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WESTERN UNIVERSITY
LONDON
CANADA
Department of Psychology
2014-2015
Psychology 2320A Section 001
Abnormal Child Psychology
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This is a theory course that is designed to introduce the wide-ranging theories of
developmental psychopathology in children and adolescents. Topics will include the major
DSM-5 diagnostic categories for childhood disorders, as well as research and treatment.
The course orientation is empirical, with an emphasis on recent research findings with this
population.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2042A/B, 2043A/B, 3320F/G
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken
for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken,
you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most
recent course.
Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course
2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from
your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from
your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your
fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary
prerequisites.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Hayden
Office: Westminster Hall, room 314
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: ehayden@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Yuliya Kotelnikova
Office: Westminster Hall, room 228
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: ykotelni@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Victoria Johnson
Office: Westminster Hall, room 226
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: vjohnso3@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Sarah Ouellette
Office: Westminster Hall, room 226
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: souell5@uwo.ca
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Time and Location of Lectures:
Time and Location of Tutorial 002:
Time and Location of Tutorial 003:
Time and Location of Tutorial 004:
Time and Location of Tutorial 005:
Time and Location of Tutorial 006:
Time and Location of Tutorial 007:
1:30-3:30, Tuesdays, UCC 56
9:30-10:30, Thursdays, TC342
10:30-11:30, Thursdays, TC342
9:30-10:30, Thursdays, STVH 3101
10:30-11:30, Thursdays, STVH 3101
9:30-10:30, Thursdays, SSC 3018
10:30-11:30, Thursdays, SSC 3018
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at
Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more
information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you
require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also
wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any
specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Required: Mash, E.J. & Wolfe, D.A. (2013). Abnormal Child Psychology (5th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Other materials available on the course website (https://owl.uwo.ca/portal/site/2f463226-39d34ff4-9bfa-a6021f802762 ) as noted below.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The goal of this course is to familiarize you with current concepts and research on major
psychological and mental disorders of childhood, including issues of assessment, prevalence,
course, major etiological theories, and treatment. Class meetings will consist of lectures that
give a broad overview of the topic for that class and tutorials designed to provide the opportunity
for greater in-depth discussion and exploration of specific topics.
5.0 EVALUATION
Course grades are based on performance on two exams, worth 40% and 45% of your grade,
respectively, and tutorial attendance/participation (worth 15%). Exams will consist of multiple
choice, true/false, and possibly short answer items. The final exam is not cumulative per se, but
answering some questions correctly will require integration of conceptual material covered prior
to the midterm. Material covered in the readings, lectures and tutorials will be included.
Your attendance at, and participation in, course tutorials will constitute the remaining 15% of
your grade. Your grade will reflect attendance at the tutorials, your thoughtful contributions to
the discussion, and the extent to which you pay respectful attention to the TA and the group
discussion during this time. Your own contributions should show critical thinking and that you
have read, and thought about, the assigned readings for both the lecture and tutorial that week.
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades
to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the
following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
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72% 2100-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which
are as follows (see
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):
A+
A
B
C
D
F
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
50-59
below 50
One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
Superior work that is clearly above average
Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
Competent work, meeting requirements
Fair work, minimally acceptable
Fail
Concerns about grades can be reviewed with either a teaching assistant or the professor.
Students wishing to have a grade reviewed must submit a brief note outlining the specific
concerns regarding the grade and justification for re-evaluation. Either a teaching assistant or
the professor will then re-grade the assignment. It is possible that, on review, students may
receive a lower grade than originally assigned.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Exam
When
Weight
Mid-term exam
Oct. 28 during class time
40%
Final exam
As scheduled during final exam period
45%
The details for the final exam were not available at the time of the printing of this syllabus. To
avoid potential conflicts with the final exam for this course, students are strongly encouraged to
refrain from making end-of-term travel plans that could potentially conflict with the final exam
schedule. Check the UWO website for the final exam schedule as it becomes available.
7.0 LECTURE SCHEDULE
Date
Topic
Reading from text or
course website
Chapters 1-2
Sept. 9
Sept. 11
Lecture: Introduction to developmental
psychopathology; Conceptual models of
psychopathology & risk
Tutorial: How do we define mental disorder?
Sept. 16
Lecture: Methods in psychopathology research
Sept. 18
Sept. 23
TUTORIAL MEETING CANCELED: Specific examples
of published research in psychopathology
Lecture: Diagnosis & classification; Assessment
Sept. 25
Tutorial: Structured clinical interviews
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 4 (through p.
108)
None
Sept. 30
Lecture: Treatment
Chapter 4 (p. 108-
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 3
4
120)
Oct. 2
Tutorial: Examples of behavioral interventions
Oct. 7
Lecture: Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD)
Oct. 9
Tutorial: Is ADHD overdiagnosed?
Oct. 14
Oct. 16
Lecture: Oppositional Defiant & Conduct Disorders
(ODD & CD)
Tutorial: Treatment of CD
Oct. 21
Lecture: Substance Use Disorders (SUDs)
Oct. 23
Tutorial: Elimination Disorders
Oct. 28
Oct. 30
Nov. 4
MIDTERM EXAM
No tutorial
Lecture: Anxiety disorders
Nov. 6
Tutorial: PTSD
Nov. 11
Lecture: Mood disorders I
Nov. 13
Tutorial: Depression in very young children
Nov. 18
Lecture: Mood disorders II
Nov. 20
Tutorial: Pediatric bipolar disorder
Nov. 25
Nov. 27
Lecture: Autistic spectrum disorders & childhood-onset
schizophrenia
Tutorial: Controversies in autistic spectrum disorders
Dec. 2
Lecture: Eating disorders (EDs)
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 5
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 6
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 12 (pp.
406 ‐412)
Chapter 12 (pp.389394)
None
None
Chapter 7
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 8
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 8
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 10
Relevant materials
from course website
Chapter 13
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of
plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious
offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting
a scholastic offense are described at the following
link:http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect
scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the
pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating
locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service
designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of
content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such
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checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of
detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is
subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and
Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com).
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the
course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 OTHER INFORMATION
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergradresponsibilities.htm
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2014 Calendar References