Syllabus: Psychology 854: Childhood and Developmental Psychopathology
SPRING 2006
Professor Nigg
LAST UPDATED Feb 7, 2006

Tuesday and Thursday 10:20-11:40 pm
Room: 153 Psychology
Professor: Joel Nigg, Ph.D.
Office: 115 Psychology Buildingl Phone: 353-5193     Email: Nigg@msu.edu     Office Hours: by appt.

Course Overview and Objectives:

Overview. This graduate level clinical psychology course covers child psychopathology. An empirically-based developmental psychopathology perspective will be featured, with an emphasis on conceptual and scientific issues and methods in the study of developmental psychopathology. Advanced descriptive psychopathology will also be emphasized. The course is intended primarily to (a) lay a foundation for students to be able to conduct scientific research on childhood psychopathology and secondarily (b) to provide essential understanding of childhood psychopathology for clinical acitivities. Diagnostic assessment and treatment will not be covered (they are foci in other courses). We will review fundamental models of developmental psychopathology for a range of child syndromes. With each syndrome possible biological, genetic, familial, and social-cultural mechanisms will be scrutinized.

Objectives. It is intended that through this course students will be better prepared as clinicians and scientists in the following ways:
    (1) Become fluent with the details of descriptive child psychopathology - i.e.. the symptoms and syndromes in the current classification systems used in clinical practice. This should enable students to be more effective diagnosticians and evaluators in clinical practice.
    (2) Become familiar with the framework(s) of developmental psychopathology and major risk and protective processes, including the potential interplay of biological and psycho-social factors in development. This should contribute to more effective research and conceptual scientific thinking for students in their research.
    (3) Understand key advanced conceptual models and issues to be considered in conducting scientific investigations of the underpinnings of developmental psychopathology.
    (4) Become familiar with alternative perspectives and relativity of understanding on the disorders in question, including potential variations related to ethnic and cultural moderators of symptom expression and developmental pathways.
    (5) Strengthen professional and technical writing skills as appropriate to beginning scholarly careers.

Format and Requirements. The course will meet twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. This is a small seminar format. Class meetings will include lecture-like presentations and group discussion in about a 70%-30% mix. Regular attendance and active participation in seminar discussion is expected. Please notify the instructor if you will miss a class or if you will be late in arriving. It is important that you arrive on time for each class meeting so as to avoid disrupting the lecture or disucussion, or your peers. We will begin promptly at 10:20. The reading demand "thins out" near exam and paper deadlines to allow preparation time. Reading schedule, exams, and paper assignments are detailed below. The course assignments include the following: Two papers (1st and 2nd submission of your term paper), 1-2 page review comments on another person's term paper, and final exam.

Syllabus

Texts you should purchase:
    Mash, E. J. & Barkley, R.A. (2003). Child Psychopathology, 2nd Ed. New York: Guilford.  (~$70.00) (=M&B below).
    Sameroff, A.J., Lewis, M., & Miller, S.M. (2000). Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology, 2nd Ed. Nwe York: Kluwer/Plenum. (~$40.00) (=SLM below).
    Coursepack: available from the College Store in Hannah Plaza (ph. # 517-333-0505) for about $37. Can also check at Ned's bookstore. Thje coursepack content of readings is listed at the end of this syllabus. Readings are listed by number in the daily assignments.

We will read only selected chapters from each of these texts but they also will provide you with foundational reading on many topics that we will not be able to cover and thus will be useful additions to your child reference library.

You will also need access to the American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: 4th Ed--Text Revision. Washington, DC: APA Press. This is available at the libarary but it is recommended that you purchase for your personal library.

Date                              Topic                                                                       Readings

Part I. Conceptual Issues,  Mechanisms, Major Risk Domains Across Levels of Analysis

The nature of psychopathology in children

1/10 Tu   Introduction to childhood psychopathology and the course plan.               None

1/12 Th   What is mental disorder in children? The medical model, DSM-IV,          M&B Ch 1; SLM Ch 1; CP #1,#2
                   empirical taxonomy, developmental psychopathology/systemic model                                  

1/17 Tu   Nature of mental disorder/dev psychopathology (con't)                             SLM Ch 3; CP#3, #4, #5

Levels of Analysis: Integrating Biology and Psychology in Development

1/19 Th   Biogenetic considerations I: Genetic effects                                             SLM Ch 12; CP #6              

1/24 Tu   Biogenetic considerations II. Neural systems                                            SLM Ch 13, CP#7, #8, #9               

1/26 Th  Psychological, cognitive, and emotional process                                        SLM Ch 5 & 14, CP#14 (out of sequence: Cramer & Block)
             (Defenses, executive functions, affect regulation & temperament, ego dynamics)

