Vulnerability to Psychopathology


Book Description

This state-of-the-art work has been highly praised for bridging the divide between adult and developmental psychopathology. The volume illuminates the interplay of biological, cognitive, affective, and social-environmental factors that place individuals at risk for psychological disturbance throughout development. Childhood-onset and adult forms of major disorders are examined in paired chapters by prominent clinical researchers. An integrative third chapter on each disorder then summarizes what is known about continuity and change in vulnerability across the lifespan. Implications for assessment, treatment, and prevention are also considered.




Development of Psychopathology


Book Description

"..a blending of two important approaches to understanding psychopathology- the developmental approach and the vulnerability approach. I think a book like this is timely, is needed, and would be of interest to professors who teach courses in psychopathology at the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels." — Robin Lewis, Old Dominion University "Bringing together developmental psychopathology frameworks and the vulnerability-stress models of psychological disorders is an excellent idea. I am aware of no other book that incorporates these two approaches. Having taught Psychopathology courses for both master′s and doctoral students, I reviewed many books to recommend and use in the courses. It is my belief that a book of this type is needed particularly for graduate students." —Linda Guthrie, Tennessee State University Edited by Benjamin L. Hankin and John R. Z. Abela, Development of Psychopathology: A Vulnerability-Stress Perspective brings together the foremost experts conducting groundbreaking research into the major factors shaping psychopathological disorders across the lifespan in order to review and integrate the theoretical and empirical literature in this field. The volume editors build upon two important and established research and clinical traditions: developmental psychopathology frameworks and vulnerability-stress models of psychological disorders. In the past two decades, each of these separate approaches has blossomed. However, despite the scientific progress each has achieved individually, no forum previously brought these traditions together in the unified way accomplished in this book. Key Features: Consists of three-part text that systematically integrates vulnerability-stress models of psychopathology with a developmental psychopathological approach. Brings together leading experts in the field of vulnerability, stress, specific vulnerabilities to psychological disorders, psychopathological disorders, and clinical interventions. Takes a cross-theoretical, integrative approach presenting cutting-edge theory and research at a sophisticated level. Development of Psychopathology will be a valuable resource for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in clinical psychology, as well as for researchers, doctoral students, clinicians, and instructors in the areas of developmental psychopathology, clinical psychology, experimental psychopathology, psychiatry, counseling psychology, and school psychology.




Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability


Book Description

Adolescents obviously do not always act in ways that serve their own best interests, even as defined by them. Sometimes their perception of their own risks, even of survival to adulthood, is larger than the reality; in other cases, they underestimate the risks of particular actions or behaviors. It is possible, indeed likely, that some adolescents engage in risky behaviors because of a perception of invulnerabilityâ€"the current conventional wisdom of adults' views of adolescent behavior. Others, however, take risks because they feel vulnerable to a point approaching hopelessness. In either case, these perceptions can prompt adolescents to make poor decisions that can put them at risk and leave them vulnerable to physical or psychological harm that may have a negative impact on their long-term health and viability. A small planning group was formed to develop a workshop on reconceptualizing adolescent risk and vulnerability. With funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Workshop on Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability: Setting Priorities took place on March 13, 2001, in Washington, DC. The workshop's goal was to put into perspective the total burden of vulnerability that adolescents face, taking advantage of the growing societal concern for adolescents, the need to set priorities for meeting adolescents' needs, and the opportunity to apply decision-making perspectives to this critical area. This report summarizes the workshop.




Risk and Protective Factors in the Development of Psychopathology


Book Description

Chapters by distinguished investigators in clinical psychology, psychiatry, and child development, many of whose work led to the new developmental model of psychopathology, provide a unique review of current research on vulnerability and resistance to disorder.







Cognitive Vulnerability to Emotional Disorders


Book Description

Emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression, and dysfunctional patterns of eating are clearly among the most devastating and prevalent confronting practitioners, and they have received much attention from researchers--in personality, social, cognitive, and developmental psychology, as well as in clinical psychology and psychiatry. A major recent focus has been cognitive vulnerability, which seems to set the stage for recurrences of symptoms and episodes. In the last five years there has been a rapid proliferation of studies. In this book, leading experts present the first broad synthesis of what we have now learned about the nature, of cognitive factors that seem to play a crucial role in creating and maintaining vulnerability across the spectrum of emotional disorders. An introductory chapter considers theory and research design and methodology and constructs a general conceptual framework for understanding and studying the relationships between developmental and cognitive variables and later risk, and the difference between distal cognitive antecedents of disorders (e.g. depressive inferential styles, dysfunctional attitudes) and proximal ones (e.g. schema activation or inferences). Subsequent chapters are organized into three sections, on mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. Each section ends with an integrative overview chapter that offers both incisive commentary and insightful suggestions for further systematic research. A rich resource for all those professionally concerned with these problems, Cognitive Vulnerability to Emotional Disorders advances both clinical science and clinical practice.




