A mental disorder is an impairment of the mind disrupting normal thinking,feeling,mood,behavior,or social interactions,and accompanied by significant distress or dysfunction. The causes of mental disorders are very complex and vary depending on the particular disorder and the individual. Although the causes of most mental disorders are not fully understood,researchers have identified a variety of biological,psychological,and environmental factors that can contribute to the development or progression of mental disorders. Most mental disorders result in a combination of several different factors rather than just a single factor.
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness. It includes the signs and symptoms of all mental disorders. The field includes abnormal cognition,maladaptive behavior,and experiences which differ according to social norms. This discipline is an in-depth look into symptoms,behaviors,causes,course,development,categorization,treatments,strategies,and more.
Child psychopathology refers to the scientific study of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Oppositional defiant disorder,attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,and autism spectrum disorder are examples of psychopathology that are typically first diagnosed during childhood. Mental health providers who work with children and adolescents are informed by research in developmental psychology,clinical child psychology,and family systems. Lists of child and adult mental disorders can be found in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems,10th Edition (ICD-10),published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fifth Edition (DSM-5),published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In addition,the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood is used in assessing mental health and developmental disorders in children up to age five.
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is a stress-related mental disorder generally occurring in response to complex traumas,i.e.,commonly prolonged or repetitive exposures to a series of traumatic events,within which individuals perceive little or no chance to escape.
Allan N. Schore is an American psychologist and researcher in the field of neuropsychology.
Childhood trauma is often described as serious adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children may go through a range of experiences that classify as psychological trauma;these might include neglect,abandonment,sexual abuse,emotional abuse,and physical abuse,witnessing abuse of a sibling or parent,or having a mentally ill parent. These events have profound psychological,physiological,and sociological impacts and can have negative,lasting effects on health and well-being such as unsocial behaviors,attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),and sleep disturbances. Similarly,children whose mothers have experienced traumatic or stressful events during pregnancy have an increased risk of mental health disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Memory and trauma is the deleterious effects that physical or psychological trauma has on memory.
Charles H. Zeanah Jr. is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who is a member of the council (Board) of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).
Biological psychopathology is the study of the biological etiology of mental illnesses with a particular emphasis on the genetic and neurophysiological basis of clinical psychology. Biological psychopathology attempts to explain psychiatric disorders using multiple levels of analysis from the genome to brain functioning to behavior. Although closely related to clinical psychology,it is fundamentally an interdisciplinary approach that attempts to synthesize methods across fields such as neuroscience,psychopharmacology,biochemistry,genetics,and physiology. It is known by several alternative names,including "clinical neuroscience" and "experimental psychopathology." Due to the focus on biological processes of the central and peripheral nervous systems,biological psychopathology has been important in developing new biologically-based treatments for mental disorders.
Daniel S. Schechter is an American and Swiss psychiatrist known for his clinical work and research on intergenerational transmission or "communication" of violent trauma and related psychopathology involving parents and very young children. His published work in this area following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York of September 11,2001 led to a co-edited book entitled "September 11:Trauma and Human Bonds" (2003) and additional original articles with clinical psychologist Susan Coates that were translated into multiple languages and remain among the first accounts of 9/11 related loss and trauma described by mental health professionals who also experienced the attacks and their aftermath Schechter observed that separation anxiety among infants and young children who had either lost or feared loss of their caregivers triggered posttraumatic stress symptoms in the surviving caregivers. These observations validated his prior work on the adverse impact of family violence on the early parent-child relationship,formative social-emotional development and related attachment disturbances involving mutual dysregulation of emotion and arousal. This body of work on trauma and attachment has been cited by prominent authors in the attachment theory,psychological trauma,developmental psychobiology and neuroscience literatures
The Foundation for Psychocultural Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that supports and advances interdisciplinary and integrative research and training on interactions of culture,neuroscience,psychiatry,and psychology,with an emphasis on cultural processes as central. The primary objective is to help articulate and support the creation of transformative paradigms that address issues of fundamental clinical and social concern.
Clinical neuroscience is a branch of neuroscience that focuses on the scientific study of fundamental mechanisms that underlie diseases and disorders of the brain and central nervous system. It seeks to develop new ways of conceptualizing and diagnosing such disorders and ultimately of developing novel treatments.
