Psychology 2320B 001 FW23

Child Psychopathology

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

 

 

WESTERN UNIVERSITY 

LONDON  CANADA 

Department of Psychology 

2023-24 

Winter 2024 

 

Psychology 2320B Section 001 

Child Psychopathology 

 

1.0) CALENDAR DESCRIPTION 

This is a theory course designed to introduce the wide-ranging theories of developmental psychopathology in children and adolescents. Topics will include the major DSM diagnostic categories for childhood disorders, as well as research and treatment. The course orientation is empirical, with an emphasis on recent research findings with this population. 

 

Antirequisite(s): Psychology 2042A/B, Psychology 2043A/B, Psychology 3320F/G. 

 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. If you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course. 

 

Also, please note that the name of this course change from “Abnormal Child Psychology” to Child Psychopathology” in the 2022-23 academic year. The course number remained as Psych 20230.  If you took “Abnormal Child Psychology” do not enrol in this course unless you are planning to take the course with the aim of increasing your grade.  

 

Prerequisite(s): A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level. 

 

2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course 

 

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites. 

 

 

2.0) COURSE INFORMATION 

The course format will consist of:  

  1. A) in-person lectures each week;
  2. B) in-person tutorial sessions; day and time depends on the tutorial section you were assigned to. 

 

INSTRUCTOR: 

Graham J. Reid, Ph.D., Associate Professor 

Office and Phone Number: 

Westminster Hall, Room 319E 

519-661-2111 (x84677) 

 

Office Hours: 

Meetings by appointment – in-person or virtual 

Email: 

greid@uwo.ca 

 

 

TEACHING ASSISTANTS: 

 

Name: 

TBD 

Office Hours: 

 

Email: 

 

 

 

Name: 

TBD 

Office Hours: 

 

Email: 

 

 

 

Name: 

TBD 

Office Hours: 

 

Email: 

 

  

2.1) Weekly Schedule 

 

 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness @Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help. 

 

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Accessible Education aew@uwo.ca or at 519-661-2147. 

 

 

3.0) TEXTBOOK 

Required: 

Mash, E.J. & Wolfe, D.A. (2019). Abnormal Child Psychology (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 

Western Book Store website   

 

Publishers website: 

 

 

 

4.0) COURSE OBJECTIVES 

The goal of this course is to familiarize you with current concepts and research on major psychological and mental disorders of childhood, including issues of assessment, prevalence, course, major etiological theories, and treatment. Class meetings will consist of lectures that give a broad overview of the topic for that class, and tutorials designed to provide the opportunity for greater in-depth discussion and exploration of specific topics. 

 

4.1) STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

 

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to: 

 

Learning Outcome 

Western Undergrad Expectations 

Learning Activity  

Assessment 

Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes relevant to Child Psychopathology 

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.  

 

Read textbook; Listen to lectures; Participate in tutorials 

Exams, Quizzes, Tutorial Assignments & Participation 

Define the features and diagnostic criteria relevant to psychological problems amongst children and youth. 

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.  

 

Read textbook; Listen to lectures; Participate in tutorials 

Exams, Quizzes, Tutorial Assignments & Participation 

Explain the current conceptual frameworks for understanding developmental disturbances in childhood and youth; 

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.  

 

Read textbook; Listen to lectures; Participate in tutorials 

Exams, Quizzes, Tutorial Assignments & Participation 

Explain current approaches for the assessment, prevention and treatment of psychological problems amongst children and youth. 

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.  

 

Read textbook; Listen to lectures; Participate in tutorials 

Exams, Quizzes, Tutorial Assignments & Participation 

Critically appraise information related to abnormal psychological problems of children and youth reported in the media in light of the relevant scientific evidence. 

Application of Knowledge.  

Knowledge of Methodologies. 

Communication Skills. 

Complete “In the news” assignment 

“In the news” Assignment 

 

Awareness of Limits of Knowledge. 

Lecture 

N/A 

 

Autonomy and Professional Capacity. 

N/A 

N/A 

 

 

5.0) EVALUATION 

The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4.0 and are considered necessary for meeting these learning objectives. 

