Eric J Mash, David A Wolfe - Abnormal Child Psychology-Cengage Learning (2018 )-35-43 PDF

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Abnormal Psychology in children. explain about mental health in children too...

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A CLOSER

Little Albert, Big Fears, and Sex in Advertising

LOOK Most of us are familiar with the story of Little Albert and his fear of white rats and other white furry objects, thanks to the work of John Watson and his graduate assistant (and then wife) Rosalie Rayner. However, understanding the times and background of John Watson helps put these pioneering efforts into a broader historical perspective, and highlights the limited concern for ethics in research that existed in his day. Watson’s fascination with and life dedication to the study of fears may have stemmed from his own acknowledged fear of the dark, which afflicted him throughout his adult life. His career break arrived when he was given an opportunity to create a research laboratory at Johns Hopkins University for the study of child development. Instead of conditioning rats, he could now use humans to test his emerging theories of fear conditioning. However, at that time the only source of human subjects was persons whose rights were considered insignificant or who had less than adequate power to protect themselves, such as orphans, mental patients, and prisoners. Just as he had studied rats in their cages, Watson now studied babies in their cribs. Clearly, his method of obtaining research subjects and experimenting with them would be considered highly unethical today. To demonstrate how fear might be conditioned in a baby, Watson and Rayner set out to condition fear in an 11-monthold orphan baby they named Albert B., who was given a small white rat to touch, toward which he showed no fear. After this warm-up, every time the infant reached to touch the rat, Watson would strike a steel bar with a hammer. After repeated attempts to touch the rat brought on the same shocking sounds, “the infant jumped violently, fell forward and began to whimper.” The process was repeated intermittently, enough times that eventually Albert B. would break down and cry, desperately trying to crawl away, whenever he saw the rat. Watson and Rayner had successfully conditioned the child to fear rats. They then conditioned him to fear rabbits, dogs, fur coats, and— believe it or not—Santa Claus masks (Karier, 1986). It is disconcerting that Albert B. moved away before any deconditioning was attempted, resulting in decades of speculation as to his identity and the strange set of fears he might have suffered. In 2009, a team of psychologists tracked down Little

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based on operant and classical conditioning principles established through laboratory work with animals. In their early form, these laboratory-based techniques to modify undesirable behaviors and shape adaptive abilities stood in stark contrast to the dominant psychoanalytic approaches, which stressed resolution of internal conflicts and unconscious motives. Behavior therapy focused initially on children with intellectual disability or severe disturbances. Psychoanalytic

Source: Neurobiology of Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Annual Review of Neuroscience Vol. 24: 897–931, by Stephen Maren; Annual Review of Neuroscience ©2011 Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.

Albert’s identity and fate: he was identified as Douglas Merritte, whose mother worked at the campus hospital and was paid $1 for her baby’s research participation. Sadly, the team discovered that Douglas died at age 6 of acquired hydrocephalus (Beck, Levinson, & Irons, 2009). It is ironic, moreover, that Watson went on to develop a career in advertising after he was ousted from the university (presumably as a result of concerns over his extramarital relationship with his graduate student; Benjamin et al., 2007). His brand of behaviorism, with its emphasis on the prediction and control of human behavior, met with unqualified success on Madison Avenue. As he explained, “No matter what it is, like the good naturalist you are, you must never lose sight of your experimental animal—the consumer.” We can thank John B. Watson for advertising’s dramatic shift in the 1930s toward creating images around any given product that exploited whenever possible the sexual desires of both men and women. Source: Based on Karier, 1986.

practices for these children were perceived as ineffective or inappropriate. Much of this early work took place in institutions or classroom settings that were thought to provide the kind of environmental control needed to change behavior effectively. Since that time, behavior therapy has continued to expand in scope, and has emerged as a prominent form of therapy for a wide range of children’s disorders (Kazdin, 2016; Ollendick, King, & Chorpita, 2006; Weisz & Kazdin, 2010).

C H A P T E R 1 Introduction to Normal and Abnormal Behavior in Children and Adolescents

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Progressive Legislation Just how far some countries have advanced in the humane and egalitarian treatment of children and youths is exemplified by the various laws enacted in the past few decades to protect the rights of those with special needs. For example, in the United States the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; Public Law94-142) mandates: free and appropriate public education for any child with special needs in the least restrictive environment for that child; each child with special needs, regardless of age, must be assessed with culturally appropriate tests; each of these children must have an individualized education program (IEP) tailored to his or her needs, and must be re-assessed.

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Similar legislation for protecting the rights of children with disabilities (and ensuring their access to appropriate resources) exists in Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other nations. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities around the world. This convention represents an important shift from addressing the “special needs” of children to realizing their rights and removing the physical, linguistic, social, and cultural barriers that remain. Countries that ratify the convention agree to enact laws and other measures to improve disability rights, and also to abolish

legislation, customs, and practices that discriminate against persons with disabilities. These efforts signify a paradigm shift in attitudes toward and treatment of people with disabilities—from seeing persons with disabilities as objects of charity to considering them as individuals with human rights. Specific principles addressing the needs of children with disabilities are shown in A Closer Look 1.4.

