Research in Child Psychopathology: The Contributions of Developmental, Psychology

Abstract

Since the many broader developmental propositions common to the theories of Piaget, Werner, and psychoanalytic ego psychology are not available in the usual research report, the present paper starts by defining a number of them to provide an outline of the conceptual framework which these three developmental theories share. This framework delineates the limits of the literature survey which follows. Four main lines of investigation are then reviewed, each dealing with questions and hypotheses derived from one or more of the propositions and each suggested by an examination of the literature. These are: studies dealing with innately given behavioral and structural organs and modes of functioning; differentiation‐integration and levels of organization; multiple modes and stages of development; and the adaptive process. Following this literature review, a concluding section considers some implications of the biodevelopmental research reported to date for the understanding of child psychopathology.

Toward an integration of family systems and developmental psychopathology approaches

“…Minuchin & Fishman, 1981!. Given the interdependency among components in an open system, holism is accepted as a basic principle in each approach. Thus, rather than attempting to understand the unit of analysis by dissecting the system into a series of parts, holism dictates that any part of the whole gains meaning and purpose from the other parts and, therefore, must be examined in the fabric of the whole system~Santostefano & Baker, 1972;Werner & Kaplan, 1963!. For example, the organizational perspective in developmental psychopathology suggests that the adaptive and maladaptive value of any single dimension of child functioning cannot be fully understood without evaluating its meaning and function in the larger context of children's response processes and adjustment over timẽ Cicchetti & Howes, 1991;Davies & Forman, 2002!.…”