Developmental Psychopathology - Chapter 3 Vocabulary

academic achievement

knowledge and skills that children learn through formal and information educational experiences; typically reflects reading, math, and written language

Achenbach System for Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA)

behvior checklists that can be completed by parents, teachers, and children to assess children's externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, and social-emotional functioning

affect

a child's short-term emotional expression; usually assessed by observation

Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3) Self-Report of Personality

a broad, self-report measure of problems and areas of strength and adaptation for older children and adolescents

categorical classification

diagnostic approach in which disorders are divided into mutually exclusive groups based on sets of essential criteria

content validity

the degree to which test items are relevant to the construct of interest; usually supported by asking experts to rate the quality of each item

construct validity

the degree to which test scores assess the construct of interest; usually supported by strong correlations with similar constructs (convergent validity) and weak/absent correlations with dissimilar constructs (discriminant validity)

criterion-related validity

the degree to which test scores can be used to infer a probably standing on some external variable of interest; usually supported when test scores are associated with outcomes at the same point in time (concurrent validity) or in the future (predictive va

diagnostic interview

the most common assessment technique in which the clinician collects data regarding the child and family's presenting problem, history, and current functioning

dimensional classification

diagnostic approach in which the severity of the individual's distress and/or impairment is described on a continuum

fluid reasoning

a component of intelligence; the child's ability to solve novel, largely nonverbal problems; to detect underlying patterns or relationships among objects; and to engage in abstract thinking

functional analysis of behavior

an assessment technique in which the clinician attempts to identify the antecedent events that elicit a behavior and the environmental consequences that maintain it over time

insight

during a mental status exam, the degree to which the child recognizes that he might have a psychological problem

intelligence

a broad construct related to people's abilities to adapt to their environments, to solve problems, and to learn and use information accurately and efficiently

inter-rater reliability

the consistency of test scores across two or more raters or observers

internal consistency

the degree to which items on the same test are consistent with each other

judgment

during a mental status exam, the child's ability to consider the consequences of behavior before acting

mental status examination

a brief assessment of the child's current functioning in three broad areas: (1) appearance and actions, (2) emotion, and (3) cognition

MMPI-Adolescent-Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF)

a broad self-report measure of adolescents' social-emotional functioning; assesses emotional/internalizing dysfunction; behavioral/externalizing dysfunction; and thought, as well as nine clinical scales

mood

a child's long-term emotional disposition; usually assessed by self-report

multi-informational assessment

the process of gathering data from several different people to obtain an estimate of children's functioning across settings

multimethod assessment

the process of gathering data in a number of different ways to obtain a more complete picture of children's functioning

negative predictive power (NPP)

the likelihood that a low score on a test accurately indicates that the person does not have a disorder

norm-referenced tests

tests that yield scores that quantify the degree to which a child's performance on the test is similar to that of her peers

normally distributed

a bell-shaped distribution of scores in which most children earn scores near the mean and fewer earn scores at the extremes

orientation

during a mental status exam, the child's awareness of person, place, and time

personality

a broad construct that refers to a person's relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and overt actions

positive predictive power (PPP)

the likelihood that an elevated score on a test accurately indicates that the person has a disorder

predictive power

the ability of test results to predict the presence or absence of a disorder

processing speed

a component of intelligence; the child's capacity to visually scan visual information, to make quick and accurate decisions, and to rapidly implement your decisions

prototypical classification

diagnostic approach that is based on the degree to which the individual's signs and symptoms map onto the ideal picture of the disorder

psychological assessment

the process of gathering data about children and families in order to reach valid conclusions about their current functioning and future well-being

psychosocial history

a portion of the diagnostic interview in which the clinician gathers information about the child's developmental, educational, medical, and psychological past

reliability

the consistency of scores generated by a psychological test

sign

an observable feature of a disorder

specifier

a label that describes a relatively homogenous subgroup of individuals with a given disorder

standard score

a child's raw score on a test that has been changed to a different scale with a designated mean and standard deviation

standardization

a property of evidence-based tests; indicates that tests are administered, scored, and interpreted in the same way to all examinees

structured diagnostic interview

an assessment process in which the clinician systematically reviews all of the major psychiatric diagnoses with children and/or parents to determine whether the child meets criteria for any diagnosis

symptom

a subjective experience associated with a disorder

test-retest reliability

the consistency of test scores over time; temporal stability

thought content

during a mental status exam, the manner in which the child forms associations and solves problems

validity

a test's ability to accurately reflect a desired construct

verbal comprehension

a component of intelligence; the child's word knowledge and her ability to use verbal information to express herself and solve word or story problems

visual-spatial reasoning

a component of intelligence; the child's ability to attend, organize, and interpret visually presented material and to use visual information to solve immediate problems

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V)

the most frequently used intelligence test for children; yields a full scale IQ (FSIQ) score and scores on five broad composites

Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV)

the most frequently used intelligence test for children; yields scores for reading, math, and written language

working memory

a component of intelligence, the child's ability to attend to information, retain and manipulate visual or auditory information in memory, and apply information when necessary

academic achievement

knowledge and skills that children learn through formal and information educational experiences; typically reflects reading, math, and written language

