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Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
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Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
Integrating Science and Practice

Fifth Edition


October 2025 | 944 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychopathology provides a comprehensive and practical guide to understanding mental disorders and their evidence-based treatments. Using a developmental psychopathology approach, author Robert Weis opens each chapter with a description of the disorder, including the complete DSM-5-TR criteria, prevalence, and associated features. The causes of each disorder are then analyzed through biological, psychological, and social–cultural lenses, followed by a discussion of evidence-based treatments, using criteria established by the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The Fifth Edition includes updated research throughout, with special attention to developments since the COVID-19 pandemic, including an increase in digital media use, and it features case studies and pedagogy designed to help students understand and retain the material.
 
An Invitation
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Part 1: Evidence-Based Research and Practice
 
Chapter 1: Supporting Children’s Mental Health
Identifying Mental Health Problems in Children

 
The Prevalence of Children’s Mental Health Problems

 
Integrating Science and Practice

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 2: Theories of Development
Developmental Psychopathology

 
Biological Influences on Development

 
Psychological Influences on Development

 
Social–Cultural Influences on Development

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 3: Research Methods with Children and Families
Science vs. Pseudoscience

 
Research Goals and Methods

 
Ethical Research with Children and Families

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 4: Assessing and Treating Children’s Mental Health Problems
Psychological Assessment

 
Systems of Psychotherapy

 
The Efficacy and Effectiveness of Child Psychotherapy

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend your Learning

 
 
Part II: Developmental Disorders and Disabilities
 
Chapter 5: Intellectual Developmental Disorder
Description and Epidemiology

 
Causes

 
Identification, Prevention, and Treatment

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend your Learning

 
 
Chapter 6: Autism Spectrum Disorder
Description and Epidemiology

 
Causes

 
Identification, Prevention, and Treatment

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 7: Communication and Learning Disorders
Communication Disorders

 
Learning Disabilities and Specific Learning Disorder

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend your Learning

 
 
Part III: Disruptive Disorders and Substance Use Problems
 
Chapter 8: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Description and Epidemiology

 
Causes

 
Evidence-Based Assessment and Treatment

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 9: Conduct Problems in Children and Adolescents
Description and Epidemiology

 
Causes

 
Evidence-Based Treatment

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 10: Substance Use Problems in Adolescents
Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders

 
Causes of Substance Use Problems

 
Evidence-Based Treatment

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Part IV: Emotion and Thought Disorders
 
Chapter 11: Anxiety and Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder
Anxiety Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence

 
Obsessive–Compulsive and Related Disorders

 
Evidence-Based Treatment

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 12: Trauma and Child Maltreatment
Social–Emotional Deprivation in Infancy

 
Child Maltreatment

 
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 13: Depression, Suicide, and Self-Injury
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

 
Major Depressive Disorder and Persistent Depressive Disorder

 
Suicide and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 14: Pediatric Bipolar Disorders and Schizophrenia
Bipolar Disorders in Children and Adolescents

 
Pediatric Schizophrenia

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Part V: Health-Related Disorders
 
Chapter 15: Feeding and Eating Disorders
Feeding Disorders in Young Children

 
Eating Disorders in Older Children and Adolescents

 
Evidence-Based Treatment for Eating Disorders

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
Chapter 16: Elimination, Sleep, and Health Problems
Elimination Disorders

 
Sleep–Wake Disorders in Children

 
Pediatric Psychology

 
Key Terms

 
Critical Thinking Exercises

 
Test Yourself and Extend Your Learning

 
 
References
 
Index

For instructors

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