Developmental Psychopathology

Human Development 3300

Psychology 3310

Instructor:
Jane Mendle
[email protected]

Teaching Assistants:
Betul Urganci
[email protected]

Class meetings:
1:00-2:15 pm T/Th
Savage Hall 100
First two weeks of term: The first two weeks of term are scheduled to be remote. Zoom
links for all classes will be available through Canvas and recordings of all classes will be
posted on Canvas after each class. Please note that there can sometimes be a 24-48 hour
lag between class and when the video of class is made available to the instructor and can
be posted.

Office Hours:
Zoom office hours will be held each week with either the professor or the TA from 9:30-
10:30 on Wednesday mornings. Please e-mail in advance if you would like to attend.
Special additional office hours will be offered prior to major assignments. The Zoom
link for office hours will be posted on Canvas.

Overview of the course:

Why do some children grow up content and resilient and others do not? In this course,
we will apply a developmental framework to understanding psychological disorders. We
will consider the common disorders of childhood and adolescence; the individual
contexts that promote risk versus resiliency; trends and trajectories in disorders over the
lifespan; and the complex ethical issues associated with the diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders early in life.

Course goals:
This course places a priority on students developing their analytic and critical thinking
skills. Additional course aims are as follows:
(1) Students will deepen their knowledge of the classification and epidemiology
of psychological disorders, particularly those disorders which emerge over the
course of childhood and adolescence.
(2) Students will be able to describe the different developmental processes – both
biological and environmental – that are persistently associated with risk for
clinical disorder.
(3) Students will be able to identify the shifts in symptom presentation that
coincide with changes over the lifespan.
Course Policies:
Attendance: Attendance is expected and necessary for your understanding of the course
material. With that said, given the current COVID-19 pandemic and all we have learned
from it, you should stay home if you are not feeling well. If there is even a minor chance
that you might be ill, please do not come to class. We will work with you to figure out
accommodations if they are needed and to ensure that you have every chance to
understand the course material properly and succeed in this class.

Virtual Classes: During virtual classes, this course will be taught as a synchronous class.
All students are encouraged to Zoom in at the scheduled class time. If you are in a
circumstance where Zooming in at the scheduled time is simply not an option, videos of
the classes will be posted online and the TA and I are available to help you sort through
questions you may have.

Readings: All assigned readings should be read before the scheduled class. In addition to
the Beauchaine & Hinshaw book, supplemental readings will be placed on Canvas.

Primary Text:
Beauchaine, T.P., & Hinshaw, S.P. (2017). Child and Adolescent Psychopathology: Third
Edition. New York: John Wiley.

Electronic copies of the Beauchaine & Hinshaw text are available through the Cornell
University Library system at the link below. E-books and physical books are also
available at the Cornell library book store.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-
com.proxy.library.cornell.edu/lib/cornell/detail.action?docID=4773849

Honor System: All students in this class are expected to adhere to the Cornell
University academic integrity policy, which may be accessed via the following web site:

https://cuinfo.cornell.edu/aic.cfm

The best strategy for avoiding violations is to understand what the university defines as
academic integrity violations. Please read the Cornell Academic Integrity Policy
carefully.

Assignments:
Assignments fall into several categories:
(1) Exams: There will be two prelim exams over the course of the term. They will
be held in the lecture hall during normal lecture time. Prior to the exams, sample
questions will be posted on Canvas and additional information about the exam
will be discussed in class.

(2) COVID and Mental Health Assignment: We are (still) in a global pandemic that
is bringing hardship and substantial life changes to communities, families, and
 children. Although the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health will
not be fully understood for many years, this assignment asks you to research
anticipated consequences based on the scientific literature. Additional
instructions for this assignment will be posted on Canvas and discussed in class.

(3) Mental Health Summit: There will be three mental health summits over the
course of the term, during which an aspect of psychological diagnosis, treatment,
or services will be discussed in greater detail. Each student will participate in one
of the summits as part of a “working group” attending that summit. Sign-up
sheets will be posted so that you may sign up for a working group that interests
you and each working group will develop a brief presentation to share at the
summit.

(4) Intervention Final Essay Assignment: As we will learn in class this term,
interventions are developed in research and implemented in the real world. This
essay assignment asks you to consider an intervention introduced during class and
analyze the adaptations needed to help the intervention’s efficacy match its
effectiveness. Additional instructions for this assignment will be posted on
Canvas and discussed in class.

All assignments will be turned in via Canvas. Additional office hours will be held via
Zoom prior to exams, writing assignments, and each mental health summit.

Grading:

Final grades will be based on the following scale:

97-100% = A+ 77-79% = C+
94-96% = A 74-76% = C
90-93% = A- 70-73% = C-
87-89% = B+ 67-69% = D+
84-86% = B 64-66% = D
80-83% = B- 60-63% = D-
0-59% = F

Grading follows mathematical rounding rules, meaning that a 93.4 would be considered
an A-, whereas 93.5 would be rounded to an A.

