Psychology 2320A-001

Abnormal Child Psychology

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

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

This is a theory course is designed to introduce the wide-ranging theories of developmental psychopathology in children and adolescents. Topics will include the major DSM-IV 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.

Antirequisites: Psychology 2042A/B, 2043A/B, 3320F/G

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So 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.

Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course
2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course

Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll 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

INSTRUCTOR:Graham J. Reid, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Office and Phone Number: Westminster Hall, Room 319E
519-661-2111 (x84677)
Office Hours: Thurs 1:30-2:30, or by appointment
Email: greid@uwo.ca

 
TEACHING ASSISTANTS:

Kimberly Dossett
Office and Phone Number: WH East 235
Office Hours:  Mondays 10am-12pm or by appointment
Email: kdossett@uwo.ca
 
Catalina Sarmiento
Office:  WH East 235
Office Hours:  Tuesdays 4-5 pm
Email: csarmie2@uwo.ca

Monica Tomlinson
Office:  WH East 219
Office Hours:  Wednesday 10am-12pm
Thursday 4:30pm-5:30pm
Email:  mtomlin5@uwo.ca

If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.

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 Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Required:Mash, E.J. & Wolfe, D.A. (2016). Abnormal Child Psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

http://www.coursesmart.com/abnormal-child-psychology-6th- edition/mash-wolfe/dp/9781305105423

http://www.cengagebrain.com/cgi- wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=97813051
05423&token=4970A5FBF26AD0A49674E99179BCBD63735BD8E0A68CA2
8D28C7FCC6E2272B13EA35B0362DC8D7EF1585FA708840CFBED7A4789
70BE88DBC1A0A63CB058034B6&template=NELSON

Optional:American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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.

5.0     EVALUATION


Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:


70%    1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/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

Evaluation Summary


ASSIGNMENTS     DEADLINES     EVALUATION
5.1     Tutorial participation     Every tutorial class     10%
5.2    Mid-term exam    Oct 27 at 7 pm HSB 35, SH 33153, SH3317 40%
5.3     Final exam     As scheduled during final exam period 40%
5.4.1     “In the News” assignment 1 Oct 14; Before midnight 5%
5.4.2     “In the News” assignment 2 Dec 2; Before midnight 5%

5.1) 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 have to 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 reflected in thoughtful questioning and raising points/issues you encounter in the reading, and your involvement in seminars.
Evaluation: A mark for class participation will be assigned for each tutorial class. You will receive feedback at mid-term and at the end of the course. Class participation will count for 10% of the course grade.

5.2) Mid-term Exam
The mid-term exam will consist primarily of multiple-choice questions, but may include matching, fill in the blank, and short-answer questions as well. ANY material from the textbook or lectures may be selected for the exam. No "aids" are allowed.
Evaluation:  The mid-term exam will count for 40% of the course grade.
 
5.3) Final Exam
There will be a final examination. The exam will consist primarily of multiple-choice questions, but may include matching, fill in the blank, and short-answer questions as well.  The final exam is not cumulative per se, but some questions will require integration of material covered prior to the midterm. ANY material from the textbook or lectures may be selected for the exam. No "aids" are allowed.
Evaluation: The final exam will count for 40% of the course grade.

5.4) “Abnormal Child Psychology - In the News” Assignments
Two “In the News” assignments are to be submitted during the course. The first is due by Oct 14 and the second by Dec 2. You are encouraged to hand in the assignments earlier than the due dates.
NB: No extensions will be given; late assignments will be given a grade of zero.

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 (this 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) that directly relates to some aspect of abnormal psychology amongst children and youth that is covered in this course. 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 should have been published in 2014 or 2015.

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) a brief summary of the article; (2) brief summary linking the article to the relevant textbook chapter section; (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. Your reaction to the article could include something that was surprising 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. 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.

Evaluation: The assignment must be typed with your name and student number at the top of the page. A copy (scanned or PDF) of the newspaper article must be attached to your assignment, containing the date and name of the newspaper; for on-line articles the URL should also be included.

