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New Perspectives on Assessment, Diagnosis, Tools and Treatment in Developmental Psychopathology

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 16657

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Speranza

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Guest Editor

Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: developmental psychopathology; attachment; caregiving; parent–infant interactions; eating disorder

Dr. Alexandro Fortunato

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Assistant Guest Editor

Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: developmental psychopathology; emerging personality assessment; treatment of developmental disorders; gender identity

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue on new frontiers in developmental psychopathology. We strongly believe in the importance of developing assessment and diagnostic tools capable of grasping the many specificities of developmental age. We also deem it essential to widen the research area on developmental trajectories, so as to investigate what the factors that can promote or undermine children's general wellbeing are. In this way, we will be able to develop better ways to foster children’s health.

To achieve this, we think that it is important to broaden our research focus, finally starting to investigate some characteristics that have been deemed impossible to systematically explore in scientific research on developmental age, such as mental functioning, personality traits or defense mechanisms.

Indeed, the fact that a child is still developing, and that some of his or her characteristics are not yet well established or fully mature, does not mean that such characteristics cannot be evaluated. We are not suggesting that, as clinicians and researchers, we should try to force something that can—and almost certainly will—evolve into a fixed category. Rather, we think that we should expand our perspective, not limiting ourselves in defining such characteristics as “immature”.

The psychological assessment of children and adolescents is a complex process precisely for the reasons listed above, but it is precisely for those reasons that we need more refined and advanced tools, as well as more specific diagnostic criteria and intervention techniques. We firmly believe that such tools, diagnostic criteria and techniques should be specifically aimed at grasping the complexity of developmental age, rather than being simplifications of methods used for assessing adult individuals and working with them.

A good assessment is an assessment that can effectively inform clinical intervention. This is another important reason to further expand our knowledge in the field, enhancing the rich clinical literature already existing with empirical research aimed at further understanding children’s and adolescents’ psychological functions and characteristics.

This Special Issue is thus open to any subject area related to innovative outlooks in developmental psychopathology.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Speranza
Dr. Alexandro Fortunato
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

childhood
adolescence
assessment
diagnosis
treatment
tools
developmental psychopathology

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 675 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Co-Occurring Conduct Problems and Anxiety: Implications for the Functioning and Treatment of Youth with Oppositional Defiant Disorder

by Thorhildur Halldorsdottir, Maria G Fraire, Deborah A. G. Drabick and Thomas H. Ollendick

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3405; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph20043405 - 15 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1839

Abstract

Conduct problems and anxiety symptoms commonly co-occur among youths with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD); however, how these symptoms influence functioning and treatment outcomes remains unclear. This study examined subtypes based on these co-occurring symptoms in a clinical sample of 134 youths (M_age = 9.67, 36.6% female, 83.6% white) with ODD and the predictive power of these subgroups for youth functioning and psychosocial treatment outcomes. The latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify subgroups based on parent- and self-reported conduct problems and anxiety symptoms. Differences among the subgroups in clinician-, parent-, and/or self-reported accounts of symptom severity, school performance, underlying processing known to be impaired across ODD, conduct and anxiety disorders, self-concept, and psychosocial treatment outcomes were examined. Four distinct profiles were identified: (1) Low Anxiety/Moderate Conduct Problems (n = 42); (2) High Anxiety/Moderate Conduct Problems (n = 33); (3) Moderate Anxiety/Moderate Conduct Problems (n = 40); and (4) Moderate Anxiety/High Conduct Problems (n = 19). The Moderate Anxiety/High Conduct Problems group exhibited more severe behavioral problems, greater difficulties with negative emotionality, emotional self-control, and executive functioning; they also demonstrated worse long-term treatment outcomes than the other subgroups. These findings suggest more homogeneous subgroups within and across diagnostic categories may result in a deeper understanding of ODD and could inform nosological systems and intervention efforts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Assessment, Diagnosis, Tools and Treatment in Developmental Psychopathology)

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21 pages, 2640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Attachment Stories in Middle Childhood: Reliability and Validity of Clinical and Nonclinical Children’s Narratives in a Structured Setting

by Jolien Zevalkink and Elle Ankone

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9053; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19159053 - 25 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1480

Abstract

Middle childhood is one of the most understudied periods of development and lacks a gold standard for measuring attachment representations. We investigated the reliability and validity of a Dutch version of the Story-Stem Battery coded using the Little Piggy Narrative (LPN) Coding System in a clinical (N = 162) and a nonclinical group (N = 98) of 4–10-year-old children. Their attachment stories were furthermore coded using the coherence scale. Factor analyses showed that the items of the LPN system formed four attachment scales and a separate scale reflecting distress/anxiety, with sufficient internal consistency for the scales and high interrater reliability (n = 20). Furthermore, we studied construct and discriminatory validity. The attachment scores correlated with coherence and child behavioral problems in the expected direction. Results showed age and gender differences, indicating that separate norm groups are necessary. In particular, disorganized attachment, coherence and distress/anxiety differ between clinical and nonclinical children across age and gender. Results for the other three organized attachment scales were more complex. For instance, older boys from the nonclinical group had higher scores on secure attachment than their clinical peers, while girls from the clinical and nonclinical groups did not differ, even though girls in the nonclinical group had higher secure attachment scores than boys. Results are discussed in light of attachment theory and developmental pathways in middle childhood, as well as their clinical implications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Assessment, Diagnosis, Tools and Treatment in Developmental Psychopathology)

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11 pages, 354 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Cool Kids as a School-Based Universal Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Anxiety: Results of a Pilot Study

by Simona Scaini, Federica Rossi, Ronald M. Rapee, Francesca Bonomi, Giovanni M. Ruggiero and Alessia Incerti

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(2), 941; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19020941 - 14 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3939