Skewed to the Right


Book Description

The demands of the high-performance athlete are huge, with many celebrated for their achievements, and put on a pedestal for admired personality traits such as discipline, sacrifice, commitment, and focus. This book seeks to explore the celebrated traits of the high-performance athlete and, by doing so, to increase awareness of the vulnerability that such traits also present. Through discussion with professional sports people and presentation of their own personal stories the book explores obsessionality, masochism, and focus, and how these characteristics can enhance performance on the field yet hinder life off it and may even develop into clinically diagnosable mental health difficulties. In psychology, assessments are based on statistical phenomena; the title Skewed to the Right is based on the 'bell curve' that is shown through a graph whereby the majority sit in the middle with a few clusters at either on of the extremes. The suggestion is that elite athletes are 'skewed to the right' on a number of key traits that put them between the 'general' population and those with a clinical diagnosis. The book opens with an exploration of weight-restricted sport and how making weight is achieved through practices that become culturally acceptable in the sporting world yet would be seen to be classified as clinically diagnosable eating disorders in the medical world. It then moves on to personality traits that help and hinder - those skewed to the right: masochism, obsessionality, and focus. Part 3 looks at one trait skewed to the left - acceptance - that many sportspeople struggle with. The book closes with a section exploring points of vulnerability for all athletes and ends with a look at where we can go from here. The aim of the book is to increase social awareness of the reality of life for the successful high-performance athlete and the challenging dynamics that exist in sporting culture today. It will be of interest to psychologists, psychotherapists, trainees, and anyone with an interest in sporting culture.




The Neurobiological Basis of Suicide


Book Description

With recent studies using genetic, epigenetic, and other molecular and neurochemical approaches, a new era has begun in understanding pathophysiology of suicide. Emerging evidence suggests that neurobiological factors are not only critical in providing potential risk factors but also provide a promising approach to develop more effective treatment and prevention strategies. The Neurobiological Basis of Suicide discusses the most recent findings in suicide neurobiology. Psychological, psychosocial, and cultural factors are important in determining the risk factors for suicide; however, they offer weak prediction and can be of little clinical use. Interestingly, cognitive characteristics are different among depressed suicidal and depressed nonsuicidal subjects, and could be involved in the development of suicidal behavior. The characterization of the neurobiological basis of suicide is in delineating the risk factors associated with suicide. The Neurobiological Basis of Suicide focuses on how and why these neurobiological factors are crucial in the pathogenic mechanisms of suicidal behavior and how these findings can be transformed into potential therapeutic applications.




Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression


Book Description

Recurrence of depressive episodes is not uncommon, even after successful treatment. What makes some people more vulnerable than others to this devastating disorder? Do depressive individuals have characteristic thinking and reasoning styles? By what means can cognitive antecedents to affective disorders be identified at different stages in the lifespan, and how can the risks they represent be mitigated? An important resource for anyone who seeks to understand or treat depression, this volume synthesizes the most current research and theory on cognitive vulnerability. Covering methodological, theoretical, and empirical issues, the authors review cognitive theories of depression; explicate and assess the vulnerability approach to psychopathology; and formulate an integrative view of the key proximal and distal antecedents of depression in adults.




Child and Adolescent Psychopathology


Book Description

A unique, multi-discipline, developmental approach to childhood psychopathology Child and Adolescent Psychopathology is the only comprehensive text in the field to address genetic, neurobiological, and environmental factors within a developmental context. Based on cutting-edge research and aligned with the DSM-5, this book emphasizes how, when, and why disorders emerge among young people, and the ways in which symptom profiles change at different stages of development. This new third edition has been updated to include new chapters on OCD and trauma disorders consistent with DSM-5 classification, and includes new discussion on epigenetics and the neighborhood effects on the development of delinquency. Coverage includes extensive discussion of risk factors, from disturbed attachment relations and abuse/neglect, to head injury and teratogen exposure, followed by in-depth examination of behavior disorders and psychological disorders including Autism Spectrum, Schizophrenia Spectrum, and Eating Disorders. Psychological disorders in children are increasingly being explored from a relational perspective, and continuous advances in neurobiology research are adding an additional dimension to our understanding of cause, effect, and appropriate intervention. This book provides detailed guidance toward all aspects of childhood psychopathology, with a multi-discipline approach and a unique developmental emphasis. Discover how psychopathology emerges throughout the stages of development Learn how both genetics and environmental factors influence risk and behaviors Understand the prevalence, risk factors, and progression of each disorder Gain deep insight from leading experts in neurobiology and developmental psychopathology As the field of child psychology continues to evolve, behavioral and psychological disorders move beyond a list of symptoms to encompass the 'whole child'—biology, chemistry, environment, and culture are becoming increasingly relevant in understanding and treating these disorders, and must be considered from the earliest assessment stages. Child and Adolescent Psychopathology provides comprehensive information on childhood disorders from a developmental perspective.