Assignments must be uploaded to the course website, or emailed to the TA in the case of technical difficulties with the website, before the deadline.

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 10% of your final grade (5% each).
     

6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Exam

Date

Time

Location

Mid Term Exam

Oct 27

7:00-9:00 pm

HSB 35, SH33153, SH3317

Final Exam

Exam period

TBD

TBD

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

 

Instructor

Date

Time

Location

LECTURES

G. Reid

Tuesdays

1:30- 3:30 PM

UCC 56

TUTORIALS

 

 

 

 

Section 2

 

Thursdays

09:30-10:30 AM

UCC 54A

Section 3

 

Thursdays

10:30-11:30 AM

UCC 54A

Section 4

 

Thursdays

09:30-10:30 AM

UCC 54B

Section 5

 

Thursdays

10:30-11:30 AM

UCC 54B

Section 6

 

Thursdays

09:30-10:30 AM

UCC 61

Section 7

 

Thursdays

10:30-11:30 AM

UCC 61

Wk

Lecture

Tutorial

Topic

Readings

 

1

 

Sept 15

 

Course overview

 

Introduction to Abnormal Child Psychology

Ch 1

 

 

Sept 17

Introduction to Tutorials

 

2

Sept 22

 

Theories and Causes

Ch 2, 3

 

 

Sept 24

Temperament

 

3

Sept 29

 

Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Ch 4

 

 

Oct 1

Diagnosis: For or Against

 

4

Oct 6

 

Intellectual Disability

Ch 5

 

 

Oct 8

Building inclusive communities

See class website

5

Oct 13

 

Autism  Spectrum Disorder

Ch 6

 

 

Oct 14

“In the News” – First assignment DUE

 

 

 

Oct 15

Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia

Ch 6

6

Oct 20

 

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Ch 8

 

 

Oct 22

To medicate or not to medicate

 

7

Oct 27

 

Mid-Term – As scheduled

 

 

 

 

Fall study break – No tutorials

 

8

Nov 3

 

Conduct Problems

Ch 9

 

 

 

Nov 5

Pathways to anti-social behavior and adult outcomes

 

Moffitt 1993

9

Nov 10

 

Depressive and Bipolar Disorders

Ch 10

 

 

 

Nov 12

 

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Krieger 2013 & Mikita 2013

10

Nov 17

 

Anxiety Disorders

Ch 11

 

 

Nov 19

Prevention of Anxiety Disorders

Rapee 2010

11

Nov 24

 

Trauma- and Stressor-Related  Disorders

Ch 12

 

 

Nov 26

Feeding & Eating Disorders

Ch 14

12

Dec 1

 

Health-Related Disorders

Ch 13

 

 

Dec 2

“In the News” – Second assignment DUE

 

 

 

Dec 3

Substance Use

Ch 13

 

 

 

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.

8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.

9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences

- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.

SDC’s Learning Skills Services, Rm 4100 WSS, www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning
LS counsellors are ready to help you improve your learning skills. They offer presentations on strategies for improving time management, multiple-choice exam preparation/writing, textbook reading, and more.  Individual support is offered throughout the Fall/Winter terms in the drop-in Learning Help Centre, and year-round through individual counselling.


11.0)   UNDERSTANDING AND APPEALING MARKS

Students are welcome to meet with the instructor to discuss any aspects of their evaluation that are not clear. Students may appeal any mark given in the course. To ensure that concerns are fairly reviewed, students wishing to have a grade reviewed must submit a brief note outlining the specific concerns regarding the grade and justification for grade revision. An appeal must include: (a) the original material submitted (if material was returned) and (b) a written statement by the student of the issue(s) with the grading. The statement should include the specific aspect of the grading in question and his/her rationale for why a grade should be altered. The original material will be re-graded and reviewed along with the rationale for the appeal. The mark as re-graded by the instructor will be the final mark. This mark may be higher or lower than the original grade.