Child neglect,often overlooked,is the most common form of child maltreatment. Most perpetrators of child abuse and neglect are the parents themselves. A total of 79.4% of the perpetrators of abused and neglected children are the parents of the victims,and of those 79.4% parents,61% exclusively neglect their children. The physical,emotional,and cognitive developmental impacts from early childhood neglect can be detrimental,as the effects from the neglect can carry on into adulthood.
Callous-unemotional traits (CU) are distinguished by a persistent pattern of behavior that reflects a disregard for others,and also a lack of empathy and generally deficient affect. The interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors may play a role in the expression of these traits as a conduct disorder (CD). While originally conceived as a means of measuring the affective features of psychopathy in children,measures of CU have been validated in university samples and adults.
Dante Cicchetti is a developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology scientist specializing in high-risk and disenfranchised populations,including maltreated children and offspring of depressed parents. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota Medical School and in the Institute of Child Development. He is the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair and the William Harris Endowed Chair.
Essi Maria Viding FBA FMedSci is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at University College London in the Faculty of Brain Sciences,where she co-directs the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit,and an associate of King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry,Psychology and Neuroscience. Viding's research focuses on development of disruptive behaviour disorders,as well as children and young people's mental health problems more broadly. She uses cognitive experimental measures,brain imaging and genetically informative study designs in her work.
Early childhood trauma refers to various types of adversity and traumatic events experienced during the early years of a person's life. This is deemed the most critical developmental period in human life by psychologists. A critical period refers to a sensitive time during the early years of childhood in which children may be more vulnerable to be affected by environmental stimulation. These traumatic events can include serious sickness,natural disasters,family violence,sudden separation from a family member,being the victim of abuse,or suffering the loss of a loved one. Traumatic experiences in early childhood can result in severe consequences throughout adulthood,for instance developing post-traumatic stress disorder,depression,or anxiety. Negative childhood experiences can have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration,and lifelong health and opportunity. However,not all children who are exposed to negative stimuli in early childhood will be affected severely in later life;some children come out unscathed after being faced with traumatic events,which is known as resilience. Many factors can account for the invulnerability displayed by certain children in response to adverse social conditions:gender,vulnerability,social support systems,and innate character traits. Much of the research in this area has referred to the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE) study. The ACE study found several protective factors against developing mental health disorders,including mother-child relations,parental health,and community support. However,having adverse childhood experiences creates long-lasting impacts on psychosocial functioning,such as a heightened awareness of environmental threats,feelings of loneliness,and cognitive deficits. Individuals with ACEs are more prone to developing severe symptoms than individuals in the same diagnostic category.
Stephen P. Hinshaw is an American psychologist whose contributions lie in the areas of developmental psychopathology and combating the stigma that surrounds mental illness. He has authored more than 325 scientific articles and chapters as well as 14 authored and edited books. Currently,he is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California,Berkeley,and Professor In Residence and Vice Chair for Child and Adolescent Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California,San Francisco. His work focuses on child and adolescent mental disorders,clinical interventions,mechanisms of change in psychopathology,and stigma prevention efforts,with a specialization in ADHD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include childhood emotional,physical,or sexual abuse and household dysfunction during childhood. The categories are verbal abuse,physical abuse,contact sexual abuse,a battered mother,household substance abuse,household mental illness,incarcerated household members,and parental separation or divorce. The experiences chosen were based upon prior research that has shown to them to have significant negative health or social implications,and for which substantial efforts are being made in the public and private sector to reduce their frequency of occurrence. Scientific evidence is mounting that such adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a profound long-term effect on health. Research shows that exposure to abuse and to serious forms of family dysfunction in the childhood family environment are likely to activate the stress response,thus potentially disrupting the developing nervous,immune,and metabolic systems of children. ACEs are associated with lifelong physical and mental health problems that emerge in adolescence and persist into adulthood,including cardiovascular disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,autoimmune diseases,substance abuse,and depression.
The influence of childhood trauma on the development of psychopathy in adulthood remains an active research question. According to Hervey M. Cleckley,a psychopathic person is someone who is able to imitate a normal functioning person,while masking or concealing their lack of internal personality structure. This results in an internal disorder with recurrent deliberate and detrimental conduct. Despite presenting themselves as serious,bright,and charming,psychopathic people are unable to experience true emotions. Robert Hare's two factor model and Christopher Patrick's triarchic model have both been developed to better understand psychopathy;however,whether the root cause is primarily environmental or primarily genetic is still in question.
