[Importance of developmental psychopathology for understanding psychiatric disorders and diseases in childhood and adolescence]

Abstract

Though the concept of developmental psychopathology is broadly discussed nowadays, a real integration of the different aspects of developmental psychology, developmental neurology and developmental physiology is not yet achieved. Elements that have to be considered to arrive at such an integrative view are pointed out. Sex differences and individual differences as well as the issue of continuity and change of behavior in the developmental process, the meaning of risk factors and protective factors and prediction research have to be considered. The importance of the developmental perspective with respect to the classification of psychopathological features is stressed and the problems that arise when trying to integrate this perspective into the existing classification schemes. Finally, it is shown how--by means of logistic models--the complex interaction between very heterogeneous factors, for example the connection between biological and psychosocial influences in the developmental process, can be described.