 

Evaluation Summary 

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS 

DEADLINES 

EVALUATION 

5.1.A 

Tutorial participation 

Every tutorial class;  

Graded for 3 of 5 tutorials in each half of the course  

- 6 total for the course 

(Part 1 = Weeks 2-6; Part 2 = Weeks 7-11) 

15% 

5.1.B 

Written reflection 

1 of 5 tutorials in each half of course (2 total) 

5% 

 

 

 

 

5.2.A 

Mid-term Exam 

Sat, Mar 2;  

2 hours – 9:30 to 11:30 

TBD 

% 

5.2.B 

Final Exam 

As scheduled during final exam period 

38% 

 

 

 

 

5.3.A 

“In the News” assignment 1 

Feb 9; before 11:50 PM 

8% 

5.3.B 

“In the News” assignment 2 

Mar 22; before 11:50 PM 

10% 

 

The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages: 

 

70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses 

72% 2100-2999-level courses 

75% 3000-level courses 

80% 4000-level courses 

 

The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines, which are as follows (see: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf 

 

A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level 

A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average 

B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory 

C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements 

D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable 

F below 50 Fail 

 

Note that in the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components. 

Policy on Grade Rounding: Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered. To maximize your grade, do your best on each and every assessment within the course. 

 

5.1) POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK 

The specific policies related to missing each element of the course are described in the relevant sections below.  

 

5.2) TUTORIALS 

There are 10 content-based tutorials (the first tutorial is an overview) which will be delivered in person. Tutorials consist of a short presentation by the TAs and a discussion. Tutorials provide opportunities for more in-depth coverage of specific topics, discussion of issues/controversies, and interactions within a small group format. There are two ways in which your contribution to the tutorials will be evaluated: (A) Participation; and (B) Written reflection papers.   

 

Tutorials will be divided into two halves: First half = first 5 tutorials (Weeks 2 through 6); Second half = last 5 tutorials (Weeks 7 through 11). You are required to submit a total of 1 written reflection papers: 1 based on the first 5 tutorials and 1 based on the last 5 tutorials.  

Your participation will be evaluated every tutorial; however, you will only be graded on the Tutorials where you do not submit a written reflection paper. Thus, only your best 3 grades for participation in each of the first and second halves will be counted.  

As a result, there will be one tutorial in each half where your participation will not be counted, and you do not have to submit a written reflection paper. In other words, you can miss one tutorial in each half of the course without any impact on your grades. 

 

5.2.A) Participation 

Participation should be a natural extension of your preparation for class. A grade for participation will be based on your teaching assistant’s assessment of the quality of your participation. You should say something, but what you say is more important than how much you say. Quality participation is a reflection of your mastery of required readings and demonstrated by thoughtful questioning, raising points/issues you encounter in the readings, and your involvement in tutorials. 

Evaluation: A mark for participation will be assigned for each tutorial class. As noted above, participation grades will only count towards your final mark for those tutorials where you do not submit a written reflection paper. Further, only your best grades for participation in the first and second halves will be counted. At the latest, you will receive feedback by before the mid-term and again at the end of the course. Thus, a participation grade for the course will be based on a total of tutorials during the course for 15% of the overall course grade (2.5% for each graded tutorial). 

 

5.3.B) Written reflection papers 

You are to write a paper - maximum 2-pages (double spaced; 12-point font; Times New Roman) - based on the material covered in the tutorials. It can be less than 2 pages, so long as you cover both aspects listed below. Your paper should contain:  

(1) A brief summary of the material covered in the tutorial. This may be based on the tutorial slides, readings from the textbook related to the tutorial topic &/or additional readings assigned for the week. In your summary you should reference the material you are summarizing as: the textbook chapter section (referenced by page number), tutorial slide number, or author, date, page number for an assigned article. This should be about 1 page long.  

(2) About 1 page of reflection on the material that may include questions that arose from your reading of the material; connections between the material read and other chapters topics covered in the course; any personal reflections or applications from the material. 

Due date: The paper must be uploaded to the course website before the following week’s tutorial. For example, if your tutorial is on Wednesday, Jan 17 your written reflection paper is due Tuesday Jan 23 before 11:59 PM.  For tutorials held Feb 14-15 (the week before reading week), reflections papers will still be due the day before the next tutorial (week of Feb 26). 

Late &/or missing submissions: The reflection papers are designed to serve a similar purpose to participating in the tutorials. Namely, to help you think more about the material covered in the tutorials. As such, you are encouraged to write up your reflections as soon as possible after the tutorial. No extensions will be given without appropriate documentation. Late assignments will be docked a late penalty of 5% for each day that it is late for the first 5 days; and then 10% per day for each day that it is late more than 5 days. For example, if you hand in the paper 6 days late, you would be penalized 35% (5% x 5 days + 10% x 1 day). 

