Understanding Child Psychology and Development
Frequently Asked Questions in Child Psychology
Factors Affecting Mental Functions
Several factors can influence an individual’s mental functions:
- Parental psychopathology
- Family dynamics (individual characteristics or temperamental factors)
- Environmental stress
Freud’s Processes
Processes like memory, reasoning, and language enable us to interact with reality, understand its mechanisms, and recognize causal relationships.
Object Relations Theory
Object relations theory posits that all behavior involves interaction with others and occurs within a human context. This theory has enhanced our understanding of group psychology and family dynamics, particularly relationships between individuals with illnesses and their families.
Eight-Month Anxiety
Spitz defines eight-month anxiety as the first sign of distress. At this age, a child can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar individuals, reacting negatively to the latter (stranger anxiety).
Genes and Mental Illness
Genetic factors contribute to mental illnesses in two primary ways:
- Single-gene disturbances with total or partial penetration
- Chromosomal alterations
Examples of Single-Gene Disorders
- Rett syndrome
- Fragile X syndrome
- Turner syndrome
Positive Connotation
Positive connotation assumes that every behavior has a stabilizing effect within family relationships. Recognizing the underlying reasons for behavior is the first step towards problem resolution. This involves maintaining an optimistic perspective on challenges, emphasizing learning from experiences, and focusing on future opportunities for positive change.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapies, rooted in Freud’s psychoanalytic method, propose that therapeutic change hinges on the patient’s ability to bring unconscious processes driving pathology into conscious awareness. These therapies emphasize the therapist-patient relationship.
Factors Influencing Psychopathology
Several factors can contribute to psychopathology:
- Biological factors: prenatal, perinatal, and genetic influences
- Psychological and social factors: family, school, and environment
- Life events: emotional deprivation, separation, early bereavement, overprotection, unfavorable learning experiences, educational errors, and chronic diseases
Characteristics of Bulimia Nervosa
Individuals with bulimia nervosa may exhibit the following:
- Avoiding social gatherings with food
- Excessive exercise
- Overuse of sweeteners
- Diet pill consumption
- Frequent weighing
- Food hoarding
- Preoccupation with food
- Frequent bathroom visits after eating
- A self-perpetuating cycle of dieting, binging, and purging
Family Variables and Selective Mutism
Family environments can contribute to selective mutism:
- Discouraging interaction with strangers
- Authoritarian, coercive, or overprotective parenting styles
- Inconsistent social interaction
- Inadequate social stimulation
- Lower socioeconomic status and cultural factors
- Parental behavior
Psychiatric Disorders and Selective Mutism
The following disorders may be associated with selective mutism:
- Communication disorders
- Severe mental retardation
- Pervasive developmental disorder
- Schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders
ADHD Comorbidity
ADHD frequently co-occurs with conduct disorders, learning disabilities, and oppositional defiant disorder.
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Positive symptoms involve experiencing abnormal events, such as hallucinations (seeing things that aren’t there) or delusions (believing things that aren’t true).
Schizophrenia Subtype with Worse Prognosis
Disorganized schizophrenia, characterized by emotional disturbances and incongruity (e.g., laughing without reason), typically has an earlier onset and more severe course.
DSM-IV Axis III
Axis III of the DSM-IV addresses existing medical conditions.
Developmental Dyslexia
Dyslexia, a specific reading and writing difficulty, is not associated with cognitive, sensory, motor, or emotional impairments. Children with dyslexia may experience a 2-3 year delay in reading development, often affecting reading and writing more than reasoning or calculation. Deficits may occur in perceptual processes, visual word recognition, and syntactic/semantic processing.
Etiology of Enuresis: Developmental Defect
Enuresis, or the inability to control urination, can stem from a developmental defect where voluntary control doesn’t replace earlier spinal control during childhood.
Delirium
Delirium is a thought disorder.
Echolalia
Echolalia is the stereotyped repetition of phrases.
ICD-10 Axis II
Axis II of the ICD-10 focuses on specific developmental disorders.
DSM-IV Axis IV
Axis IV of the DSM-IV addresses psychosocial and environmental problems.
Alternative Name for Disintegrative Disorder
Disintegrative disorder is also known as Heller’s syndrome.
Transitional Object
Transitional objects typically appear around one year of age.
Verbal Assessment of Autism
Verbal assessment alone is insufficient for diagnosing autism.
Spitz’s Pre-Object Period
Spitz’s pre-object period spans from birth to three months.
