Summary

In this current and scholarly text, authors Eric Mash and David Wolfe achieve a balance between developmental, clinical-diagnostic, and experimental approaches to child and adolescent psychopathology. The book traces the developmental course of each disorder and shows how biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors interact with the child's environment. First-person accounts and cases enrich the reader's understanding of what children and adolescents with disorders experience, emphasizing the strengths of individual children. Case materials are integrated throughout each chapter to help students understand the chapter's key topics. Engaging "first-person" accounts frequently introduce the chapters and reflect the authors' clinical experience. In every disorder chapter, the authors present an overview of the most empirically supported approaches to intervention. The authors discuss the unique as well as general aspects of major intervention strategies for each disorder. The authors pay attention to risk and protective factors and the conditions that lead to effective coping in some children, despite adverse early circumstances. The authors have organized the book into logical five-part structure: Understanding Abnormal Child Psychology, Behavioral Disorders (ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders), Emotional Disorders (anxiety and mood disorders), Developmental and Learning Disorders (mental retardation, autism, childhood-onset schizophrenia, and communication and learning disorders), and Problems Related to Physical and Mental Health (health-related disorders, eating disorders, and child abuse and neglect). This organization provides students with a framework for understanding the disorders that will enhance their mastery of the material.