Achenbach System for Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA)

behvior checklists that can be completed by parents, teachers, and children to assess children's externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, and social-emotional functioning

affect

a child's short-term emotional expression; usually assessed by observation

Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3) Self-Report of Personality

a broad, self-report measure of problems and areas of strength and adaptation for older children and adolescents

categorical classification

diagnostic approach in which disorders are divided into mutually exclusive groups based on sets of essential criteria

content validity

the degree to which test items are relevant to the construct of interest; usually supported by asking experts to rate the quality of each item

construct validity

the degree to which test scores assess the construct of interest; usually supported by strong correlations with similar constructs (convergent validity) and weak/absent correlations with dissimilar constructs (discriminant validity)

criterion-related validity

the degree to which test scores can be used to infer a probably standing on some external variable of interest; usually supported when test scores are associated with outcomes at the same point in time (concurrent validity) or in the future (predictive va

diagnostic interview

the most common assessment technique in which the clinician collects data regarding the child and family's presenting problem, history, and current functioning

dimensional classification

diagnostic approach in which the severity of the individual's distress and/or impairment is described on a continuum

fluid reasoning

a component of intelligence; the child's ability to solve novel, largely nonverbal problems; to detect underlying patterns or relationships among objects; and to engage in abstract thinking

functional analysis of behavior

an assessment technique in which the clinician attempts to identify the antecedent events that elicit a behavior and the environmental consequences that maintain it over time

insight

during a mental status exam, the degree to which the child recognizes that he might have a psychological problem

intelligence

a broad construct related to people's abilities to adapt to their environments, to solve problems, and to learn and use information accurately and efficiently

inter-rater reliability

the consistency of test scores across two or more raters or observers

internal consistency

the degree to which items on the same test are consistent with each other

judgment

during a mental status exam, the child's ability to consider the consequences of behavior before acting

mental status examination

a brief assessment of the child's current functioning in three broad areas: (1) appearance and actions, (2) emotion, and (3) cognition

MMPI-Adolescent-Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF)

a broad self-report measure of adolescents' social-emotional functioning; assesses emotional/internalizing dysfunction; behavioral/externalizing dysfunction; and thought, as well as nine clinical scales

mood

a child's long-term emotional disposition; usually assessed by self-report

multi-informational assessment

the process of gathering data from several different people to obtain an estimate of children's functioning across settings

multimethod assessment

the process of gathering data in a number of different ways to obtain a more complete picture of children's functioning

negative predictive power (NPP)

the likelihood that a low score on a test accurately indicates that the person does not have a disorder

norm-referenced tests

tests that yield scores that quantify the degree to which a child's performance on the test is similar to that of her peers

normally distributed

a bell-shaped distribution of scores in which most children earn scores near the mean and fewer earn scores at the extremes

orientation

during a mental status exam, the child's awareness of person, place, and time

personality

a broad construct that refers to a person's relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and overt actions

positive predictive power (PPP)

the likelihood that an elevated score on a test accurately indicates that the person has a disorder

predictive power

the ability of test results to predict the presence or absence of a disorder

processing speed

a component of intelligence; the child's capacity to visually scan visual information, to make quick and accurate decisions, and to rapidly implement your decisions

prototypical classification

diagnostic approach that is based on the degree to which the individual's signs and symptoms map onto the ideal picture of the disorder

psychological assessment

the process of gathering data about children and families in order to reach valid conclusions about their current functioning and future well-being

psychosocial history

a portion of the diagnostic interview in which the clinician gathers information about the child's developmental, educational, medical, and psychological past

reliability

the consistency of scores generated by a psychological test

sign

an observable feature of a disorder

specifier

a label that describes a relatively homogenous subgroup of individuals with a given disorder

standard score

a child's raw score on a test that has been changed to a different scale with a designated mean and standard deviation

standardization

a property of evidence-based tests; indicates that tests are administered, scored, and interpreted in the same way to all examinees

structured diagnostic interview

an assessment process in which the clinician systematically reviews all of the major psychiatric diagnoses with children and/or parents to determine whether the child meets criteria for any diagnosis

symptom

a subjective experience associated with a disorder

test-retest reliability

the consistency of test scores over time; temporal stability

thought content

during a mental status exam, the manner in which the child forms associations and solves problems

validity

a test's ability to accurately reflect a desired construct

verbal comprehension

a component of intelligence; the child's word knowledge and her ability to use verbal information to express herself and solve word or story problems

visual-spatial reasoning

a component of intelligence; the child's ability to attend, organize, and interpret visually presented material and to use visual information to solve immediate problems

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V)

the most frequently used intelligence test for children; yields a full scale IQ (FSIQ) score and scores on five broad composites

Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV)

the most frequently used intelligence test for children; yields scores for reading, math, and written language

working memory

a component of intelligence, the child's ability to attend to information, retain and manipulate visual or auditory information in memory, and apply information when necessary