1/31 Tu   Catch up on biological and psychological risks

Major Risk and Protection Domains for Children: Family, Neighborhood, and Culture Effects

2/2   Th  No CLASS--INS

2/7 Tu  Contextual risk processes: Biological and social risks and interactions     SKIM: SLM Ch 7, 8, 9, READ: CP#10, #11, #12, #13

2/9 Th   Neighorhood, and Cultural contexts, interactions with family process     SLM Ch 10, CP #14, #15

Part II. Major Psychopathologies--Descriptive Analysis

Externalizing-Undercontrol Psychopathology

2/14   Tu  Ethnicity, and race as risk and protection                                           SLM Ch 11, CP #16, #17, #18; #19
               
2/16 Th  ODD, CD,  Antisociality                                                                         M&B CH 3; SLM CH 23, CP#20

2/21 Tu  Finish Antisociality, Begin Hyperactivity/Inattention                                    M&B, Ch. 2; CP #21

Paper topics must be approved by today, so get idea to instructor before today.

2/23 Th  Family conflict and trauma effects on child development                             M&B Ch 14 Skim SLM Ch 39
 (Guest Lecture: Dr. Levendosky)

2/28 Tu  Hyperactivity/inattention                                                                           CP # 22, #23, #24, #25 

Internalizing Psychopathology

3/2 Th     I. Finish Hyperactivity.
             II. Substance and alcohol use in children and teenagers                                M&B Ch 4; Skim SLM Ch.31

3/7-3/9   No Class--Spring Break

3/14 Tu    Depression and loss; suicide                                                              M&B Ch 5; Skim SLM Ch 28, CP#26 

3/16 Th     Generalized and Separation Anxiety                                                M&B Ch 6;

3/21 Tu      PTSD, Sexual Abuse, dissociation                                                   M&B Ch 7, skim SLM Ch 39

3/23 Th      Tics, Obsessions and Compulsions in Children                                    M&B Ch  SLM Ch 29

Developmental Disorders

3/28 Tu Developmental delays I. Learning Disorders                                      M&B Ch. 12, CP#27
First Submission of term paper due (2 copies, one for peer review)
3/30  Th Developmental Disorders II. Mental retardation                               M&B Ch. 11; Skim SLM Ch 35
Term paper peer review comments due 3/31 email 9am

4/4 Tu  Developmental disorders III. Autistic disorders                                 M&B Ch 9, CP#28

4/6 Th  Developmental disorders III. Childhood Schizophrenia                     M&B Ch 10
Instructor feedback on papers and comments returned  

4/11 Tu Developmental disorders IV. Infancy, attachment disorders             M&B Ch 13; Skim SLM Ch 16 & 19

4/13 Th  Other risk factors: A. Pediatric health disorders, somatization           SLM Ch 15; M&B Ch 16

Resilience and Prevention

4/18 Tu  Resilience                                                                                        CP#29

4/20 Th  Prevention                                                                                        SLM 6, CP#30
Second Submission of term paper due at 10:20 am--do not arrive late

4/25 Tu   Integrative Thinking--Systems Model, Characteristics,                     SLM Ch 2
                Moderators, Mediators, Pathways and "Catch Up"

4/27 Th   Last Class Meeting: Course Overview, feedback, exam planning     None--catch up and review

5/3/03     FINAL EXAM 10-12 AM ROOM 153 PSYCHOLOGY. EXAM WILL BE "CLOSED BOOK"

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REQUIREMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS

1. Clearance of term paper topic. The term paper must address a topic in developmental or childhood psychopathology. You should write about a major syndrome, or about a major risk factor, or about resilience. You may write about prevention trials but individual treatment/intervention approaches may not be a topic. Chapters in the texts that are not being read for class are acceptable take off points for paper topics as well, however your paper must go well beyond such  chapters in its content. The topic must be approved by the instructor by the due date indicated. A written topic proposal (1-3 sentences) must be turned in prior to the date above.

