PSYN 311 Psychopathology of Childhood and Adolescents

Final Examination

James McGowan Rei Vuksani Spring 2020

Part I. Answer any five of the following questions below: 15 pts each

1. Discuss at least two methods which are used to help create a diagnosis for childhood disorders.

Discuss some of the problems/limitations of diagnosing young children.

Clinical Assessment: Clinical assessment relies on a multimethod assessment approach, which

emphasizes obtaining information from different informants in a variety of settings, using a variety of

methods.

Behavioral Assessment: Behavioral assessment evaluates the child’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in

specific settings and uses this information to formulate hypotheses about the nature of the problem and

what can be done about it.

Projective tests: Projective tests present children with ambiguous stimuli to assess their inner thoughts

and feelings that reflect aspects of their personality.

Etc.

There are a few problems/limitations of diagnosing a child with a disorder. The child usually gets

labeled, so he might grow up believing that there is something wrong with him/her, that she is

somehow "abnormal", and considering that the child might have intellectual, physical, and social

impairments too, that makes the child very venerable to stress and depression. Also, mental health
professionals, while attempting to understand children’s weaknesses, too often unintentionally overlook

their strengths.

2. What are the basic symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? What

approaches are used to treat ADHD?

ADHD has 3 primary characteristics: inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity. Symptoms of ADHD are:

Impulsiveness, Disorganization and problems prioritizing, Poor time management skills, Problems

focusing on a task, Trouble multitasking, Excessive activity or restlessness, Poor planning, Low

frustration tolerance, etc.

There are 3 main approaches to treating ADHD: primary treatments, intensive treatments, and

additional treatments.

Primary treatments:

 Stimulant medication (Stimulants are the most effective treatment for managing symptoms of

ADHD in school and at home

 Parent management training (Managing disruptive child behavior at home, reducing parent–

child conflict, and promoting prosocial and self-regulating behaviors

 Educational intervention (Managing disruptive classroom behavior, improving academic

performance, teaching prosocial and self-regulating behaviors

Intensive treatments:
  Summer treatment programs (Enhancing present

adjustment at home and future success at school by combining many of the primary and

additional treatments in an intensive summer treatment program)

Additional treatments:

 Family counseling (Coping with individual and family stresses associated with ADHD, including

mood disturbance and marital strain

 Support groups (Connecting adults with other parents of children with ADHD, sharing

information and experiences about common concerns, and providing emotional support)

 Individual counseling (Providing a supportive relationship in which the youth can discuss

personal concerns and feelings)

3. Describe the symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder. What is the danger of not effectively

treating this disorder in childhood? EXTRA CREDIT

Children with ODD usually throw frequent temper tantrums, they argue excessively with adults, they

blame others for their mistakes, and they say mean and hateful things when they are upset, etc. If it’s

not brought under control during the childhood, a large proportion of children maintain their levels of

aggressive behaviors.

4. Discuss the impact of early childhood trauma on the young child as well as when they become

adolescents. Give two examples.

Early childhood trauma generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6.

Because infants' and young children's reactions may be different from older children's, and because they
may not be able to verbalize their reactions to threatening or dangerous events, many people assume

that young age protects children from the impact of traumatic experiences. Long lasting effects include

both mental and physical health. They can expect a life-spam which is up to 20 years shorter than their

peers. Long term effects include: avoidance, nightmares, hyperarousal, overreacting emotionally, etc.

These traumatic events include neglect, verbal, physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Children from

abusive and neglectful families grow up in environments that fail to provide consistent and appropriate

opportunities to guide their development; instead, these children are placed in jeopardy of physical and

emotional harm. Because children are dependent on the people who harm or neglect them, they face

other paradoxical dilemmas as well. Teens with histories of maltreatment have a much greater risk of

substance abuse that, in turn, increases the risk of other adjustment problems

Some examples for children are:

 The victim not only wants to stop the violence but also longs to belong to a family.

 Affection and attention may coexist with violence and abuse.

 The intensity of the violence tends to increase over time, although in some cases physical

violence may decrease or even stop altogether.

Some examples for adolescents are:

 Adolescents with histories of physical abuse and exposure to violence between parents are at

increased risk of developing interpersonal problems marked by their own acts of aggression and

violence or of violent victimization by others.

 Adolescents with histories of sexual abuse, on the other hand, are more likely than nonvictims

to develop chronic impairments in self-esteem, to have physical health problems, and to lack

emotional and behavioral self-regulation.

children? What are some of the interventions that can be used to treat depression in young

children?

6. Discuss two interventions for preventing an adolescent from attempting suicide.

7. What are the differences between anorexia and bulimia? What are some of the possible causes

of these eating disorders?

Anorexia often is marked by an obsession with food and a drive for thinness that causes the person to

lose sight of what is healthy. Bulimia is characterized by binge eating followed by an effort to

compensate, usually through self-induced vomiting, but sometimes by fasting; by misusing laxatives,

diuretics, or other medications; or by exercising excessively. Individuals with bulimia are also obsessed

with food and with losing weight, but they do not experience the excessive weight loss associated with

anorexia.

Causes of these eating disorders are:

 Personality Traits (Low self-esteem, Feelings of inadequacy or lack of control in life, Fear of

becoming fat, Depressed, anxious, angry, and lonely feelings, Perfectionist, etc.)
  Genetics (increased risk among first-degree biological relatives with the disorder, increased

risk of mood disorders among first-degree biological relatives, etc.)

 Environmental Influences (troubled family and relationships, difficulty expressing emotions

and feelings, history of bullying, history of trauma and/or abuse, cultural pressure, narrow

definitions of beauty, cultural norms, etc.)

 Biochemistry (chemical imbalances in the neuroendocrine system, serotonin and

norepinephrine are decreased, Excessive levels of cortisol, etc.)

8. Discuss the two categories of Communication Disorders. Describe at least two classroom

accommodations for children with communication and speech disorders.

The 2 main categories are:

Language disorder: inability to communicate and express ones wants and needs.

Speech disorder: inability of producing sounds of communication

Classroom accommodations are:

 Build a positive classroom climate (explain to other students that the child has difficulties, but is

not different than others, make the child feel welcomed)

 Modify instruction and materials (develop students’ controversial skills through story reading,

modify strategies to develop students learning tools, use storytelling and process writing, etc)

Etc.

Yellow – not done green – done red – extra credit

One additional question can be answered for extra credit worth 10 pts. If completing an extra credit

question, clearly indicate “EXTRA CREDIT” next to that answer.

Place the letter of the corresponding terms that most closely relates to the numbered items:

__g__ 1. WAIS a. guidelines for psychological disorders

__h__ 2. Oppositional Defiant Disorder b. inability to communicate and express an

individual’s wants and needs

__f__ 3. Anaclitic Depression c. cognitive behavioral therapy

__J__ 4. Anorexia d. Able to separate from parent without distress

__a__ 5. DSM V e. Extreme fears of objects or situations

__i__ 6. ADHD f. previous view of children who lose the

caregiver

__c__ 7. CBT g. form of intelligence assessment

__b__ 8. Language Disorder h. pattern of negative, hostile behavior

__e__ 9. Phobia i. Ritalin common treatment

__d__ 10. Secure Attachment j. Possibly due to sense of no control

over much

of their lives