Child Psychopathology Potential Question
1. Definition of a clinical disorder
2. Positive/negative predictive power
3. Be able to complete a clinical disorder table for the following disorders:
a. Intellectual Disabilities (previously Mental Retardation)
b. Autism
c. Aspergers’ Disorder
d. ADHD – combined subtype
e. Oppositional Defiant Disorder
f. Conduct Disorder
1. What is a clinical disorder?
A constellation of symptoms that significantly impairs an individual’s ability to function
and is characterized by a particular symptom picture with a specifiable onset, course,
duration, outcome, and response to treatment, and associated familial, psychosocial, and
biological correlates.
2. Which is more important to clinicians, Positive Predictive Power or Sensitivity? What is
PPP, and why is it more important to a practicing clinician? [note: there are 3 separate
pieces to address]
Positive Predictive Power is more important because it represents the proportion of
children with a specific symptom who meet diagnostic criteria for a specific disorder.
Clinicians usually are uncertain of a child’s diagnostic when they are brought to a clinic
for an evaluation and/or treatment. They discover which symptoms a child has by means
of clinical interviews (parent/child/teacher), standardized rating scales, and other
assessments. The presence of particular symptoms (i.e., those with high PPP) makes it
more likely that a child will meet criteria for a particular diagnosis.
3. Why is Intellectual disability not diagnosed on IQ alone?
Intellectual disability is not diagnosed based on IQ alone because a child could have an
IQ below 70 due to a substandard environment yet show no impairment in their ability to
function adaptively in their environment.
4. Describe the primary subtypes of Intellectual Disability:
a. Mild mental retardation- minimal deficits, achieves adult skills for self-support,
may need assistance often successful.
b. Moderate mental retardation-assisted/community living, can perform
unskilled/semi-skilled work.
c. Severe mental retardation-that result in failure to meet developmental and
sociocultural standards for personal independence and social responsibility.
d. Profound mental retardation-simple supervised tasks.
5. Explain the difference between organic mental retardation and cultural-familial mental
retardation. Provide an example of each.
Organic – Results from a known a genetic disorder or biological abnormalities and is
present at birth. Frequently occurs in families where everyone else has normal intellectual
functioning. The cause of the ID (intellectual disability) is known.
Examples: Down’s Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Trisomy 21
Cultural–Familial – Thought to result from a combination of environmental deprivation
and genetic disposition towards low intelligence. The exact cause of ID is unknown.
Example: A child who isn’t stimulated enough at a young age, is raised in an
impoverished environment, has parents with low intelligence, and doesn’t develop
properly.
6. What three areas must a child show severe and pervasive impairment in to be diagnosed
with Autism? Describe the impairment that children with Autism typically show in each
area.
a. Impairment in social functioning- Avoids eye contact, is uninterested in social
interactions, shows little interest in others’ behavior, and doesn’t respond to signs
of affection.
b. Impairment in communication- marked delays in language, may be mute,
shows echolalia, pronoun reversal, abnormal prosody, and problems with
pragmatics.
c. Stereotyped patterns of behavior- hand flapping, toe walking, rocking, insists
on following elaborate routines.
7. Explain how the IQ-Achievement discrepancy is used to diagnose learning disorders and
why it may not be the best way to diagnose children with learning disorders.
Children are administered an IQ test and a standardized academic achievement test; a
significant discrepancy between the two scores must exist to meet diagnostic criteria for a
learning disability or learning disorder (note: these terms are often used interchangeable).
The IQ-Achievement discrepancy approach may not be optimal because a child could
barely miss the cutoff discrepancy score but still show significant impairment and need
intervention to avoid failure.
8. Provide three possible explanations for self-injurious behaviors in children with
Intellectual Disability.
a. They serve a particular function such as: gaining attention, food or specific items,
providing stimulation or enjoyment, or escaping a chore, activity or social
interaction they dislike.
b. SIB may reflect hypersensitivity to the neurotransmitter dopamine.
c. Children who exhibit SIBs may have high levels of endogenous opioids that raise
their pain tolerance.
9.
Describe the two primary subtypes of ADHD.
Combined type – shows significant inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.
Children with this subtype are usually described as inattentive, impulsive, and exhibit
excessive motor activity. They also experience significant difficulties interacting with
peers and do poorly in school.
Predominantly inattentive type – Children with this subtype exhibit slow information
processing, tend to be uncoordinated, and are described as daydreamers, hypoactive (term
means lower than usual gross motor activity), in a fog, confused, staring into space, and
forgetful.
10.
How does incidence rate differ from prevalence rate?
Incidence rate refers to the occurrence of new cases during a particular time interval
(e.g., within the past year).
Prevalence rate refers the number of existing cases within a particular time interval (e.g.,
within the past year).
11.
What are callous unemotional traits and what role do they play in children diagnosed with
conduct disorder (i.e., is the behavior and/or outcomes different for children with conduct
disorder with and without CU traits?).
Callous unemotional traits:
a. Lack of guilt
b. Lack of empathy
c. Callous use of others for one’s own gain
They predict the following:
a. Violent sexual offenders
b. Early onset disruptive behavior disorder diagnosis
c. Adult psychopathy at ages 18-19 even after controlling for
early CD problems and other risk factors
d. More severe CD problems, violence, aggression, & delinquency
e. A more severe and stable pattern of antisocial behavior