Chapter 2 - Summary Abnormal Child Psychology PDF

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CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 716: CHAPTER 2: THEORIES AND CAUSES Understanding the underlying causes: 

Children’s problems must be considered in relation to multiple levels of influence individual, family, community, and culture – rather than be attributed to any one factor →

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Possible causes of a child’s behavior: →

Biological influences – factors include genetic and neurobiological contributors

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Emotional influences – psychological influences

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Behavioral and cognitive influences – psychological influences

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Factors may be contained within the child or at various distances from child’s immediate surroundings

Family, cultural, and ethnic influences – major social contributors such as family patterns, peer relations, community factor, and cultural expectations Factors in each area impact and interact with the other areas

What is acculturation?  Adapting to a receiving culture What is biculturalism?  Child or adolescent strives to adapt to both their heritage and their receiving cultures  Most adaptive approach to acculturation Theoretical Foundations: Defining child abnormality involves: → The context of children’s ongoing adaptation and development → Sorting out the causes of identified problems Abnormal behavior studies require: → An understanding of development and individual events that can impact a child’s life Why do we use theoretical formulations? → Studying normal development informs our theories of abnormal development → Clinical and research activity begins with theoretical formulations for guidance and information → Multiple, interactive causes help in understanding the complexity of disorders What is Theory? → A language of science that allows us to assemble and communicate existing knowledge effectively → Allows us to make educated guesses and predictions about behavior based on samples of knowledge, moving us forward to explore possible explanations → Offers guidance for our pursuit of causal explanations 1

What is Etiology? → The study of the causes of childhood disorders → Considers how biological, psychological, and environmental processes interact to produce outcomes observed over time What does research into biological determinants focus on? o Possible causes such as structural brain damage or dysfunction o Neurotransmitter imbalances o Genetic influences What do psychological and environmental models emphasize? o o o o o o

Role of environmental toxins Early experiences Learning opportunities Disciplinary practices Family systems Sociocultural contexts

What are the 2 types of theoretical foundations? 1. Developmental psychopathology perspective 2. Integrative approach What is the Developmental Psychopathology Perspective?  An approach to describing and studying disorders of childhood, adolescence and beyond in a manner that emphasizes the importance of developmental processes and tasks  Provides a useful framework for organizing the study of abnormal child psychology around milestones and sequences in: – Physical – Cognitive – Social-emotional – Educational development  Uses abnormal development to inform normal development and vice-versa What does this perspective emphasize?  Role of developmental processes  Importance of context  Influence of multiple and interacting events in shaping adaptive and maladaptive development  Importance and complexity of biological, familial, and sociocultural factors in predicting and understanding developmental changes Where does this perspective draw their knowledge from?  Draws on knowledge from several disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and neuroscience, and integrates this knowledge within a developmental framework How do we adopt the Development Psychopathology Perspective?  As an organizing framework to describe the dynamic, multidimensional process leading to normal or abnormal outcomes in development What is the main focus of this perspective?

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 Highlighting developmental processes, such as language and peer relations and how they function, by looking at extremes and variations in developmental outcomes What does the scientific method emphasize?  

Need to simplify variables to those of the most importance But focusing on one primary explanation rather than identifying and allowing for several possible explanations – e.g. genetic factors, peer problems  Fails to consider the concept of developmental pathways What are the four prominent assumptions of Developmental Psychopathology Perspective? 1.

Abnormal development is multiply determined – Must look beyond current symptoms – Consider developmental pathways and interacting events that, over time, contribute to the expression of a particular disorder – A particular problem or disorder may stem from a variety of causes, and similar risk factors may lead to very different outcomes – Consider multiple influences including: • Developmental profile and abilities • Home and school environment • Ongoing, dynamic interactions among these factors

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Children and environments are interdependent - transactional view – Extends the influence of multiple causes by stressing how the child and environment are interdependent – how they influence each other – Argues that children also influence their own environment – Concept of interdependence appreciates how nature and nurture work together and are, in fact interconnected – Thus: children elicit different reactions from the same environment; different environments (home or school) elicit different reactions from the same child – Transaction (view): dynamic interaction of child and environment • Child and the environment both contribute to expression of a disorder, and one cannot be separated from the other • Both children and the environment as active contributors to adaptive and maladaptive behaviour • Children act on their environment, and their environment acts on them • Children’s psychological disorders do not reside within the child, nor are they due solely to environmental causes – they most often emerge from a combination of factors, which interact in ways that follow general laws of organized development • Sensitive to individual circumstances – in the child’s family or biological makeup – that influence or alter typical outcomes

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Abnormal development involves continuities and discontinuities – Continuity:  Implies that developmental changes are gradual and quantitative (expressed as amounts that can be measured numerically, e.g. weight and heights changes)  Future behaviour patterns can be predicted from earlier patterns – Discontinuity:  Implies that developmental changes are abrupt and qualitative (expressed as qualities that cannot be measured numerically, e.g. changes in mood or expression) 3

