Developmental Psychopathology

When is it normal that a child is just being shy and when does it become a problem? When does “a problem” go from being part of normative emotional and behavioral development to pathological development? How can you differentiate between normative development and pathological development (i.e., “development gone awry”)? When does an emotional and behavioral problem become characterized as a psychopathological disorder of childhood and adolescence? How prevalent are psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence? What biological, psychological/intrapersonal, and social/interpersonal risk and protective factors affect the development of psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence?

In the course Developmental Psychopathology, we search for answers to these types of questions. As the name of the course suggests, students are introduced to the general principles of the developmental psychopathology perspective. In this perspective, psychopathological disorders are seen as the result of normal development going awry, with a myriad of risk and protective factors at different levels of analysis (e.g., biological, psychological, social) affecting its development over time. Developmental psychopathology is viewed as existing on a continuum, ranging from low to high symptom severity, and students are encouraged to critically reflect on the boundaries between normal and abnormal child and adolescent development in their study of the literature.

In addition to gaining insight into the macro-paradigm of the developmental psychopathology perspective, students gain insight into the development of various psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence. The characteristics, epidemiology, course, and etiology of these disorders will all receive attention, as will the complex interaction between biological, cognitive, social and societal factors involved in enhancing (risk factors) or diminishing (protective factors) disorder development. In addition, attention will be paid to psychosocial difficulties that often co-occur with the aforementioned psychopathological disorders.

The lectures (as well as the course materials and the exam) of this course are all in English. The seminars will be in Dutch for most Dutch students, and there will be several international workgroups that are taught in English.

The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the general principles of the macro-paradigm of the developmental psychopathology perspective and to provide an overview of the present-day theories of factors (etiology) and mechanisms (pathogeneses) involved in the development and maintenance of psychopathological disorders of childhood and adolescence.

Learning Objectives on Developmental Psychopathology
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. understand the characteristics of emotional and behavioral development in relation to normative development in which age and context are crucial variables;

2. understand developmental pathways of (mal)adaptation and theories of “development gone awry” in emotional and behavioral development (e.g., equifinality/multifinality, mediators/moderators, continuity/discontinuity, typical/atypical, multiply determined [multiple influences], child and environment are interdependent)

3. differentiate between psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence based on differences in key characteristics according to the DSM-5 and place these different disorders in the context of normal development;

4. describe risk and protective factors (i.e., etiology) and mechanisms (i.e., pathogeneses) at different levels of analysis (i.e., biological, psychological, social, and societal) involved in the development and maintenance of different psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence;

5. describe and illustrate general principles of the developmental psychopathology perspective in relation to psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence;

6. describe and discuss the importance of multidisciplinary research (past and present) into better understanding themacro-paradigm of the developmental psychopathology perspective.

Learning Objectives on Academic Writing
Upon successful completion of the writing assignment, students will be able to:

1. understand the characteristics of emotional and behavioral development in relation to normative development in which age and context are crucial variables;

2. understand developmental pathways of (mal)adaptation and theories of “development gone awry” in emotional and behavioral development (e.g., equifinality/multifinality, mediators/moderators, continuity/discontinuity, typical/atypical, multiply determined [multiple influences], child and environment are interdependent)

3. differentiate between psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence based on differences in key characteristics according to the DSM-5 and place these different disorders in the context of normal development;

4. describe risk and protective factors (i.e., etiology) and mechanisms (i.e., pathogeneses) at different levels of analysis (i.e., biological, psychological, social, and societal) involved in the development and maintenance of different psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence;

5. describe and illustrate general principles of the developmental psychopathology perspective in relation to psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence;

6. describe and discuss the importance of multidisciplinary research (past and present) into better understanding themacro-paradigm of the developmental psychopathology perspective.

Feedback Literacy Skills Objectives
Learning Line Feedback Literacy Skills (Leerlijn Feedback Vaardigheden)
During the course, you will receive feedback on your work from the supervisor and fellow students and provide feedback on the work of your fellow students. As such, this course also pays attention to the development of your feedback literacy skills. More specifically, during this course, you will work on the following skills:

1. understand the characteristics of emotional and behavioral development in relation to normative development in which age and context are crucial variables;
2. understand developmental pathways of (mal)adaptation and theories of “development gone awry” in emotional and behavioral development (e.g., equifinality/multifinality, mediators/moderators, continuity/discontinuity, typical/atypical, multiply determined [multiple influences], child and environment are interdependent)
3. differentiate between psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence based on differences in key characteristics according to the DSM-5 and place these different disorders in the context of normal development;
4. describe risk and protective factors (i.e., etiology) and mechanisms (i.e., pathogeneses) at different levels of analysis (i.e., biological, psychological, social, and societal) involved in the development and maintenance of different psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence;
5. describe and illustrate general principles of the developmental psychopathology perspective in relation to psychopathological disorders in childhood and adolescence;
6. describe and discuss the importance of multidisciplinary research (past and present) into better understanding themacro-paradigm of the developmental psychopathology perspective.

You must meet the following requirements

• Book Disorders of Childhood : Development and Psychopathology (ISBN 9780357796467)