B024382 - ELEMENTS OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Italian

Basic concepts of psychopathology and attachment theory, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Externalizing and Internalizing Disorders in the developmental age, Other Psychopathological Diagnoses in developmental age (i.e., detectable in both kindergarten and primary school).

Basic and mandatory books:
- Strepparava, M. G., & Iacchia, E. (2012). Psicopatologia Cognitiva dello Sviluppo. Bambini difficili o relazioni difficili?. Raffaello Cortina Editore.
- Slides and material provided by the teacher.

Optional books:
- Celi, F., & Fontana, D. (2022). Psicopatologia dello Sviluppo. Storie di Bambini e Psicoterapia, IV Edizione. McGraw Hill Education
Recommended for non-attending students due to the presence of clinical cases as a support for understanding the various psychopathological disorders
- Tambelli, R. (2017). Manuale di Psicopatologia dell’Infanzia. Il Mulino
Recommended for those who want to deepen the psychodynamic approach

Knowledge and understanding skills
The course will allow you to acquire the fundamental knowledge:
- On developmental psychopathological disorders
- Relating to risk and protective factors of psychopathological disorders in developmental age
- For the educational management of children with a psychopathological diagnosis, with particular attention to distinguishing the role of the teacher from that of the psychologist

Knowledge and applied comprehension skills
The course, also through clinical examples, will favor the following objectives:
- Acquire a scientific lexicon appropriate to the subject
- Distinguish normal conditions from psychopathology, on the basis of the current criteria for defining a psychological disorder
- Recognize the multifactorial etiology of psychological disorders in developmental age
- Recognize the importance of identifying the child's resources with a psychopathological diagnosis, and the environment in which he lives, in order to promote learning, well-being, and adaptation to school of the child

Autonomy of judgment
Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding:
- The complexity of the diagnostic and differential process, emphasizing that the diagnosis is not the teacher's duty
- The importance, for educational purposes, of understanding the symptomatology of the child, in order to identify the student's strengths and improve his academic performance, as well as his well-being and his adaptation to school

Communicative skills
The course will provide the knowledge necessary for:
- Understand and correctly use the diagnostic definitions on the basis of the DSM-5, in order to facilitate communication between professionals
- Understand the appropriate ways of interacting with children and their parents, in order to establish collaboration aimed at promoting an adequate educational process.

Ability to Learn
The course will allow to integrate new knowledge with those previously acquired in other courses, in order to create useful links and connections.

Development Psychology

Knowledge and understanding skills: Lessons

Knowledge and applied comprehension skills: During the lessons, exercises and examples on clinical cases will be conducted, in order to exemplify the way in which the theoretical knowledge acquired can be put into practice.

Autonomy of judgment: During the lessons, a critical approach to the analyzed concepts will be used, in order to make habitual students' discussion and reflection of scientific concepts and theories.

Communicative skills: During the lessons, it will be used a language that allows students to learn the main technical terms of the discipline, and that constitutes examples of useful communication methods to be used in a diversified way with parents, colleagues and other professionals. Furthermore, the methods of communication suitable for the management of children with different psychopathological disorders will be presented, also through examples.

Ability to Learn: Frontal lessons.

Attendance is not mandatory.

Knowledge and understanding skills: Written exam with multiple choice questions

Knowledge and applied comprehension skills: Exercises in the classroom

Autonomy of judgment: During the written exam, request for critical judgments on specific theses supported in textbooks.

Communicative skills: During the written exam, it will be assessed the technical appropriateness of the language used and the conceptual clarity of the presentation of the concepts.

Ability to Learn: During the written exam, it will be assessed the ability to develop links and connections between topics covered not only within the specific course, but also related to previous courses of the course of study.

The exam will be in written form, and it will include 22 multiple choice questions

- Basic concepts of psychopathology and attachment theory
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Intellectual Disability, Borderline Intellectual Functioning, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disorders, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- Externalizing Disorders: Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder
- Internalizing Disorders: Separation Anxiety Disorder, Specific Phobia, Selective Mutism, Social Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Depression
- Other Disorders: Sleep Disorders, Tic Disorders, Language Disorders, Evacuation Disorders, Somatoform and Eating Disorders