2. First submission of term paper. The term paper is intended as practice for writing the types of literature reviews required for masters thesis, dissertation, published empirical articles, and grant proposals. It is not, therefore, to be a comprehensive "Psych Bulletin" type of review. Instead, you will focus the literature by highlighting key, exemplary findings relevant to your argument and showing, by how you delineate and focus the topic, your awareness but not coverage of adjoining issues in the literature. The paper should be in APA format, with a title page, header, page numbering, abstract, 10 double-spaced pages of text in 12 pt font with 1-inch margins, and references in APA style. The text should pull crucial elements from the literature about your topic and point out gaps in the literature that an empirical study could address. Aim for 10-20 references, noting key historical material as relevant, but emphasizing the latest literature. Thus strong papers will rely heavily on primary empirical literature and will not rely heavily on other reviews (except to note what has already been concluded). The model is the literature review that introduces a study or series of experiments as one might find in an APA journal article. The topic will be of your choosing-- it can be a disorder or syndrome, a risk or protective factor, a mechanism, or any aspect of developmental psychopathology relevant to your interests. This should be a high quality first submision in order to fulfill the intent of the assignment. The aim here is to take your writing level above what it now is. That means, do your best writing on this first submission. Proofread it carefully and make sure that it is free of spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors. Then, ideally, the feedback you get will enable you to do better writing when making revisions based on feedback for the second submission, ideally this will be better writing than you have done before at that point. Note that you must hand in two copies of the first submission so that one can go to your peer reviewer. One will be reviewed by the instructor ("editor"). The other will be reviewed by a co-graduate student ("peer). Thus you will all review one other term paper (below). The first submission will be graded. It will be graded somewhat leniently, but it is to your advantage to make the first draft good-this will enable you to really improve upon your "usual" work for the term paper.

2. Peer review of first submission of paper. This is modeled on what is involved in reviewing papers for journals. In your 1-2 page (single-spaced) critique, you should (a) summarize the main focus/argument of the paper so the recipient will see how it is being read, (b) highlight strengths of the paper, (c) point to conceptual issues, gaps in logic, contradictions, areas of unclarity that weaken the paper's impact, (d) note any technical problems that impede the paper's success, (e) if you are familiar with the topic, point out any other literture that may warrant consideration. In addition, feel free to add some reflection or speculation on the topic that the paper may have made you wonder about--this can be helpful to the author in considering related issues. The peer review will be graded p/np.

3. Second submission of term paper. Should be polished, publication-grade writing benefiting from first submission comments and from careful revision, rewriting, re-organizing as needed, clear thinking, and proofreading. I will do my best to get these graded and returned by the last day of classes, but this hinges on my receiving all of them on time.

5. Class attendance and class courtesies. Attendance at class, participation in discussions, and a good faith effort to keep some track of the readings is expected. Students are expected to arrive on time to class to avoid disrupting the discussion and thus inconveniencing the instructor and other students. If you will be absent from class and know that in advance, please email the instructor this information. If you must leave class early, please notify the instructor in advance if possible.  Different points of view will emerge during discussion; please be respectful when disagreeing with peers during discussion. While someone else is talking, please listen respectfully and avoid making side comments to your neighbor.

GRADING

Grading Plan for Papers: Each paper will be graded on the following criteria:
     1.  Adherence to  elements of  APA  style.
     2. Organization (e.g., logical flow of material, judicious use of headings, clear definition of the topic and summary of what the paper said).
     3. Clarity -- writing that is easy to follow, easy to understand, well composed and readable; includes but not limited to mechanics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, explanation of unusual terms).
     4. Appropriate use of the literature--good selection of relevant articles to support the argument in the review.
     5. Depth of coverage/agility of discussion (synthesis and critique of the material, in addition to helpful synopsis of key findings in the literature.)
     6. Originality -- extent to which the paper represents an interesting or compelling perspective on the literature in order to shed light on what the field knows and needs to know.

Final Exam. Short Answer/multiple-choice final exam. Will have 35 questions designed to survey the key factual and conceptual points of the course and reading. .

Grading.

1. First term paper submission                                           20 points
2. Review comments on term papers                                 10 points  (p/np)
3. Second term paper submission                                      30 points
4. Final Exam                                                                    35 points
5. Class attendance, timelinness, participation, discussion    05 points

Total                                                                                 100 points

Course Grade:
4.0=92.0-100 points
3.5=86-91.9 points
3.0=80.0-85.9 points
2.5=75-79.9 points
Fail=<75 points

Coursepack Reading List

In general, these 30 readings have been selected to make it easier to follow the in-class lecture, because typically lecture will draw in part from coursepack readings that day. They are also designed to expose you to (a) a wide variety of journals and disciplines relevant to child psychopathology, (b) a variety of methodologies, and (c) a mix of reviews and empirical articles. It is recommended that you look over coursepack readings prior to the class at which they are assigned. These readings are supplemented by the book chapters listed in the syllabus and are designed to complement the material in the book chapters.

