive/protective
1. Reducing impact of risk
2. Reducing the negative change of reactions following risk
3. Establishing and maintaining self-esteem and self-efficacy
4. Opening opportunities for growth
- Dynamic and extends beyond child/family system
, Theoretical models
Psychosocial models
= A physiological basis for all psychological
(brain/body/behavior) processes
Treatment: focuses on physiological processes
Short description:
- Brain develops over time (genotype
influences phenotype)
- There are sensitive and even critical periods that are of influence on brain development
- Environment influences gene expressions & activation
- Differences between typically vs atypically developing kids, and differences within both
groups
- Disorder: Genetic vulnerability to stressors and presence of adversity
- Disorder vs flourishing depends on the environment: Children differ in sensitivity to
environmental influences
Psychodynamic models:
Historically focused on:
- Unconscious processes influence
development
- Conflicts among processes and
structures of the mind
- Stages of development with specific
emotional, cognitive, and social
challenges
- Lasting impact of resolutions to stage-related developmental challenges
Recently focused on:
- Unconscious cognitive, affective, motivational processes
- Mental representations of self, other, and relationships (e.g., attachment theory,
mentalization)
- Importance of subjective experiences
- Developmental perspective
Psychopathology: fixation & regression to prior developmental stages
Treatment: play therapy, psychotherapy, psychoanalyses, specific therapies for disorders
Behavioral and cognitive models:
Behaviorism = typical and atypical behaviors are gradually acquired via learning
Psychopathology: the result of learning gone awry(scheef/mis)
Treatment: relearning, unlearning, and learning new behaviors
Recently focus: increasing complexity