Evaluation: Your papers must be typed with your name and student number at the top of the page. Assignments must be uploaded to the course website (In OWL Assignments tab), or in the case of significant technical difficulties with the website it may be emailed to the TA, before the deadline. The file type for submissions should be PDF or something that can be read in Microsoft Word (e.g., *.docx, *.doc, *.rtf, *.odt). Grades for these assignments will be based on the clarity and organization of your writing, the accuracy and depth of your understanding of the topic as reflected in your coverage of each of the 2 elements in the assignment listed above, and the demonstration of critical thinking skills. See course website for the grading rubric. A grade for the course will be based on a total of 2 written reflection papers (1 in each half of the tutorials) during the course for 6% of the overall course grade (3% for each paper). 

 

5.3) EXAMS 

5.3.A) Mid-term Exam 

The mid-term exam will consist primarily of multiple-choice questions, along with short-answer questions as well. ANY material from the textbook or lectures may be selected for the exam.  

Evaluation: The mid-term exam will count for 27% of the course grade. 

 

5.3.B) Final Exam 

There will be a final examination. The exam will consist primarily of multiple-choice questions, along with short-answer questions. The final exam is not fully cumulative per se, but some questions will require integration of material covered prior to the midterm. About 80% of the exam will cover material not previously tested in the midterm; the remainder, about 20% will include previously tested material. As such, ANY material from the textbook or lectures may be selected for the exam.  

Evaluation: The final exam will count for 30% of the course grade. 

 

5.3.C) Exam format. Both the mid-term and the final exam will use the same format and be in-person exams.   

 

5.3.D) Policy on Missed exams.  If you miss an exam for a legitimate reason and with appropriate documentation provided, there will be one, and only one makeup.  If you cannot write the makeup for the mid-term for a legitimate reason, your grade will be prorated based on your grade on the final exam (i.e., the final will count for 68% of final grade).  If you cannot write the makeup for the final exam for a legitimate reason and with appropriate documentation provided, your grade will be prorated across all other components in the course. If a student misses both the midterm and final exams (and makeup exams) they will be given an alternative written assignment to assess their understanding of the material covered in the entire course. 

 

5.4) “Child Psychopathology - IN THE NEWS” Assignments 

Two “In the News” assignments are to be submitted during the course. You are encouraged to hand in the assignments earlier than the due dates. Each assignment will be a maximum of 2 pages in length (double spaced; 12-point font; Times New Roman; 1 inch margins). For each of these assignments, you are to find a recent news article from a newspaper or newsmagazine that directly relates to some aspect of abnormal psychology amongst children and youth that is covered in this course; the article can be from a newspaper’s website, but not a blog or other type of website; not a scholarly journal; not a health or science magazine such as Scientific American, Psychology Today. For example, it could be a report of recently published research on the causes or treatment of a particular mental disorder that we are covering in the course, a change in policy or legislation in Canada or one of the provinces in relation to children or youth with mental health problems, new programs/services being offered for children or youth with mental health problems in Canada or one of the provinces, etc. The article: (a) should have been published in 2023 or 2024, (b) the original source must be in English and (c) should be a news source from Canada, United States, the UK, New Zealand, or Australia. 

Your assignment is to critically discuss the significance of the news article you have chosen with reference to a related section within a chapter of the textbook, which you should identify by page number. 

Your assignment should contain: 

(1) brief summary of the article; (2) brief summary linking the article to the relevant textbook chapter section (referenced by page number); (3) critical discussion; (4) your personal reaction to the article. 

Your critical discussion should include such issues as: how the article confirms, complements, or contradicts something presented in the identified section of the text; how the article contributes to our understanding of some aspect of mental disorders; potential implications for mental health care; issues that should be investigated further; weaknesses of the article, such as scientific inaccuracy or bias, etc. Your reaction to the article could include something that was interesting to you, something you learned, how it made you think differently about an issue, etc. 

You may not choose the same topic for the first and second assignments. The first assignment must be on a topic from Chapters 1 to 6; the second assignment must be on a topic in chapters 8 through 14. (Note – you are free to choose something related to health or feeding-eating disorders even if one of these chapters is not covered in the lectures.) 

In addition, you need to submit: (A) A copy of the newspaper article (scanned, PDF, image) that must be attached to your assignment, containing the date and name of the newspaper; for on-line articles the URL should also be included. (B) A self-evaluation of the assignment using the scoring rubric (posted on the OWL website).  You are encouraged to complete the self-evaluation well before the due date. The purpose of the self-evaluation is to allow you to reflect on your work. Doing the self-evaluation early gives you time to revise and improve your work before submitting. It is also a check so that hopefully no one will lose points for failing to follow the instructions.  

