Child Psychopathology Research Paper

Child Psychopathology Research Paper

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Child Psychopathology Research PaperChild Psychopathology Research Paper: Select a childhood or adolescent disorder, and discuss it from the viewpoint of one or more of the theories covered in the first several weeks of class (e.g., biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, attachment, or systems theory). The paper should discuss an overview of the disorder (description, epidemiology, course), symptom presentation, etiology (possible causes of the disorder), and gold standard treatment recommendations for the disorder from your chosen theoretical perspective. If you prefer, you may choose to discuss the overview and etiology of the disorder from one perspective (e.g., biological) and then discuss treatment from a different perspective (e.g., behavioral). This is fine.

Please note that this is not a case presentation or analysis paper. Rather, this is a research paper designed to review the literature on a particular child mental health disorder of your choosing.

Your Child Psychopathology Research Paper should include an integrated critical analysis of the work that you cite (i.e., what are the strengths and weaknesses of the literature on this disorder? What gaps remain in the literature?). This section of the paper is important.

Organization* may be as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Symptom presentation (what are the characteristic symptoms of the disorder)
3. Course of disorder (change over time and likely outcome)
4. Epidemiology of disorder (who tends to be affected, age, gender, overall prevalence)
5. Etiology of disorder (possible causes of the disorder from chosen theoretical perspective)
6. Treatment for disorder (from chosen theoretical perspective)
7. Summary

*You may choose to either incorporate critical analysis throughout the paper or as a separate section at the end.

You can organize the paper in a different way (e.g., you can integrate the critical analysis section throughout the paper by doing a critical analysis of theory, then a critical analysis of treatment, etc.), but you should include all of the above information. In addition, you should have subject headings. Headings allow you to organize your paper and are an excellent guide for your reader.

This paper should be 7-10 pages in length (12 point Times New Roman font with 1 inch margins) and should include at least seven empirical, peer-reviewed journal articles. This paper should conform to APA Style. Below, I have highlighted a few important writing suggestions, but, in addition, please review the Tips for Writing about Psychology Research document, posted to ECLearn, in advance of writing your paper.

If you would like to write your paper on a disorder of childhood or adolescence that we are not covering in the course (or a specific population, e.g., girls with ADHD), you are welcome to do so as long as you discuss this with me prior to beginning your research.

Your critical analysis can be incorporated throughout your paper, or it can be a section toward the end. For example, if you incorporated it throughout, you could have a critical analysis section at the end of each of your sections (e.g., critiquing the theory or the research). The critical analysis component of your paper should:

• Highlight and discuss your critiques of the research. This can be anything from noting that research has only been done with Caucasian adolescents, which makes it difficult to generalize to other children, to describing the ways in which the researchers are stretching the implications of their findings. BE SPECIFIC!
• Highlight and discuss your critiques of the theory. This can include pointing out deficits in the theory (e.g., cognitive-behavioral theory does not address why people start having OCD symptoms), as well as suggesting how the theory might be improved.
• You can also point out what has NOT been done – e.g., pointing out that, to date, researchers have not conducted long-term studies on childhood PTSD, and that this is important to study – but remember, you need to describe why it is important.

A few notes on writing psychology research papers:

• When in doubt – PARAPHRASE and CITE but don’t QUOTE
  • Example: …symptoms include a range of behaviors, such as tardive dyskinesia, dysphagia, and dysarthria (Creasey, Beaumont, & Tyrrell, 2000).
  • SENTENCES NEED CITING WHEN THE IDEAS AREN’T YOUR OWN- by citing, you give the original authors credit for their work!
• Conversely, you should have NO MORE THAN three quotations per paper (and not having any quotations at all is fantastic)! Only quote when the authors said something really great and you think that it will help the reader to read their original words, or when it’s a case study, etc.

Child Psychopathology Research Paper Grading Rubric

Description of Disorder (20 points)

Paper includes a clear description of the disorder, including manifestation, course (how the disorder changes over time and likely outcomes), epidemiology (who tends to be impacted, age at which individuals are affected by the disorder, disorder’s prevalence by gender, overall prevalence). The paper presents a well-researched, detailed, and complete picture of the disorder and its characteristics.

20 / 19 / 18                            17 / 16                                  15 / 14                    13 / 12

Excellent                                Very Good                            Fair                          Poor

Symptom Presentation (15 points)

The paper presents a thorough and complete portrait of the characteristic symptoms of the chosen disorder.

15 / 14 / 13                            12 / 11                                    10 / 9 / 8                           7 / 6

Excellent                                Very Good                              Fair                                   Poor

Etiology (15 points)

Drawing from the theoretical perspective chosen for the paper, key etiological factors are presented and described. Paper reports on factors contributing to the development and/or maintenance of the disorder. Etiological explanations are thorough, based in research, and critically examined.

15 / 14 / 13                            12 / 11                                   10 / 9 / 8                               7 / 6

Excellent                                Very Good                             Fair                                        Poor

Child Psychopathology Research Paper Treatment (15 points)

Paper presents on best practices treatment from the theoretical perspective chosen. Paper describes primary elements of treatment, as well as relevant information (if available) on treatment efficacy and any differences reported in the literature based on age, gender, racial/ethnic background. Paper presents a critical analysis of the treatment.

15 / 14 / 13                            12 / 11                                   10 / 9 / 8                             7 / 6

Excellent                                Very Good                              Fair                                    Poor

Scientific Content and Critique of Literature (20 points)

Writing demonstrates a clear scientific understanding of the mental disorder as described in the research literature. Presents a critical analysis of the literature. Logical arguments are well-constructed from up-to-date scientific source material. Ideas are discussed fully and completely. Research chosen is relevant to the topic and helps strengthen the arguments made in the paper.

20 / 19 / 18                         17 / 16                                   15 / 14                                   13 / 12

Excellent                              Very Good                             Fair                                        Poor

Writing Style (15 points)

Demonstrates a clear and logical organization of ideas. Clear topic sentences, strong supporting paragraphs, and well-conceived conclusion. Excellent flow, pacing, and wording. Language is professional and clear. No problems with grammar, spelling, or punctuation. APA style is used correctly for in-text citations and reference page.

15 / 14 / 13                            12 / 11                                    10 / 9 / 8                              7 / 6

Excellent                                Very Good                              Fair                                      Poor