Section Summary Historical Views and Breakthroughs ●

Early biological explanations for abnormal child behavior favored locating the cause of the problem within the individual, which sometimes led to simplistic or inaccurate beliefs about causes of the behavior.

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Early psychological approaches attempted to integrate basic knowledge of inborn processes with environmental conditions that shape behavior, emotions, and cognitions.

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Greater attention to the problems of children and youths in recent years has improved their quality of life and mental health. This improvement resulted from greater societal recognition of and sensitivity to children’s special status and needs since the turn of the twentieth century.

WHAT IS ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR INCHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS? ADAM L ANZA

A CLOSER

LOOK 1.4

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007)

[Article 7, pertaining to children’s rights]: 1. States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children. 2. In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. 3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis with other children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to realize that right. Source: UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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PA R T 1 Understanding Abnormal Child Psychology

Early Troubles “You could tell that he felt so uncomfortable about being put on the spot, I think that maybe he wasn’t given the right kind of attention or help. I think he went so unnoticed that people didn’t even stop to realize that maybe there’s actually something else going on here— that maybe he needs to be talking or getting some kind of mental help. In high school, no one really takes the time to look and think, ‘Why is he acting this way?’” (Halbfinger, 2012). “It’s easy to understand why Adam Lanza felt at war with reality. Living was torture for the young boy—bright lights, loud sounds, even a touch could cause him to withdraw and become nonverbal. He became obsessed with violence to a degree that was abnormal even in today’s desensitized society. Violent pictures. Violent writings. Violent poetry. Hours spent playing violent video games and researching weapons and serial killers on the Internet. Adam Lanza created a world in which he was surrounded by death.”

Kateleen Foy/ Getty Images News/ Getty Images

Lysaik (2013, December 6). Newtown massacre. Inside. Out. Newsweek. Available at http://mag.newsweek.com/2013/12/06 /newtown-massacre-inside-out.html

Were there any clues in Adam Lanza’s childhood that might suggest his violent behavior later on?

These comments were made by Olivia DeVivo reflecting on her time as a former student at Sandy Hook Elementary School with a boy named Adam Lanza. As she and other classmates noted, Lanza was considered a “loner,” an odd character who was very uncomfortable around others and made no effort to connect. Despite living in the same house, he communicated with his mother by e-mail. This example reveals how children’s behavior can be difficult to classify into its causes, expression, and contributing factors. It also raises several key questions: First, how do we judge what is normal? A lot of kids are “loners” during adolescence and have difficulty connecting to peers. Second, when does an issue become a problem? In this instance, did anyone sense that Lanza’s social isolation might lead to or be due to potentially serious social and mental problems? Finally, why are some children’s abnormal patterns of behavior relatively continuous from early childhood through adolescence and into adulthood, whereas other children show more variable (discontinuous) patterns of development and adaptation? Was there anything about Lanza’s behavior in childhood that indicated that he would kill innocent children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary years later? Although these questions are central to defining and understanding abnormal child behavior and warrant thoughtful consideration, no simple, straightforward answers exist. (This should be familiar ground to those of you who are psychology majors.) More often than

not, childhood disorders are accompanied by various layers of abnormal behavior or development, ranging from the more visible and alarming (such as delinquent acts or physical assault), to the more subtle yet critical (such as teasing and peer rejection), to the more hidden and systemic (such as depression or parental rejection). Moreover, mental health professionals, while attempting to understand children’s weaknesses, too often unintentionally overlook their strengths. Yet, many children cope effectively in other areas of their lives, despite the limitations imposed by specific psychological disorders. An understanding of children’s individual strengths and abilities can lead to ways to assist them in healthy adaptation. Also, some children may show less extreme forms of difficulty or only the early signs of an emerging problem rather than a full-blown disorder. Therefore, to judge what is abnormal, we need to be sensitive to each child’s stage of development and consider each child’s unique methods of coping and ways of compensating for difficulties (Achenbach, 2010). Childhood disorders, like adult disorders, have commonly been viewed in terms of deviancies from normal, yet disagreement remains as to what constitutes normal and abnormal. While reading the following discussion, keep in mind that attempting to establish boundaries between abnormal and normal functioning is an arbitrary process at best, and current guidelines are constantly being reviewed for their accuracy, completeness, and usefulness.

Defining Psychological Disorders The study of abnormal behavior often makes us more sensitive to and wary of the ways used to describe the behavior of others. Whose standard of “normal” do we adopt, and who decides whether this arbitrary standard has been breached? Does abnormal behavior or performance in one area, such as mood, have implications for the whole person? Although there are no easy answers to these questions, Georgina’s real-life problems require an agreement on how to define a psychological (or mental) disorder. A psychological disorder traditionally has been defined as a pattern of behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or physical symptoms shown by an individual. Such a pattern is associated with one or more of the following three prominent features: ▶

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The person shows some degree of distress, such as fear or sadness. His or her behavior indicates some degree of disability, such as impairment that substantially interferes with or limits activity in one or more important areas of functioning, including physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral areas.

