Читать книгу Developmental Psychopathology - Группа авторов - Страница 32

The field of developmental psychopathology emerged from a synthesis of theories across several disciplines, including embryology, genetics, the neurosciences, psychoanalysis, and clinical, developmental, and experimental psychology (Cicchetti, 1990). Influential theorists across these disciplines came to a mutual conclusion: learning about what it means to “function normally” was reliant on understanding the non‐normal or pathological. Likewise, a complete understanding of abnormal depends on accurate understanding of normal behavior, development, and functioning (Cicchetti, 2006). Implicit in this thinking was that psychopathology and normal behavior were opposite ends of a continuum, and that behavior described as “psychopathological” was merely an exaggerated case of the normal. Building from this logic, the field of developmental psychopathology pushed a new way of studying abnormal behavior by examining the entire continuum of behavior, rather than focusing on the extreme, atypical cases (Cicchetti, 2006).

Some of the early applications of the developmental psychopathology model took place in the 1970s. One group of researchers followed children at high and low risk for developing schizophrenia over time (Wall et al., 1984). This prospective, longitudinal study allowed for a comparison of typical and atypical developmental trajectories. A goal of this work was to understand better the developmental origins of a serious mental illness that is typically not diagnosed until late adolescence or early adulthood.

Over the past four decades, the field of developmental psychopathology has grown substantially. It is now considered an integrative framework that links different scientific disciplines, theories, and research strategies to understand better how individuals adapt and develop risk for psychopathology. Importantly, the developmental psychopathology approach is not a specific theory in its own right. It is better considered as a guide or framework for how to best understand psychopathology, in terms of its roots, development, and persistence or remittance over the lifespan.

By bringing together ideas from separate disciplines and fields, studying developmental change, and comparing normal to abnormal, this approach offers a promising framework for furthering knowledge on etiology, developmental change, course, and pathways to resilience. In summary, this reflects the overall mission of developmental psychopathology, which is to “prevent or ameliorate behavioral problems and disorders and promote positive development” (Masten, 2006).