1. Wakefield, J.C. (1999). Evolutionary versus prototype analyses of disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 374-399.
            2. Lilienfeld, S.O., & Marino, L. (1999). Essentialism revisited: Evolutionary theory and the concept of mental disorder.  Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 400-411.
            3. Depue, R., & Monroe, S. (1989). Depue, R.A. & Monroe, S.M. (1985). Psychopathology research. In M. Herson, A.E. Kazdin, & A.S. Bellack (Eds.), The Clinical Pscyhology Handbook (1st Ed.) pp. 239-264. New York: Pergamon Press.

4. Cole, D. A. (2004). Taxometrics in psychopatholog research: An introduction to some of the procedures and related methodological issues. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 3-9.

5. Haslam, N. (2003). Categorical versus dimensional models of mental disorder: The taxometric evidence. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 37, 696-704.

6. Gottesman, I. I. (2003). The endophenotype concept in psychiatry: Etymology and strategic intentions. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1-10.

7. Casey, B.J., Tottenham, N., Liston, C., & Durston, S. (2005). Imaging the developing brain: What have we learned about cognitive development? Trends in Cognitive Science, 9, 104-110.

8. Paus, T. (2005). Mapping brain maturation and cognitive development during adolescence. Trends in Cognitive Science, 9, 60-68.

9. Castellanos, F.X., Lee, P.P., Sharp, W., et al (2002). Developmental trajectories of brain volume abnormalities in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. JAMA, 288, 1740-1748.

10. Koger, S.M., Schettler, T., & Weiss, B. (2005). Environmental toxicants and developmental disabilities: A challenge for psychologists. American Psychologist, 60, 243-255.

11. Needleman, H. (2003). Lead poisoning. Annual Review of Medicine, 55, 209-222.

12. Chudley, A.E., Conry, J., Cook, J.L., Loock, C., Rosales, T., & LeBlanc, N. (2005). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Canadian guidelines for diagnosis. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 172 (5 supp), S1-S15.

13. Anderson, C.A., & Bushman B.J (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: a meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12, 353-359.

14. Cramer, P. & Block, J. (1998). Preschool antecedents of defense mechanism use in young adults: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 159-169.

15. Sampson, R.J., Raudenbush, S.W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, Aug 15, 277(5328): 918-924.

16. Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K., Bates, J.E., & Petit, G.S. (1996). Physical discipline among African American and European American mothers: Links to children's externalizing behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1065-1072.

17. Slade, E.P.,  & Wissow, L.S. (2004). Spanking in early childhood and later behavior problems:  A prospective study of infants and young toddlers. Pediatrics, 113, 1321-1330.

18. Kazdin, A.E., & Benjet C. (2003). Spanking children: Evidence and issues. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 99-103.

19. Blascovich, J., Spencer, S.J., Quinn, D., & Steele, C. (2001). African Americans and high blood pressure: The role of stereotype threat. Psychological Science, 12, 225-229.

20. Silberg, J.L., Parr, T., Neale, M.C., Rutter, M., Angold, A, & Eaves, L.J. (2003). Maternal smoking during pregnancy and the risk to boys conduct problem disturbance: an examination of the causal hypothesis. Biological Psychiatry, 53, 130-135.

21. Faraone, S.V., Perlis, R.H., Doyle, A.E., et al (2005). Molecular genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 1313-1323.

22. Nigg, J.T. (2005). Neuropsychological theory and findings in ADHD: The state of the field and salient challenges for the coming decade. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 1424-1435.

23. Cristakis, D.A., Zuimmerman, F.J., DiGiuseppe, & McCarty, C.A. (2004). Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 113, 708-713.

24. Nigg, J.T., Blaskey, L., Huang-Pollock, C., & Rappley, M.D. (2002). Neuropsychological executive functions and ADHD DSM-IV subtypes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 59-66.

25. Counts, C.A., Nigg, J.T., Stawicki, J.A., Rappley, M.D., & Von Eye, A. (2005). Family adversity in DSM-IV ADHD combined and inattentive subtypes and associated disruptive behavior problems. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 690-698.

26. Kaufman, J., Yang, B.Z., et al (2004). Social supports and serotonin transporter gene moderate depression in maltreated children. PNAS, 101, 17316-17321.

27. Kanaya, T., Scullin, M.H., & Ceci, S.J. (2003). The Flynn effect and U.S. policies: the impact of rising IQ scores on American society via mental retardation diagnoses. American Psychologist, 58, 778-790.

28. Honda, H., Shimizu, Y., & Rutter, M. (2005). No effect of MMR withdrawal on the incidence of autism: A total population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 572-579.

29. Werner, E. (1995). Resilience in development. Current directions in psychological science, 4, 81-85.

30. The Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (2002). Predictor variables associated with positive Fast Track outcomes at the end of third grade. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 37-52.