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Child Psychopathology. Overview of theories and causes Biological causes Case of Lee Reading for today: Chapter 2. Assumptions in Theories of Childhood Psychopathology. Child behavior is multiply determined (multidimensional, no one theory is enough)
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Child Psychopathology Overview of theories and causes Biological causes Case of Lee Reading for today: Chapter 2
Assumptions in Theories of Childhood Psychopathology • Child behavior is multiply determined (multidimensional, no one theory is enough) • The child and environment are interdependent and interact dynamically • transactional models of development, e,g, abuse • Abnormal behavior involves continuities and discontinuities • quantitative changes, such as reading disorder • qualitative changes, such as eating disorder
Lawful Discontinuity of Attachment Waters et al., 2000 Secure adults Secure Infants Insecure adults Family disruption Infancy Age 22
Dimensions of development • John gets in fights. How can we explain this behavior at different levels: • Biological • Cognitive • Emotional • Behavioral • Evolutionary • Family systems
Normal/ Abnormal Development • What are developmental achievements and common problems/ diagnostic labels for the following ages: • 0-2 • 2-6 • 6-11 • 12-20 • Achenbach (1982) overviews normal achievements, problems, and common diagnostic categories of childhood problems
Genetic contributions • Can you name a trait or behavioral characteristic that is purely genetic? • Even hair color, cancer, and reading have environmental influence GXE interactions • In developmental psychology, few genetic causes have been isolated except trisomy 21 • Polygenic inheritance dominates approaches from behavioral genetics
Neurotransmitters • Changes in neurotransmitters make children more or less likely to behave certain ways • serotonin affects information processing and motor coordination, motivation • benzodiazepine-GABA system reduces arousal and moderates emotions • norepinephrine involved in stress/alarm • dopamine acts as a switch to affect other brain functions
Case Review: Lee • How could you explain Lee’s behavior at different levels of explanation? • Behavioral • Cognitive • Family • Emotional • What are possible diagnoses for Lee? • What might happen in this case with respect to treatment. Why? What levels of explanation are important? • Form groups of three, we will discuss responses as a class