Final grades will be determined according to the following breakdown:

Prelim exam #1: 25%

Prelim exam #2: 25%
COVID and mental health assignment: 15%
Mental Health Summit: 15%
Intervention essay assignment: 20%
_______________________________________________________________
Total: 100%

Extra Credit:
You can choose to participate as a subject in research experiments through SONA during
the semester (https://cornellpsych.sona-systems.com/). For each half hour of SONA
participation, you will earn one SONA point. One SONA point will correspond to half a
point (0.5) that can be added to your final grade. You can earn a maximum of two extra
credit points on your final grade (in exchange for four SONA points). This means that
the maximum number of points you can get in this course is 102. Experiments which you
participate in and receive extra credit for in other courses will not count towards EC for
this course.

Accommodations:
If you are entitled to accommodations for assignments or class activities, please contact
the teaching assistant within the first two weeks of class. If you have a non-documented
condition that creates difficulty for you as a student, you are strongly encouraged to
contact Disability Services.

Course Content Note:

The topics in this class are difficult ones. They include maltreatment, trauma, stigma,
poverty, eating disorders, self-injurious behavior, depression, and anxiety. It would be
both expected and natural for students to have personal experiences with some of the
class material or reactions to talking about these topics. The syllabus provides advance
preparation of what will be covered on each class day. The goal is to create a supportive
class atmosphere, in which students who are interested in these topics feel prepared and
able to learn the science behind them.

Also Worth Mentioning:

This class is being adapted online for the first two weeks as a response to the COVD-19
pandemic. It is possible that additional accommodations will be required as the term
unfolds. If that is needed, I ask for your flexibility and patience as we sort through these
details. I also expect that the semester will bring numerous, unanticipated challenges and
am cognizant that above all, health and well-being (both physical and mental) are
priorities for us all right now.

Readings
Weekly Syllabus

All readings are to be completed by the start of class for the day assigned.

January 25: What is psychopathology? An introduction to the medical model,

DSM-5, and this class

January 27: Key principles of developmental psychopathology

Hinshaw,S.P. (2017). Developmental psychopathology as a scientific discipline:
 a 21st century perspective. In T.P. Beauchaine and S.P.Hinshaw (eds), Child and
Adolescent Psychopathology, pp. 3-32. New York: John Wiley.

February 1: Trauma and adversity: changing brains and behaviors

Jaffee, S.R. (2017). Child maltreatment and risk for psychopathology. In T.P.
Beauchaine and S.P.Hinshaw (eds), Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, pp.
144-177. New York: John Wiley.

February 3: Disorders of Infancy and Attachment

Zeanah, C. H., & Smyke, (2015). Disorders of attachment and social engagement related
to deprivation. In A.T. Thapar et al. (Eds.), Rutter's Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, 6th Ed. (pp. 793-805). New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

February 8: Genes and Environments

Knafo, A., & Jaffee, S. R. (2013). Gene–environment correlation in developmental
psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 25, 1-6.
doi:10.1017/S0954579412000855

February 10: Prevention and Intervention: basic principles and research methods
Biglan, A. (2018). The ultimate goal of prevention and the larger context for translation.
Prevention Science, 19, 328-336. doi: 10.1007/s11121-016-0635-6

Barrera, M., Berkel, C., & Castro, F. G., (2017). Directions for the advancement of
culturally adapted preventive interventions: local adaptations, engagement, and
sustainability. Prevention Science, 18, 640-648. doi: 10.1007/s11121-016-0705-9

February 15: Externalizing disorders: Introduction and Conduct Disorder

Lahey, B.B & Waldman, I.D. (2017). Oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder,
and juvenile delinquency. In T.P. Beauchaine and S.P.Hinshaw (eds), Child and
Adolescent Psychopathology, pp. 449-496. New York: John Wiley.

February 17: Externalizing disorders: Lifespan Trajectory

Gilmore, M. (1994). Excerpts from Shot in the Heart. The Dream, Brothers, The Black
Sheep, Strangers, The Boy in the Corner, Deadly and Famous, Epilogue.

Blurb on Shot in the Heart:

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20108320,00.html

February 22: Externalizing disorders: Treatment

Kazdin, A.E. (2017). Parent management training and problem-solving skills training for
child and adolescent conduct problems. In J.R. Weisz & A.E. Kazdin (Eds.).
Evidence-based Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents (3rd ed., pp. 142-
158). New York: Guilford Press.

February 24: Mental Health Summit #1

Ithaca City Schools: Teacher Education Workday on Developmental
 Psychopathology

March 1: No class! Winter break!!!

March 3: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: childhood manifestations

Nigg, J. (2017). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In T.P.
Beauchaine and S.P.Hinshaw (eds), Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, pp.
407-408. New York: John Wiley.

