Child Psychopathology Exam Two Chapter Four Terms Behavioral assessment Categorical classification DSM 5 Clinical assessments o The evaluation of the child s thoughts feelings and behaviors in specific settings based on which hypotheses are formulated about the nature of the problem and what can be done about it o Diagnostic systems that are primarily based on informed professional consensus which is an approach that has dominated and continues to dominate the field of child and adult psychopathology o A process of differentiating defining measuring and assessing the behaviors cognitions and emotions that are of concern as well as environmental factors that may be contributing to these problems Collaborative process of systematic problem solving strategies to understand children and their family and school environments Has a flexible ongoing hypothesis testing that assesses the above mentioned and the nature causes and likely outcomes of the problem Relies on a multimethod assessment approach Helps understand the child s thoughts feelings and behaviors as they occur in specific situations o Purposes of Assessment Description and Diagnosis First step clinical description Diagnosis involves analyzing information and drawing conclusions about the nature or cause of the problem and in some cases assigning a formal diagnosis Prognosis and Treatment Planning conditions Prognosis is the formulation of predictions regarding future behavior under specified Treatment planning and evaluation means using assessment information to generate a treatment plan and evaluating its effectiveness Want to make changes for the subject must monitor the patient s progress to see if o A summary of unique behaviors thoughts and feelings that together make up the features of a given Clinical description there is a change psychological disorder Culture bound syndromes o Recurrent patterns of maladaptive behaviors and or troubling experiences specifically associated with different cultures or localities These syndromes rarely fit neatly into one Western diagnostic category Developmental Family history o Information obtained from the parents about potentially significant historical milestones and events that might have a bearing on the child s current difficulties Developmental tests o Tests used to assess if infants and young children are generally carried out for the purposes of screening diagnosis and evaluation of early development Diagnosis Dimensional classification o The identification of a disorder from an examination of the symptoms o An empirically based approach to the diagnosis and classification of child psychopathology that assumes that there are a number of independent dimensions or traits of behavior and that all children possess these to varying degrees Eclectic wide ranging incorporating multiple different assessments Functional analysis of behavior o AKA Behavior Analysis o An effort to identify as many factors as possible that could be contributing to a child s problem behavior thoughts and feelings ad to develop hypotheses about which ones are the most important and or most easily changed Idiographic case formulation Intervention o An approach to case formulation or assessment that emphasizes the detailed representation of the individual child or family as a unique entity This approach is in contrast with the nomothetic approach which instead emphasizes the general laws that apply to all individuals o A broad concept that encompasses many different theories and methods with a range of problem solving strategies directed at helping the child and family adapt more effectively to their current and future circumstances o Efforts to increase adherence to treatment over time in order to prevent a relapse or recurrence of a Maintenance problem Multiaxial system o A classification system consisting of several different domains axes of information about the subject that may assist a clinician in planning the treatment of the disorder DSM IV TR is an example of a multiaxial classification system Multimethod assessment approach o A clinical assessment that emphasizes the importance of obtaining information from different informants in a variety of settings using a variety of procedures that include interviews observations questionnaires and tests Neuropsychological assessment o A form of assessment that attempts to link brain functioning with objective measures of behavior known to depend on an intact central nervous system Nomothetic formulation o An approach to case formulation or assessment that emphasizes general principles that apply to all people This approach contrasts with the idiographic approach which instead emphasizes a detailed representation of the individual or family as a unique entity Prevention Prognosis Projective tests o Activities directed at decreasing the chances that undesired future outcomes will occur o The prediction of the course or outcome of a disorder o A form of assessment that presents the child with ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots or pictures of people The hypothesis is that the child will project his or her own personality on the ambiguous stimuli of other people and things Without being aware the child discloses his or her unconscious thought sand feelings to the clinician Semistructured interviews o Interviews that include specific questions designed to elicit information in a relatively consistent manner regardless of who is doing the interview The interview format usually ensures that the most important aspects of a particular disorder are covered Target behaviors Test o Behaviors that are the primary problems of concern o A task or set of given tasks given under standard conditions with the purpose of assessing some aspect of the subject s knowledge skill personality or condition Key Concepts What are the benefits and drawbacks to our system of classification o Classification a system for representing the major categories or dimensions of child psychopathology and the boundaries and relations among them Carving nature at its joints Nomothetic strategies general categories of problems Idiographic strategies child s unique situation o Categories and Dimensions Classical pure categorical approach assumes that every diagnosis has a clear underlying cause and that each disorder is fundamentally different from other disorders Dimensional classification approaches assume that many independent dimensions or traits of behavior exist and that all children possess