Abstract

The efficacy of the Cool Kids program has been consistently demonstrated both within Australia and internationally, but limited data are available on the use of Cool Kids as a universal program. The purpose of the study is to evaluate Cool Kids as a universal program for preventing childhood anxiety in the school context. There were 73 Italian children (35 boys and 36 girls, ages 10–13 years) attending the last year of primary school and the first year of middle school who participated in an active intervention based on a school adaptation of the Cool Kids protocol. Results of t-test analyses highlighted a downward trend of anxiety symptoms, especially in total anxiety, somatic anxiety, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety and school phobia at post-treatment assessed by children. Even the score of depression symptoms, measured as a second outcome measure, decreased after the treatment. This study contributes to the evidence base for the Cool Kids program as a universal program for preventing childhood anxiety in the school context. Although these preliminary results show some promise, their replication in future research is necessary given current study limitations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Assessment, Diagnosis, Tools and Treatment in Developmental Psychopathology)

12 pages, 346 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Road from Pathological Narcissism to Suicidality in Adolescence: An Empirical Study

by Riccardo Williams, Maria Pia Casini, Marta Moselli, Camilla Frattini and Elsa Ronningstam

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9761; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18189761 - 16 Sep 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2171

Abstract

Background: Clinical and empirical research evidenced a complex link between pathological narcissism and the suicidal process in adulthood. Given the relevance of suicidality and the peculiar narcissistic vicissitudes of adolescence, the proposed research investigated the relationship between pathological narcissism analyzed from the multi-dimensional perspective of the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism (DIN) and suicidal ideation conducted in a sample of Italian Adolescents. Methods: One hundred and three Italian male and female adolescents between 12 and 18 were administered the DIN, SCIDII, CSSRS, and Kiddie-SADS with six months follow-up. Results: The correlation, t-test, multiple regression analyses evidenced the association of narcissistic affective states and mood with both suicidal ideation and lethality of conduct. The increase in the dimension of grandiosity is associated with the passage to potentially highly lethal suicidal gestures. Conclusions: Suicidal ideation and conduct seem to serve the function of restoring a sense of control and self-esteem in narcissistic individuals experiencing a state of affective dysregulation. Narcissistic pathological functioning seems to play an important role in the adolescent suicidal process, quite like adulthood. Assessing an adolescent’s narcissistic functioning may provide useful clinical information in understanding and managing the suicidal risk in this phase of life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Assessment, Diagnosis, Tools and Treatment in Developmental Psychopathology)

20 pages, 412 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort (CPAP-Q): A Clinically and Empirically Procedure for Assessing Traits and Emerging Patterns of Personality in Childhood

by Alexandro Fortunato, Annalisa Tanzilli, Vittorio Lingiardi and Anna Maria Speranza

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(12), 6288; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18126288 - 10 Jun 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2276

Abstract

Background: Despite increasing research confirming the existence of childhood personalities, which are recognizable from a developmental perspective, controversies over the possibility to assess personality in childhood have continued. The purpose of this study was to provide initial data on the validation of the Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort (CPAP-Q), a clinician report instrument that can be employed to evaluate children’s personalities and address the gap in the field of emerging personality in children classification. Method: A sample of 135 clinicians completed the CPAP-Q to assess the personality features of 135 children (ages 4–11) who had been in their care between two and 12 months. The clinicians completed a clinical questionnaire to collect information on them, the children, and their families, as well as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), to evaluate the children’s behavioral problems and social competencies. Results: Q-factor analysis identified seven specific emerging personality patterns: psychological health, borderline/impulsive, borderline/dysregulated, schizoid, inhibited/self-critical, obsessive, and dysphoric/dependent. These patterns revealed good levels of validity and reliability. Conclusions: These findings are preliminary, but seem to support the possibility of evaluating emerging personality patterns in childhood and their developmental pathways that may lead to personality disorders in adolescence and adulthood. The CPAP-Q promises to significantly contribute to less explored research areas and encourage systematic studies of children assessment, promoting best practices for individualized diagnoses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Assessment, Diagnosis, Tools and Treatment in Developmental Psychopathology)

Other

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19 pages, 779 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

From a Symptom-Based to a Person-Centered Approach in Treating Depressive Disorders in Adolescence: A Clinical Case Formulation Using the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2)’s Framework

by Annalisa Tanzilli, Guido Giovanardi, Eleonora Patriarca, Vittorio Lingiardi and Riccardo Williams

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10127; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph181910127 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3633

Abstract

Background: Depressive disorders in adolescence are among the most challenging clinical syndromes to diagnostically identify and treat in psychotherapy. The Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual, Second Edition (PDM-2) proposes an integration between nomothetic knowledge and an idiographic understanding of adolescent patients suffering from depression to promote a person-centered approach. This single-case study was aimed at describing and discussing the clinical value of an accurate diagnostic assessment within the PDM-2 framework. Method: Albert, a 16-year-old adolescent with a DSM-5 diagnosis of major depressive disorder, was assessed using instruments from various perspectives: the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5; the Psychodynamic Chart-Adolescent of the PDM-2, and other clinician-report instruments; and the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure for Adolescents and Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale Q-sort, coded by external observers. Results: Albert’s assessment revealed impairments in various mental capacities, especially in regulating self-esteem. He presented a borderline personality organization at a high level and an emerging narcissistic personality syndrome. Conclusions: The case discussion showed the importance of providing clinically meaningful assessments to plan for effective treatments in youth populations. Especially, it is necessary to understand the adolescent’s unique characteristics in terms of mental and personality functioning and consider the developmental trajectories and adaptation processes that characterize this specific developmental period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Assessment, Diagnosis, Tools and Treatment in Developmental Psychopathology)

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