1. Multiple Systems Importance of measuring: –Affective –Behavioral –Cognitive –Physiological (biochemical, neurological, etc.)

2. Multiple Methods of Measurement, I Questionnaires: Advantages –Inexpensive, easy, quick –Obtain child’s perspective –Obtain perspective of multiple informants However, multiple informants may not agree. Then what?

3. Multiple Methods of Measurement, II Questionnaires: Disadvantages –Researchers impose the structure –Memory limitations –Participants unwilling, or unable, to accurately report on behavior or experience –Can be tedious, especially for children and adolescents

4. Multiple Methods of Measurement, III Observational methods, advantages: –More ‘objective’ –Tasks can be engaging to small children, and may require no verbal responses –Can do detailed analysis of behavior, and sequential analysis –Examples of tasks: play a game with child; ask child to do clean-up; Gottman space-ship

5. Multiple Methods of Measurement, IV Observational methods, disadvantages: –Can be artificial, if done in lab However, lab has advantage of being standardized, and allow for manipulation of variables often not possible in naturalistic settings Helps to observe on repeated occasions –Rare events may not be observed, especially if naturalistic (no manipulation)

6. Multiple Methods of Measurement, V: Physiological Provide measures of emotional activation, ability to soothe after stress, attention. Requires collaboration with experts in order to accurately calibrate and interpret Cardiovascular: –includes baseline heart rate –change in heart rate –vagal tone (parasympathetic system—high vagal tone associated with higher reactivity, suppression of vagal tone associated with attending and shifting attention, ability to self-soothe) –blood pressure.

7. Multiple Methods of Measurement: Physiological, C’t’d Functional MRI’s (measurement of brain activation) HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenocortical) system –E.g., lower threshold for cortisol activation associated with higher wariness, inhibition, shyness

8. Multiple Methods of Measurement, VI Other measurement approaches: –Continuous performance tests, to measure attention –Intelligence, learning, memory –Projectives

9. Assessing of Child Psychopathology: Diagnostic Interviews Structured Diagnostic Interviews: DISC, DICA, CAS. Semi-structured: K-SADS. Younger children may not understand some questions, and difficulty with time intervals Test-retest reliability of children’s responses to structured interviews is not very good –E.g.: 9 year-olds reported 33% more symptoms in initial interview vs. retest several days later –Ages 10-13: 24% decline –Ages 14-18: 16% decline –This is much smaller among adults –Implications for analyses of change, growth

10. DISC Test-Retest Reliability Parent informant: –Disruptive Disorders.56 to.68 –Depressive Disorders: MDD=.55, Dys=.30 –Anxiety Disorders:.45 to.60 Youth Informant: –ADHD:.10, ODD:.18, CD:.64 –Depressive: MDD:.37, Dys:.43 –Anxiety disorders:.27 to.39

11. Concurrent Validity of DISC These are structured interview vs. clinician diagnoses made after interview (kappas) Parent informant: –ADHD=.72, ODD =.59, CD =.74. –Depressive: MDD=.60, Dys =.35 –Anxiety disorders:.OAD:.60, SAD:.29, SoPh:.53 Youth informant: –ADHD=.27, ODD=.54, CD=.77 –Depressive: MDD=.79, Dys=.54 –Anxiety: OAD=.23, SAD=.59, SoPh=.45 Combined (either) parent and youth: –ADHD=.70, ODD=.65, CD=.80 –MDD=.63, Dys=.37 –Anxiety=.40 to.51

12. Empirically Derived Systems of Psychopathology Assessment Generally, use standardized checklists of behavior problems rated on scales Use multivariate statistics to identify groupings or syndromes of problems (patterns of problems that co-occur) Derived using large samples of children, generally analyzing separately for boys and girls of differing ages. –Thus, norms (and cutpoints) can vary by age and gender (e.g., ADHD may look different in boys vs girls)

13. Empirically Derived Systems, C’t’d Allow for quantitative assessment along syndromes (continuous) rather than categorical diagnosis Assessment/analysis can be done separately by different informants (teachers, parents, youths). Or, syndromes that are common across informants can be compared (“cross-informant”). Examples of syndromes: anxious/depressed, attention problems, delinquent behavior, Social problems, somatic complaints, Thought problems, Withdrawn.

14. Validity of Empirically Derived Systems Anxious/Depressed syndrome scores higher for children with clinician diagnoses of depressive or anxiety disorders (vs. other clinic youth) Attention Problems,.Delinquent Behavior, and Aggressive Behavior scores higher among youth with disruptive behavior disorders

15. Critiques of Empirically Derived Systems Broad-band (internalizing, externalizing) are often highly correlated (e.g.,.5 to.6). Cannot be used to describe rare problems that are important, severe Informant may respond to checklist item even if they cannot make a sound judgment No information about duration or severity of symptoms, age of onset, impairment Syndromes based on co-occurrence of problems in a sample, but problems may not co-occur within a person (I.e., it is ‘variable-centered’, not ‘person- centered’).