factors include neurobiological factors such as genetics, psychophysiology, brain functioning, as well as individual differences in temperament, cognition, and emotional responses.
Molecular genetics examines specific alleles or genetic markers that are associated with psychopathology.
Multifinality refers to how similar early experiences or risk factors lead to different outcomes with multiple levels of analyses.
Pathways refer to how individuals change and adapt over time and reach different outcomes or pathologies.
Person‐centered research designs examine the effects of risk/protective factors on subgroups of a sample.
Prospective longitudinal research designs follow a sample of individuals across time for multiple time points.
Protective factors buffer against risk, decrease the likelihood of adverse outcomes, and promote successful outcomes.
Psychopathology refers to mental disorders.
Randomized controlled trials are experimental designs where participants are randomized to treatment or control groups.
Reciprocal, transactional models propose that a child’s outcomes are a product of the bidirectional, continuous, dynamic interactions of the child and experiences provided by his or her family and social context.
Resilience refers to the capacity to avoid adverse outcomes and adapt successfully and competently, despite being at risk or experiencing adversity.
Retrospective design involves retrospective studies where subjects are asked to report on prior experiences, such as exposure to life stress, maltreatment, or other life experiences that occurred prior to the current point in time.Risk factors increase the likelihood of a negative outcome.
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Chapter 3Normal Development: What Is Actually Normal?
Hillary A. Langley, Sarah Barksdale, Bailey A. Barnes, Caitlin H. Child, Matthew T. Roberts, and Mayra B. Ramos
Chapter Overview
In this chapter, we focus on “normal development,” although we recognize that this term is misleading as no two people are exactly alike and there are a range of outcomes that may all be considered “normal.” Even so, it is important to examine developmental milestones and the developmental progression of skills that are thought to be within the normal range, so as to better understand and identify what might not be normal. As you learned in Chapter 2, a fundamental principle of developmental psychopathology is that normal and abnormal development inform one another. We learn about how developmental trajectories move towards psychopathology, in part, by studying normal development.
It is critical to begin this chapter with the acknowledgment that human development is an incredibly complex topic to study, as there are a myriad of potential influences and outcomes to consider. In fact, there are too many to count! Researchers have spent over a century studying biological and environmental contributions to human development. In each of the sections below, we highlight how both biology and family, society, culture,