C H A P T E R 1 Introduction to Normal and Abnormal Behavior in Children and Adolescents

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Such distress and disability increase the risk of further suffering or harm, such as death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013).

To account for the fact that we sometimes show transitory signs of distress, disability, or risk under unusual circumstances (such as the loss of a loved one), this definition of a psychological disorder excludes circumstances in which such reactions are expected and appropriate as defined by one’s cultural background. Furthermore, these three primary features of psychological disorders only describe what a person does or does not do in certain circumstances. The features do not attempt to attribute causes or reasons for abnormal behavior to the individual alone. On the contrary, understanding particular impairments should be balanced with recognizing individual and situational circumstances.

Labels Describe Behavior, Not People It is important to keep in mind that terms used to describe abnormal behavior do not describe people; they only describe patterns of behavior that may or may not occur in certain circumstances. We must be careful to avoid the common mistake of identifying the person with the disorder, as reflected in expressions such as “anxious child” or “autistic child.” The field of child and adult mental health is often challenged by stigma, which refers to a cluster of negative attitudes and beliefs that motivates fear, rejection, avoidance, and discrimination with respect to people with mental illnesses (Heflinger & Hinshaw, 2010). Stigma leads to prejudice and discrimination against others on the basis of race, ethnicity, disabilities, sexual orientation, body size, biological sex, language, and religious beliefs. Because of stigma, persons with mental disorders may also suffer from low self-esteem, isolation, and hopelessness, and they may become so embarrassed or ashamed that they conceal symptoms and fail to seek treatment (Puhl & Latner, 2007). Accordingly, throughout this text we separate the child from the disorder by using language such as “Ramon is a child with an anxiety disorder,” rather than “Ramon is an anxious child.” Children like Ramon have many other attributes that should not be overshadowed by global descriptive or negative labels. In addition, the problems shown by some children may be the result of their attempts to adapt to abnormal or unusual circumstances. Children with chronic health problems must adapt to their medical regimens and to negative reactions from peers; children raised in abusive or neglectful environments must learn how to relate to others adaptively and to regulate emotions

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PA R T 1 Understanding Abnormal Child Psychology

that may, at times, be overwhelming. Therefore, the primary purpose of using terms such as disorder and abnormal behavior for describing the psychological status of children and adolescents is to aid clinicians and researchers in describing, organizing, and expressing the complex features often associated with various patterns of behavior. By no means do the terms imply a common cause, since the causes of abnormal behavior are almost always multifaceted and interactive. This approach to defining abnormal behavior is similar to the one most often used to classify and diagnose mental disorders, according to the guidelines in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013). We use this approach in guiding the thinking and structure of this book because of its clinical and descriptive utility. Yet, despite advances in defining abnormality and vast improvements in the diagnostic and classification systems, ambiguity remains, especially in defining a particular child’s maladaptive dysfunction (Rutter, 2010). Boundaries between what constitute normal and abnormal conditions or distinctions among different abnormal conditions are not easily drawn. At present, the DSM-5 approach has achieved some consensus supporting its value in facilitating greater communication and increased standardization of research and clinical knowledge concerning abnormal child psychology. We consider the DSM-5 and current alternatives to classification of childhood disorders in Chapter 4.

Competence Definitions of abnormal child behavior must take into account the child’s competence—that is, the ability to successfully adapt in the environment. Developmental competence is reflected in the child’s ability to use internal and external resources to achieve a successful adaptation (Masten, 2011). Of course, this prompts the question “What is successful?” Successful adaptation varies across culture and ethnicity, so it is important that the traditions, beliefs, languages, and value systems of a particular culture be taken into account when defining a child’s competence. Similarly, some children face greater obstacles than others in their efforts to adapt to their environment. Minority children and families, as well as those with socioeconomic disadvantages, must cope with multiple forms of racism, prejudice, discrimination, oppression, and segregation, all of which significantly influence a child’s adaptation and development (Children’s Defense Fund, 2007). Judgments of deviancy also require knowledge of a child’s performance relative to that of same-age peers, as well as knowledge of the child’s course of development and cultural context. In effect, the study of abnormal child psychology considers not only the degree of maladaptive

behavior children show but also the extent to which they achieve normal developmental milestones. As with deviancy, the criteria for defining competence can be very specific and narrow in focus, or they can be as plentiful and as broad as we wish (Masten & Wright, 2010). How do we know whether a particular child is doing well, and how do we, as parents, teachers, or professionals, guide our expectations? Developmental tasks, which include broad domains of competence such as conduct and academic achievement, tell how children typically progress within each domain as they grow. Knowledge of the developmental tasks provides an imp...