Tags
GPH, PSY
Admissions requirements
Introduction to Psychology
Description
Mental health problems in children and adolescents are common and are associated with substantial economic and societal costs. Children and adolescents have to deal with an increasingly complex and fast-moving world and safeguarding their healthy development, mentally as well as physically, would therefore seem an important aim of (global) public health policy. Yet, some mental health problems in youth are said to be on the rise (e.g., ADHD), leading to questions about societal, cultural, and global factors that impact upon youth mental health.
This course will focus on a range of psychological problems during childhood and adolescence using the developmental psychopathology perspective as a theoretical framework. The framework provides a broad and developmentally orientated approach to understanding emotional and behavioural problems during the life span. It emphasises the relationship between normality and pathology, the complex interplay of multiple risk and protective factors, and developmental pathways including continuity and change. Second, during the course we will critically analyse contemporary youth mental health issues and their potential implications for society and public health.
The lectures will provide an introduction to the major mental health problems in youth, internalizing (anxiety and depression), externalizing (ADHD and conduct problems), and neurobiological (autism, schizophrenia) disorders, from the developmental psychopathology perspective. Attention will also be given to prevention and treatment of these disorders. Students will learn about the world’s leading mental health classification systems, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD: World Health Organization) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association), and the implications of these systems for youth mental health.
Course objectives
Students will be able to:
Describe the main concepts of the developmental psychopathology approach to mental health problems and disorders in youth.
Summarise the main mental health problems and disorders in youth discussed during the course.
Compare and contrast the two major classification approaches (i.e., clinical and empirical).
Describe the main treatment approaches to youth mental health disorders.
Apply the developmental psychopathology perspective to new cases.
Critically analyse contemporary youth mental health issues using empirical research.
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published here.
Mode of instruction
This course consists of two x two hour weekly sessions which will be delivered through a combination of lectures, class discussion, group presentations and debates. In weeks 1 to 6 each weekly session will comprise a lecture on a particular topic and an interactive workgroup. During weeks 2 to 7 one group of students will lead part of the session through a presentation and debate about a contemporary issue related to youth mental health. Week 7 will focus on prevention and treatment of youth mental health problems.
Assessment
To be confirmed in the course syllabus:
Assessment 1: In-class preparation and participation
Weight: 10%, deadline: weeks 1-7
Learning aim: Interactive engagement with course material and individual input to weekly theme
Assessment 2: Three written assignments.
Weight: 30%, deadline: weeks 2,4,6 (3 in total, each 10%)
Learning aim: Individual engagement with and analysis of course readings and material
Assessment 3: Presentation in small groups
Weight: 20%, deadline: weeks 2 – 7
Learning aim: Critical analysis of a contemporary youth mental health issue
Assessment 4: Exam/final assignment
Weight: 40%, deadline: week 8
Learning aim: Understanding of course content
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
Compulsory textbook:
Wicks-Nelson, R., & Israel, A. C. (2013). Abnormal child and adolescent psychology (8th Ed.).
Amsterdam: Pearson.
Compulsory chapter from a textbook:
Vasey, M. W., & Dadds, M. R. (2001). An introduction to the developmental psychopathology of anxiety. In M. W. Vasey & M. R. Dadds (Eds.), The developmental psychopathology of anxiety (pp. 3-26). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Recommended book:
Watters, E. (2010). Crazy Like Us: The globalization of the American Psyche. Free Press.
A full reading list will be included in the course syllabus.
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Curriculum Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. A. C. Miers
acmiers@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Before the first meeting students must read the following:
Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the Wicks-Nelson & Israel textbook (see Reading list).