March 8: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, part 2: life-course trajectory

and complications of adult diagnosis
Hinshaw, S. P., Nguyen, P. T., O’Grady, S. M., & Rosenthal, E. A. (2021). Annual
research review: Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls and women:
underrepresentation, longitudinal processes, and key directions. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13480

Yagoda, M. (2013, April 3). ADHD is different for women. The Atlantic. Retrieved
from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/adhd-is-different-for-
women/381158/.

March 10: Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders

Page, T. (2007). Parallel play. The New Yorker. Retrieved from
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_page

Yates, K., & Le Couteur, A. (2016). Diagnosing autism/autism spectrum disorders.

Paediatrics & Child Health, 26, 513-518. doi: 10.1016/j.paed.2016.08.004.

March 15: Where did Asperger’s go?

Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2020). Annual research review: looking back to look forward–
changes in the concept of autism and implications for future research. Journal of
Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61, 218-232. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13176

March 17: Introduction to Depression and Internalizing Disorders

Klein, D.N., Goldstein, B.L., & Finsas, M. (2017). Depressive disorders.
In T.P. Beauchaine and S.P.Hinshaw (eds), Child and Adolescent
Psychopathology, pp. 610-641. New York: John Wiley.

Paul, P. (2010). Can preschoolers be depressed? New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29preschool-
t.html?_r=1&ref=homepage&src=me&pagewanted=1

March 22: Prelim #1

Content for Prelim #1 is January 25-March 15

March 24: Depression: Cognition and Treatment

The TADS Team. (2007). The Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study.
 Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 1132-1144.

The TADS Team (2009). The Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study
(TADS): Outcomes over one year of naturalistic follow-up. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 166, 1141-1149.

March 29: Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: Controversy, Ethics, and Validity

Freeman, A. J., Youngstrom, E. A., Youngstrom, J. K., & Findling, R. L. (2016).
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in a community mental health clinic:
prevalence, comorbidity and correlates. Journal of Child and Adolescent
Psychopharmacology, 26, 123-130.DOI: 10.1089/cap.2015.0061

Groopman, J. (2007). What’s normal? The New Yorker, 83, 28-33.

March 31: Mental Health Summit #2

Tompkins County Health Department: Prevention and Intervention of Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Problems

April 5 and April 7: Happy Spring Break! No Class!

April 12: Childhood Anxiety, Part 1

Weems, C., & Silverman, W. (2017). Childhood anxiety. In T.P. Beauchaine and
S.P.Hinshaw (eds), Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, pp. 531-559. New
York: John Wiley.

April 14: Childhood Anxiety Part 2

Eisen, A. R., Sussman, J. M., Schmidt, T., Mason, L., Hausler, L. A., & Hashim, R.
(2011). Separation anxiety disorder. In D. McKay & E.A. Storch, (eds) Handbook
of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders (pp. 245-259). Springer, New York,
NY.

Hua, A., & Major, N. (2016). Selective mutism. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 28, 114-
120. DOI:10.1097/MOP.0000000000000300

COVID AND Mental Health Assignment Due April 19

April 19: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Lewin, A.B.,. Storch, E.A., Adkins, J., Murphy, T.K., & Geffken, G.R. (2005). Current
directions in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder. Pediatric Annals, 34, 128-
134.
*Note: this reading is somewhat old. However, a more recent reading that
captures the needed information in a comparably brief format is not available.

Sedaris, D. (1997). A plague of tics. In Naked, pp. 6-22. Boston: Little, Brown.

April 21: Entering Adolescence: A New Time of Risk

Grigorian, K., & Jurcik, T. (2020). Psychosocial predictors of non-suicidal self-injury
(NSSI) in adolescents. Mental Health & Family Medicine, 16, 905-912.

Rudolph, K. D. (2014). Puberty as a developmental context of risk for psychopathology.

In M. Lewis & K.D. Rudolph (Eds.) Handbook of Developmental
Psychopathology (pp. 331-354). New York: Springer.

April 26: Eating disorders, Part 1: Disorders and Diagnosis

Keel, P. K., & Forney, K. J. (2013). Psychosocial risk factors for eating disorders.
International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46, 433–439.
https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22094

April 28: Eating disorders, Part 2: Family and treatment

Brown, H. (2006). One spoonful at a time. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/magazine/26anorexia.html?pagewanted=all

Le Grange, D., Lock, J., Loeb, K., & Nicholls, D. (2010). The role of the family in eating
disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43, 1-5.

May 3: Prelim #2
Course Content: March 17-April 28

May 5: What does the future hold? Course wrap-up, transdiagnostic process and
the lifespan
Chu, B., Temkin, A., & Toffey, K. (2016). Transdiagnostic mechanisms and
treatment for children and adolescents: an emerging field. In Oxford Handbooks
Online. Retrieved 15 Jan. 2019, from
http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935291.001.0001
/oxfordhb-9780199935291-e-10.

May 10: Mental Health Summit #3

American Psychiatric Association: Evaluating the Diagnostic Status of NSSI in
DSM-6

May 16: Intervention Final Paper Due