Early Childhood Psychopathology: Developmental Models and Treatments

This book examines psychosocial risk factors contributing to the development and maintenance of psychopathology in early childhood. It draws on developmental psychopathology theory and research to discuss different approaches to the classification of early childhood emotional and behavioral disorders, address the importance of multidomain approaches to understanding risk factors for specific diagnoses, and examine the movement toward transdiagnostic conceptualizations. The book describes how multidomain models of risk factors can be integrated with transdiagnostic approaches to illuminate the development of general psychopathology, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and singular symptom clusters of the most common early childhood disorders, including oppositional disorders, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. In addition, the volume highlights the implications of this approach for clinical treatment, training of child clinicians, and the development of public policy.

Key areas of coverage include:

• A developmental psychopathology approach to early childhood mental health disorders and the development of multi-domain models of risk factors.
• Risk factors contributing to the development and maintenance of emotional and behavioral symptoms in early childhood.
• Transdiagnostic approaches and risk factors for general psychopathology as well as specific types of symptoms.
• Current treatments for disorders in early childhood and a novel integrative approach to treatment based on research findings.
• Training of child clinicians and social policy implications derived from the research program detailed in the book.

Early Childhood Psychopathology is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians, scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in such fields as developmental, clinical child, and school psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, social work, family studies, early childhood education, and all related disciplines.

Karen R. Gouze, Ph.D., worked as a clinical child psychologist in the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago for 40 years She currently holds an appointment as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. For more than 35 years, Dr. Gouze worked as the Director of Training in Psychology, provided clinical services for children and families, and conducted research in developmental psychopathology, treatment of preschool disorders, and school-based mental health. Along with her two colleagues, she is responsible for the research described in this book. Dr. Gouze has a long-standing commitment to understanding the factors contributing to healthy child development and to the implementation and dissemination of empirically supported treatments in both pediatric and community settings. In addition, Dr. Gouze has worked in the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital for the past ten years, devoting her time to building resilience in youth through the identification, development, and implementation of trauma-informed practices in early childhood and after-school programs.

Joyce Hopkins, Ph.D., is a clinical child psychologist, and a Professor Emeritus in the Psychology Department at Illinois Institute of Technology. She was a Psychology Professor in that department for 29 years, where she served as the Associate Director and Director of Clinical Training and was responsible for teaching advanced graduate level courses on developmental psychopathology and the assessment and treatment of children. In addition to the research in developmental psychopathology described in this book, she also maintained an active research program focused on maternal attachment and risk factors in infant mental health.. She chaired 28 doctoral students’ dissertations in developmental psychopathology focused on early childhood. Prior to her position at Illinois Tech, Dr. Hopkins was the Co-Director of the Parent-Infant Development Service in the Child Psychiatry Department at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She has been involved in the infant mental health community in Illinois since 1987. She was the President of the Illinois Association for Infant Mental Health, served on the Board for several terms, and currently is an active member of the Research Committee.

John V. Lavigne, Ph.D., is the Chief Psychologist in the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Lavigne became interested in the development of psychopathology in young children through his work in collaborative primary care, working with pediatricians who tend to see preschoolers for regular visits and who are often the first professionals with whom parents consult when they are concerned about their preschooler’s behavior. Along with the work in developmental psychopathology described in this book, he has been active in research involved in establishing an empirical basis for collaborative care, including studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health on identifying preschoolers with mental health problems in primary care settings, treating Oppositional Defiant Disorder in pediatric primary care, and improving treatment of ADHD in pediatric settings.