Psychological Vulnerabilities of Young Children Study Notes

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I. Classification and Diagnosis of Childhood Disorders

II. Neurodevelopmental disorders

III. Disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorders

IV. Elimination disorders

Psychological Vulnerabilities of Young Children

- Young children are especially vulnerable to psychological problems

- They do not have as complex and realistic view of themselves and their world as they

will have later

- Immediate threats seem disproportionately more important

- Lack of experience makes manageable problems seem insurmountable

- They are more dependent on other people

Childhood and Adolescence

- Children of all cultures typically experience some emotional and behavioral problems

- Adolescence can also be a difficult period

- Bullying ranks as a major problem in the minds of most youngsters, often a bigger problem than

racism and peer pressure to try sex or alcohol

- At least one-fifth of all children and adolescents in North America also experience a diagnosable

psychological disorder

Overview

- Developmental psychopathology approach essential to disorders of childhood

- Children change rapidly during the first 18 years of life

- DSM-5 reorganized classification of childhood psychological problems

- Two long-established and widely recognized dimensions of psychological problems in children:

- Externalizing disorders - create difficulties in child’s external world

- Internalizing disorders

Classification and Diagnosis of Childhood Disorders

- Externalizing Disorders - disorders are characterized by children’s failure to control their

behavior according to the expectations of parents, peers, teachers, and/or legal authorities

- Noncompliance, aggressiveness, over-activity, impulsiveness

- Includes attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional

defiant disorder

- Internalizing disorders - psychological problems that primarily affect the child’s internal world

- Characterized by inward-focused behaviors

- Depression, anxiety, social withdrawal

- Includes childhood anxiety and mood disorders

- Developmental Psychology:

- Studies disorders within context of “typical” child development

- A field of psychology that studies how problems that first appear in childhood or

adolescence, are linked disorders that occur later in life

- Some disorders are unique to children

- Others may continue into adulthood

- Some disorders are present in children and adults

Classification and Diagnosis of Childhood Disorders (cont.)

- DSM-5 split childhood and adolescent disorders into three chapters:

1. Neurodevelopmental Disorders - in the DSM, a category of disorders that affect

children and adolescents (developmental deficits); involve brain function deficits that

affect emotion, memory, ability to socialize, maintain self control, learn etc. →

produce deficits that impair functioning in school, academic setting and social:

2. Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorder - problems with self control of

emotions and behaviors

3. Anxiety disorders - (not mentioned in this chapter)

- DSM-5 has new names for disorders:

- E.g. mental retardation will now be called→ intellectual disability

- Combined disorders→ autistic disorder, asperger's, etc. are Autism Spectrum

Disorder

Intellectual Disability

Intellectual Disability (ID) - a generalized delay or impairment in the development of intellectual and

adaptive abilities:

- Lack of basic conceptual, social, and practical skills of daily living

- Deficits in reasoning and problem solving abstract thinking, judgment, and school performance

- Follows a lifelong course but many improve over time if provided support and enriched

opportunities

Features and Causes of Intellectual Disability

- Low IQ score and impaired adaptive functioning before the age of 18

- Difficulties performing common tasks of daily life in three domains

- Contemporary IQ tests have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The IQ cutoff for an

intellectual disability (70) is two standard deviations below the mean

What is Intellectual Disability?

- DSM-5 specifies four levels of intellectual disability which are set by levels of adaptive

functioning

- Mild intellectual disability→ 50-70

- Moderate intellectual disability→ 35-49

- Severe intellectual disability→ 20-34

- Profound intellectual disability→ below 20

Etiology of Intellectual Disabilities

- Causes include biological and psychosocial factors

- Biological - chromosomal and genetic disorders, infectious diseases, and maternal

alcohol use during pregnancy

- Psychosocial - exposure to an impoverished home environment

Down Syndrome and Other Chromosome Abnormalities

- Down syndrome - a condition caused by the presence of an extra chromosome on the 21st pair

of chromosomes and characterized by intellectual disability

- Most frequently identified cause of ID

- Occurs in about 1 in 800 births

- More likely as parents age

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I. II. III. IV. Classification and Diagnosis of Childhood Disorders Neurodevelopmental disorders Disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorders Elimination disorders Psychological Vulnerabilities of Young Children - Young children are especially vulnerable to psychological problems - They do not have as complex and realistic view of themselves and their world as they will have later - Immediate threats seem disproportionately more important - Lack of experience makes manageable problems seem insurmountable - They are more dependent on other people Childhood and Adolescence - Children of all cultures typically experience some emotional and behavioral problems - Adolescence can also be a difficult period - Bullying ranks as a major problem in the minds of most youngsters, often a bigger problem than racism and peer pressure to try sex or alcohol - At least one-fifth of all children and adolescents in North America also experience a diagnosable psychological disorder Overview - Developmental psychopathology approach essential to disorders of childhood - Children change rapidly during the first 18 years of life - DSM-5 reorganized classification of childhood psychological problems - Two long-established and widely recognized dimensions of psychological problems in children: - Externalizing disorders - create difficulties in child’s external world - Internalizing disorders Classification and Diagnosis of Childhood Disorders - Externalizing Disorders - disorders are characte ...
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Tags: Psychological Vulnerabilities Childhood Disorders childhood and adolescence Psychological Problems Developmental Psychology