Rett Syndrome
In Rett syndrome, head circumference at birth is normal, but brain growth slows down later.
Asperger’s Syndrome
Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome typically have normal language and intelligence but experience qualitative impairments in social interaction, often exhibiting restrictive and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities.
Defining Symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome
Asperger’s syndrome, a pervasive developmental disorder, involves normal intelligence and language development, but with qualitative impairments in social interaction, alongside restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. Individuals may exhibit social isolation, motor mannerisms, and difficulty with physical contact.
Positive Prognostic Indicator in Autism
Developing language by age five is a positive prognostic sign in autism.
Neuroleptics
Neuroleptics are antipsychotic medications.
Diagnosing Atypical Autism
A diagnosis of atypical autism cannot be made at three months of age.
Conduct Disorder vs. Antisocial Personality Disorder
The key difference between conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder is age.
Atypical Autism
In atypical autism, one or two, but never all three, areas of development are affected.
Schizophrenia Diagnosis
Schizophrenia is typically diagnosed from age 15 onwards.
Symbolic Stage
The symbolic stage involves games, self-discovery, and learning.
Typical Autistic Movements
Individuals with autism may exhibit inappropriate behavior, stereotypy, bizarre or repetitive play, and scattered interests.
Separation Anxiety at Eight Months
Separation anxiety at eight months reflects the attachment relationship between mother and child.
Most Persistent Depressive Disorder
Dysthymic disorder is the most persistent depressive disorder.
Early Emotional Deprivation
René Spitz studied the effects of early emotional deprivation in children.
Early Studies of Childhood Mental Illness
Moreau de Tours authored an early work on childhood mental illness in 1888.
Childhood Adjustment Issues
Childhood adjustment issues can evoke neurotic disorders.
Altered Functions in Typical Autism
Typical autism affects social interaction, communication, and involves repetitive and restrictive behaviors.
Bonding Behavior in Children
Clear bonding behavior is established during the first year of life.
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is the description and phenomenological interpretation of mental disorders.
Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia include reduced speech fluency, diminished interest in activities or people, and lack of motivation.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are disorders of perception.
Personality Traits in Anorexia
Common personality traits in anorexia include insecurity, insomnia, social isolation, and decreased sexual interest.
State vs. Trait Anxiety
State anxiety is a pathological condition, as seen in anxiety disorders like separation anxiety and phobias. Trait anxiety, on the other hand, is a personality characteristic, a way of being anxious.
Components of a Medical History
A medical history typically includes: patient demographics, source of information, reason for consultation, current problem and symptoms with developmental history, biographical data, socio-family information, physical examination findings, psychological assessment, psychopathological evaluation, and social orientation/needs.
Areas of Psychopathological Examination
A psychopathological examination covers areas such as neuropsychological functions, intellectual ability, emotions/mood, thought and language, sensory perception, psychomotor skills, instinctive behavior, general description, and reliability.
Goals of Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy emphasizes the importance of early childhood development, experiences in the early years, the significance of childhood traumas, and their future implications.
Differential Diagnosis: PDD vs. Mental Retardation
In mental retardation (MR), language and social skills align with cognitive development. Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) involve uneven development. Interpersonal relations are not typically impaired in MR.
Comorbid Disorders with Childhood Hyperkinesis
Conduct disorder, learning disorders, and oppositional defiant disorder are often comorbid with childhood hyperkinesis (ADHD).
The Triple Value of Drawing (Widlocher)
Drawing has expressive, narrative, and projective value.
Winnicott’s Concept of Play
Winnicott describes play as occurring in an intermediate area of experience between inner and outer realities, taking place between the child and mother.
Emotional Attachment Period
Emotional attachment typically develops between two and seven months of age.
Warning Signs of Intentional Miscommunication
Warning signs of intentional miscommunication include lack of response to caregiver’s smile and voice, intermittent responses to adult signals, high sensitivity leading to frustration, and constant demands for attention.
Characteristics of Childhood Depression
Childhood depression can manifest as anhedonia (loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities), sadness, emotional lability or inhibition, and somatic symptoms like appetite loss, insomnia, diarrhea, fatigue, and headaches.
Causes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Children
Irritable bowel syndrome in children can be caused by primary colonic dyskinesia or an irregular interaction pattern with the mother.
Cases of Psychomotor Development Issues
Psychomotor development issues can be associated with mental retardation, emotional deprivation, child abuse, difficult relationships, depression, or early psychosis.