Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Clinical Psychological Science
- Part II Observational Approaches
- Part III Experimental and Biological Approaches
- Part IV Developmental Psychopathology and Longitudinal Methods
- 15 Studying Psychopathology in Early Life
- 16 Adolescence and Puberty
- 17 Quantitative Genetic Research Strategies for Studying Gene-Environment Interplay in the Development of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
- 18 Designing and Managing Longitudinal Studies
- 19 Measurement and Comorbidity Models for Longitudinal Data
- Part V Intervention Approaches
- Part VI Intensive Longitudinal Designs
- Part VII General Analytic Considerations
- Index
- References
15 - Studying Psychopathology in Early Life
Foundations of Developmental Psychopathology
from Part IV - Developmental Psychopathology and Longitudinal Methods
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2020
- The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Clinical Psychological Science
- Part II Observational Approaches
- Part III Experimental and Biological Approaches
- Part IV Developmental Psychopathology and Longitudinal Methods
- 15 Studying Psychopathology in Early Life
- 16 Adolescence and Puberty
- 17 Quantitative Genetic Research Strategies for Studying Gene-Environment Interplay in the Development of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
- 18 Designing and Managing Longitudinal Studies
- 19 Measurement and Comorbidity Models for Longitudinal Data
- Part V Intervention Approaches
- Part VI Intensive Longitudinal Designs
- Part VII General Analytic Considerations
- Index
- References
Summary
During the course of the past four decades, developmental psychopathology has emerged as a new science that integrates various disciplines, the efforts of which had previously been distinct and separate. The distinctiveness and uniqueness of a developmental psychopathology approach lie in its focus on normal and abnormal, adaptive and maladaptive, developmental processes. A developmental analysis presupposes change and novelty, highlights the critical role of timing in the organization of behavior, underscores multiple determinants, and cautions against expecting invariant relations between causes and outcomes. A developmental analysis is essential for tracing the roots, etiology, and nature of maladaptation so that interventions may be timed and guided as well as being developmentally appropriate. Moreover, a developmental analysis proves useful for discovering the compensatory mechanisms – biological, psychological, and social-contextual – that may promote resilient functioning despite the experience of significant adversity. Inherent to a developmental psychopathology approach is a commitment to the importance of applying knowledge of normal development to the study of typical populations. Even prior to the emergence of a mental disorder, certain pathways signify adaptational failures in normal development that probabilistically forebode subsequent psychopathology. The approach suggested by a developmental psychopathology framework requires a comprehensive assessment of functioning including multidisciplinary, multidomain, multilevel, and multicontextual measurement strategies. Additionally, developmental psychopathology is a lifespan perspective, because it is only by examining a range of conditions from infancy through adulthood that developmental continuities and discontinuities can be elucidated fully.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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