Developmental Psychopathology

Term Paper Marking Scheme

The term paper will describe a specific form of child/adolescent disorder. The paper will take a developmental psychopathology approach to the disorder, so it will be necessary to incorporate what you learn in the lectures into the paper. In examining the disorder, it will be necessary to discuss some aspect of the environment (e.g., neighbourhood, family, early experience), some aspect of biology (e.g., genetics, brain structure, brain function), and their integration. The paper will not exceed 7 pages (not including cover page, abstract, and references) of double spaced, 12-point font, with 1” margins. The paper should be written in APA format, including references. Please consult with the instructor or one of the TA’s if you are unsure that the topic you are proposing is appropriate. An exemplar paper, written by a student in a previous year, is posted on D2L. (Please note that exemplar has 8 pages but this assignment involves a maximum of 7 pages.)

 

  1. Organization and clarity (25)
  • Clear definition of topic             (5)
  • Logical flow of material (may include judicious use of headings) (5)
  • Writing is easy to follow, easy to understand, well composed and readable (5)
  • Summary of the main points of paper included (5)
  • Accurate mechanics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, and explanation of unusual terms) (5)

 

  1. Use of developmental psychopathology theory as the organizing framework for paper’s thesis (implicit or explicit) (5)

 

  1. Depth of coverage of complexity of discussion and integration (20)
  • Depth of coverage of environmental factors (5)
  • Depth of coverage of biological factors (5)
  • Integration
    • Across studies (5)
    • Across environmental and biological factors                                    (5)

 

  1. Originality — extent to which the paper represents an interesting or compelling perspective on the literature to shed light on what is known in the field and what else needs to be known. This could include critical perspective on studies (or some set of studies) to date. (10)
  • Misrepresents or does not represent the literature (0-1)
  • Represents the literature, but poorly, perhaps uncritically (2-3)
  • Represents the literature adequately (4-6)
  • Represents the literature well (7-8)
  • Goes beyond the literature with well substantiated model or theory (9-10)

 

  1. APA style (5)
  • not APA or difficult to recognise as such (0)
  • APA style, but poorly represented (1-2)
  • APA style, well executed but imperfect (3-4)
  • Complies with all basic APA style conventions (5)

 

 

Key Principles of Developmental Psychopathology Approach

 

  1. Typical and atypical development are aspects of same continuum and mutually informative.
  2. Psychopathology is dynamic, encompassing both continuous and discontinuous processes.
  3. Development spans multiple levels from neuron to neighbourhood, from molecule to chronosystem and macrosystem and back again
  4. Development involves both risk and protective factors that interact to shape psychopathology.
  5. Development is reciprocal and transactional (not linear).
  6. Disorder is located in the dynamic relation between the individual and their internal and external contexts.
  7. Context is important (e.g., resource availability, societal values, age).
  8. There are multiple causes (or risk factors) in every event.