 Not predictive of future behaviour patterns – future behaviour is poorly predicted by earlier patterns – Positive and negative factors can influence the continuity or discontinuity of development over time – Jorge: • School and homework avoidance, seem qualitatively different (discontinuity) from his reading disorder • Other behaviours such as slow reading and comprehension, seem to follow (continuity) from his earlier academic problems – Even with wide fluctuations in the way problems are expressed over time – children show some degree of consistency in organizing their experiences and interacting with their environment, whether that consistency is adaptive or maladaptive – Degree of continuity or discontinuity will vary as a function of changing environmental circumstances and transactions between the child and the environment – These continual changes, in turn, will affect the child’s developmental course and direction 4.

Changes, typical and atypical

How would we address an individual’s problem from a multidimensional perspective? First assess current abilities by using multiple sources of data on ability to function in different settings Even if we were interested only in one problem/ability (e.g. reading ability), we would consider a wide range of characteristics besides those we initially believed to be signs of the problem (e.g. reading problem) Do psychological disorders or impairments suddenly emerge?  Very few suddenly emerge without at least some warning signs or connections to earlier developmental issues  This connection is apparent, for e.g., in early-onset and persistent conduct disorders, with which parents and other adults often see troublesome behaviours at a young age that continue in some form into adolescence and adulthood An example of continuity: 4

 A preschool child who uses physical aggression with peers  Expect that 10 years later – he or she would be more likely to engage in antisocial and delinquent behaviours as an adolescent and adult  Pattern of problem behaviour is continuous across developmental periods, although it gradually changes in form and intensity  Continuity refers to patterns of behaviour, rather than specific symptoms that remain over time  It is well supported for early-onset and persistent conduct disorders, which have a significant likelihood of later evolving into serious antisocial acts An example of discontinuity:  Eating disorders follow a more discontinuous pattern – they occur more suddenly and without much prior warning  There are few good behavioural predictors from early childhood as to why a particular child begins to restrict eating or to purge food during early adolescence  Discontinuity can refer to an unexpected or atypical outcome – such as a child who shows normal development until about 18 months of age and then displays loss of language and reduced social engagement (characteristics of some children with autism)  In such circumstances, the connection between early and later patterns seems abrupt and discontinuous What are developmental cascades?  Refer to the process by which a child’s previous interactions and experiences may spread across other systems and alter his or her course of development, somewhat like a chain reaction  Concept helps explain how processes that function at one level or domain of behaviour (such as curiosity) can affect how the child adapts to other challenges later on (such as academic performance) What are the characteristics of an Integrative Approach?

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No single theoretical orientation explains various behaviors or disorders –

Models considering more than one primary cause are still limited by the boundaries of their discipline or orientation

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Abnormal child behavior is best studied from a multi-theoretical perspective

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Knowledge increases through research

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Over time major theories of abnormal child psychology have become compatible with one another – –

Each theory contributes one or more pieces of the puzzle of atypical development As all the available pieces are assembled, the picture of a particular child or adolescent disorder becomes more and more distinct – No single integrative theory fully captures the diversity of perspectives and findings represented by current research in abnormal child psychology What are some developmental considerations to take into account?  Even though children’s psychological disorders have very different symptoms and causes, they share common ground – they are an indication of adaptational failure in one or more areas of development  Adaptational failure: failure to master/unsuccessful progress in accomplishing developmental milestones  Children with psychological disorders differ from their peers/children their own age in some aspect of normal development 5

 Such failure or deviation is rarely due to a single cause, but typically results from an ongoing interaction between individual development and environmental conditions  Several causes and outcomes of abnormal child behavior are involved operating in dynamic and interactive ways over time, making them a challenge to disentangle Organization of Development Perspective: o Change and reorganization are fundamental aspects of biological and behavioral systems o Organizational viewpoint: looks closely at the psychological processes that may explain how these systems influence each other o Early patterns of adaptation (such as infant eye contact and speech sounds) evolve with structure over time and transform into higher-order functions (such as speech and language) o Prior patterns of adaptation are incorporated into successive reorganizations at subsequent periods of development (toddlers learn to make certain speech sounds before they develop the ability to use language) o Organizational view of development: → Implies an active, dynamic process of continual change and transformation → As child’s biological abilities unfold during each new stage of development, they interact with environmental factors to direct and redirect course of development o Sensitive periods: are windows of time during which environmental influences on development (both good and bad) are enhanced → Can be enhanced opportunities for learning but are not the only opportunities – change can take place at other times o Human Development: → Is a process of increasing differentiation and integration, more like a network of interconnecting pathways than one straight line → Development generally proceeds in an organized, hierarchical manner → A child’s current abilities or limitations are influenced by prior accomplishments Biological Perspectives: 1.

