A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Depression in Children and Adolescents

Objective: Irritability is an important theme in paediatric psychiatry considering its high frequency in developmental age, its association with negative outcomes and consequently significant public health impact. Present as main or associated feature of several psychiatric diagnoses, irritability represents a challenge for clinicians who try to understand its origin and role in developmental psychopathology. In this review we try to: (1) get an overview of this dimension and its relationship with each of the main neuropsychiatric disorders in paediatric population and (2) provide a summary of currently available instruments to assess irritability in children and adolescents. Method: In this narrative review, an overview of irritability in children and adolescents is proposed focusing on selected literature. Results: Irritability as feature of many paediatric psychiatric conditions has been evaluated by many authors and included in classifications of paediatric psychiatric diseases. Framework of irritability evolved over time and dimension of irritability has been investigated using different tools and methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative. Metrics of irritability as clinical dimension are important in the diagnostic process of paediatric diseases. Conclusion: Investigating the presence of irritability in all children with related disorders is mandatory if we consider the risk for functional impairment and affective and behavioural disorders associated with high levels of irritability. Using rigid threshold in developmental age to differentiate physiological from pathological irritability could lead many children having subthreshold levels of irritability to receive no diagnosis and, consequently, no treatment where instead a dimensional approach to irritability could allow to identify prodromal phase and prevent the evolution towards clinical pathological expressions.

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Transdiagnostic Mechanisms and Treatment for Children and Adolescents

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935291.013.10 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Brian C. Chu ◽

Andrea B. Temkin ◽

Kristin Toffey

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Developmental Psychopathology ◽

Social Research ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Developmental Change ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Future Directions ◽

Treatment Development ◽

Evidence Based Treatments ◽

Treatment Research

Transdiagnostic approaches promise robust conceptualizations of pathology and efficient and generalizable treatments by providing researchers with a novel way to integrate basic science, treatment research, and developmental psychopathology. It has inspired innovations in treatment development by distilling the most powerful treatment components from our library of evidence-based treatments. Transdiagnostic approaches have proved especially appealing in the youth domain given high rates of comorbidity and rapid developmental change. The chapter begins with an introduction to transdiagnostic conceptual definitions and history, then reviews state of the art cognitive, behavioral, and social research that explains mechanisms in the onset or maintenance of pathology using a transdiagnostic lens. It concludes with a review of the early efforts of transdiagnostic researchers to develop interventions to address multiple disorders simultaneously in children and adolescents. In all, the chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to the foundation and future directions of this emerging field.

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Developmental psychopathology: Substantive, methodological and policy issues

International Journal of Behavioral Development ◽

10.1177/0165025406059966 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 2-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Caroline Braet ◽

Marcel A.G. van Aken

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Research Agenda ◽

Developmental Psychopathology ◽

Special Section ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Developmental Perspective ◽

Policy Issues ◽

Maladaptive Behaviour

In recent decades, developmental psychopathology has emerged as a discipline for the study of maladaptive behaviour of children and adolescents from a developmental perspective. The articles in the special section illustrate various substantive and methodological advances in this field, and also discuss treatment and policy implications. In addition, some perspectives on issues are presented that will be on the research agenda for developmental psychopathology in the coming years.

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Developmental psychopathology of children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome – impact of ADHD

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.1007/s00787-007-1004-6 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 16 (S1) ◽

pp. 24-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Veit Roessner ◽

Andreas Becker ◽

Tobias Banaschewski ◽

Roger D. Freeman ◽

Aribert Rothenberger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Tourette Syndrome ◽

Developmental Psychopathology

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Analyzing the Potential Benefit of Microcomputer Use for Teaching Figurative Language

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/1058-0360.0102.36 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 36-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marilyn A. Nippold ◽

Ilsa E. Schwarz ◽

Molly Lewis

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Standardized Tests ◽

Figurative Language ◽

Language Intervention ◽

School Age Children ◽

Educational Materials ◽

Language Learning Disabilities ◽

Promising Application ◽

Experience Difficulty

Microcomputers offer the potential for increasing the effectiveness of language intervention for school-age children and adolescents who have language-learning disabilities. One promising application is in the treatment of students who experience difficulty comprehending figurative expressions, an aspect of language that occurs frequently in both spoken and written contexts. Although software is available to teach figurative language to children and adolescents, it is our feeling that improvements are needed in the existing programs. Software should be reviewed carefully before it is used with students, just as standardized tests and other clinical and educational materials are routinely scrutinized before use. In this article, four microcomputer programs are described and evaluated. Suggestions are then offered for the development of new types of software to teach figurative language.

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