Evaluation: The assignment must be typed with your name and student number at the top of the page. Assignments must be uploaded to the course website (In OWL Assignments Tab), or emailed to the TA before the deadline, in the case of severe technical difficulties with the website.  The file type for submissions should be PDF or something that can be read in Microsoft Word (e.g., *.docx, *.doc, *.rtf, *.odt). 

Grades for these assignments will be based on the clarity and organization of your writing, the accuracy and depth of your understanding of the topic as reflected in your coverage of each of the 4 elements in the assignment listed above, and the demonstration of critical thinking skills. The “In the News” assignments will constitute 22% of your final grade (10% for the first assignment; 12% for the second). 

Late or missing submissions: No extensions will be given without appropriate documentation. Late assignments will be docked a late penalty of 5% for each day that it is late for the first 5 days; and then 10% per day for each day that it is late more than 5 days. For example, if you hand in the paper 6 days late you would be penalized 35% (5% x 5 days + 10% x 1 day). 

Deadlines: 

5.3.A) In the news – First assignment: Due Feb 9; before 11:59 PM 

5.3.B) In the news – Second assignment: Due March 22; before 11:59 PM 

 

6.0) ASSESSMENT/ EVALUATION SCHEDULE 

ASSIGNMENTS 

DATE 

TIME 

Tutorial participation 

As per tutorial section time and date 

As assigned 

Written reflection 

Before the following week’s tutorial. 

Before 11:59 PM 

Mid-term Exam 

Sat, Mar 2;   

TBD 

2 hrs total;  

9:30 to 11:30AM 

Final Exam 

As scheduled during final exam period 

 

“In the News” assignment 1 

February 9 

before 11:59 PM 

“In the News” assignment 2 

March 22 

before 11:59 PM 

 

7.0) CLASS SCHEDULE 

 

7.1) Lecture & Tutorial Schedule 

 

Wk 

Lecture 

Tutorial 

Topic 

Readings 

1 

Jan 9 

 

Course overview 

 

Introduction to Child Psychopathology 

Ch 1 

 

 

Jan 10-11 

Introduction to Tutorials 

No readings 

2 

Jan 16 

 

Theories and Causes 

Ch 2, 3 

 

 

Jan 17-18 

Temperament 

See class website for readings 

3 

Jan 23 

 

Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment 

Ch 4 

 

 

Jan 24-25 

Diagnosis: For or Against 

No readings 

4 

Jan 30 

 

Intellectual Disability 

Ch 5 

 

 

Jan 31 - Feb 1 

Building inclusive communities 

See class website for readings 

5 

Feb 6 

 

Autism Spectrum Disorder 

Ch 6 

 

  

Feb 7-8 

Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia 

Ch 6 

DUE 

Feb 9 

 

“In the News” – First assignment DUE 

 

6 

Feb 13 

 

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder 

Ch 8 

 

 

Feb 14-15 

To medicate or not to medicate 

        No readings 

 

Feb 20 

 

Reading Week – no lecture 

 

 

 

 

               – no tutorials 

 

7 

Feb 27 

 

Conduct Problems  

Ch 9 

 

 

Feb 28-29 

Pathways to anti-social behavior and adult outcomes 

See class website for readings  

 

Sat 

Mar 2 

Mid-Term Exam 9:30 to 11:30AM 

Chapters 1-6, 8 

8 

Mar 5 

 

Depressive and Bipolar Disorders 

Ch 10 

 

 

Mar 6-7 

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder 

See class website for readings 

9 

Mar 12 

 

Anxiety Disorders 

Ch 11 

 

 

Mar 13-14 

Prevention of Anxiety Disorders 

See class website for readings  

10  

Mar 19 

 

Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders  

Ch 12 

 

 

Mar 20-21 

PTSD  

Ch 12 

DUE 

Mar 22 

 

“In the News” – Second assignment DUE 

 

11 

Mar 26 

 

Health-Related Disorders (Ch 13) 

OR Feeding & Eating Disorders (Ch 14) 

To be chosen by class vote 

 

 

Mar 27-28 

Substance Use 

Ch 13 

12 

Apr 2 

 

Exam Review- Session 

 

 

 

Apr 3-4 

Exam Review- Session 

 

 

April 11-30 

 

FINAL EXAM AS SCHEDULED 

 

 

Note: Adjustments may be made to our class schedule and readings, as required. 

 

Access to articles to be discussed in tutorials is available through Western’s Library system. The full citation for each article, with a link to the library system, is provided on the course website.