Neurobiological perspective

→ The brain and nervous system functions are seen as the underlying causes of psychological disorders in children and adults → Acknowledges and recognizes the need to incorporate environmental influences in accounting for disorders → Biological influences o On a very young child’s brain development include:  Genetic and constitutional factors  Neuroanatomy  Rates of maturation → Regions of the brain are highly influenced by the availability of various biochemicals and neurohormones, which interact differently to affect an individual’s psychological experiences o Process depends on environmental factors that direct or reroute ongoing brain processes → The examination of biological influences: o Begins with the process of neuronal growth and differentiation

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o During pregnancy - the fetal brain develops from a few all-purpose cells into a complex organ made up of billions of specialized, interconnected neurons o Embryonic development  Generates an initial overabundance of neurons  At first these cells are largely undifferentiated, but as they reach their destinations, they become neurons  Neurons with axons develop that carry electrical signals to other parts of the brain  Synapses (axonal connections) form the brain’s circuits and lay foundation for further growth and differentiation  Neurons then multiply to form various brain structures and functions → By the fifth month of prenatal development o Most axons have reached their general destination, although there are far more axons than target cells can accommodate → Thus, During early childhood o Synapses multiply o Then selective pruning reduces the number of connections in a way that gradually shapes and differentiates NB brain functions → Throughout life, at the level of the nervous system, the brain’s microanatomy is constantly redefined to meet the demands and requirements of an adult world → This process fosters healthy growth of different areas of the brain according to individual needs and environmental demands, and eliminates connections that serve to restrict healthy growth How permanent are these early brain connections?  Many early neural connections are not stable – some are strengthened and become more established through use, while many others regress or disappear  Brain shows neural plasticity throughout the course of development 2. Neural Plasticity and the Role of Experience → Neural plasticity (malleability): o Brain’s anatomical differentiation is use-dependent o Nature provides basic processes o Nurture provides experiences needed to select the most adaptive network of connections, based on use and function of each o Nature and nurture both contribute and work together to create a highly specific, extremely adaptive central nervous system functions → Experience plays a critical role in brain development o Examples of environmental experiences: prenatal environment; childhood illness and diet; and early caregiving, including maltreatment, inadequate stimulation, and attachment o Children’s early caregiving experiences play an essentially NB role in designing parts of the brain involved in emotion, personality and behavior o Normal, healthy methods of child rearing may increase children’s ability to learn and cope with stress o In contrast – abuse and neglect can prime the brain for a lifetime of struggle with handling stress or forming healthy relationships → Maturation of the brain o Definition:

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o o o o o o

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 An organized, hierarchical process that builds on earlier function, with brain structures restructuring and growing throughout the life span Primitive areas of the brain, which govern basic sensory and motor skills, mature first and undergo the most dramatic restructuring, during the first 3 years of life These perceptual along with instinctive centers (such as limbic system) are strongly affected by early childhood experiences and set the foundation for further development Prefrontal cortex:  Governs planning and decision making Cerebellum:  Center for motor skills Prefrontal cortex and cerebellum are not rewired until a person is 5 to 7 years old Major restructuring of the brain occurs between ages 9 to 11 in relation to pubertal development, and then throughout adolescence the brain once again prunes unnecessary synaptic connections Brain functions undergo lifelong renovation, with restructuring being a natural by-product of growth

→ Consequences of inadequate or traumatic experience may be enduring and difficult to change o Because brain is intrinsically shaped by effects of early experience o Problems or disruptions occurring at a younger age are associated with more severe organic disorders and central nervous system complications o Safeguards are important in reducing the risk of complications and lifelong disabilities  Examples: proper prenatal care, proper nutrition, and avoidance of tobacco or alcohol during pregnancy 3.

Genetic Contributions

→ Genes contain genetic information from each parent o They are distributed on 22 matched pairs of chromosomes and a single pair of sex chromosomes o Genetic influences may be expressed early in development (behavioral inhibition or shyness) or show up years later (depressive cognitive style) → Expression of genetic influences o Malleable and responsive to social environment o Positive environmental circumstances can help a child “beat the odds” of developing a significant disorder, despite genetic predisposition → Rarely is one gene the single cause of a disorder – similar and multiple interactive genes are a far more likely cause  The nature of genes o A gene is a stretch of DNA  By itself – it does not produce a behavior, an emotion, or a passing thought  Rather, it produces a protein – vital for brain to function o Proteins produce tendencies to respond to the environment in certain ways  Gene-environment interaction (GxE) – genes influence how we respond to the environment, and the environment influences our genes

 Behavioral genetics o Sorting out interactive influences of nature and nurture o Branch of genetics that investigates possible connections between genetic predisposition and observed behavior taking into account environmental and genetic influences 8

o These researchers begin investigations by conducting familial aggregation studies  Look for a non-random clustering of disorders or characteristics within a given family and compare these re...