Recent decades have seen a steady rise in the incidence of antisocial behavior in youth. Possible direct consequences aside, such behavior is predictive of chronic emotional, educational, vocational, and emotional impairment that is associated with hundreds of millions of dollars in costs to overtaxed mental health, social services, special education, and juvenile justice systems. Written by an eminent group of international experts, Conduct and Oppositional Defiant Disorders: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Treatment offers the first comprehensive cutting-edge overview of all the major aspects of conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children and adolescents. It is organized into three sections. The first summarizes classification and assessment, epidemiology and comorbidity, as well as course and outcome. The second examines factors that put children and adolescents at risk to develop CD and ODD: contextual, familial/genetic, and neuropsychological and neuroendocrine. The third presents numerous empirically supported approaches to prevention and treatment. An epilogue reviews recent progress and unresolved questions, and suggests needs for future research. Special attention is devoted to gender and developmental pathways in etiology, symptom expression, courses, and outcomes. This volume will be crucial reading for all mental health professionals whose work involves them with these exceptionally difficult clients.

A number of emotional and behavioral conditions--including depression, Tourette's syndrome, bipolar disorder, and narcissism--have been viewed as predominantly adult disorders until recently. The author discusses these and other problems that afflict students enrolled in school, and gives guidance to the professionals who work with them.

There was a time when abnormal child psychology was the stepchild of abnormal psychology, with perhaps one or two chapters in an entire advanced textbook devoted to children. Given the explosive amount of new research on child development in general since the 1980s, "stepchild" is obviously no longer a valid characterization. Indeed, in the last 15 years, many new journals devoted to childhood problems have made their appearance on library bookshelves. The first edition of this book was assembled in an effort to integrate the empirical and clinical literatures and show the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate student the breadth and depth of our existing knowledge about the disorders that manifest themselves early in development. Now, since its publication in 1995, a great deal more work has been done. This revised and expanded second edition includes much new material from the first edition authors and from several new ones, all respected experts in the field. Part I offers an overview. It outlines: *historical developments with documentation of the neglect and abuse that children suffered at the hands of society well into the 20th century; *developmental psychopathology as a theoretical framework to guide research and clinical efforts; *psychophysiological determinants of behavior, with special attention focused on childhood autism, and attention deficit and antisocial conduct disorders; *theoretical, methodological, and practical considerations involved in determining investigatory paths including sampling, design selection, measurement, data analysis, and pragmatics; and *the reactions of children, families, and society to complex and diverse child health problems. Part II addresses assessment and treatment issues. It discusses: *behavioral treatment of childhood disorders and multiple case examples of commonly used techniques; *new developments in pharmacological treatment and sound guidelines for the consideration of pharmacotherapy; and *formulations and a review of preventive interventions. Part III examines specific disorders of childhood and adolescence. It discusses: *anxiety disorders, affective and mood disorders, mental retardation, autism, specific developmental disorders, conduct disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and eating disorders; *psychological aspects of pediatric disorders--interventions tailored to the needs of the child and family to maximize adaptation and recovery; and *substance use disorders--ranging from models emphasizing social influences to those focusing on biological vulnerabilities. Each chapter in Part III has an identical structure--clinical description, causes, course, familial contributions, psychological and genetic influences, current treatments, summary--and includes numerous case illustrations.

Families today often face a range of urgent problems, and practitioners need to intervene with the most effective methods possible, methods which have been tested and that have proven clinical utility. Mental health service delivery systems are increasingly moving toward these empirically-validated approaches, and practitioners need guidelines as to how such treatments may be implemented in daily practice. Evidence-Based Family Interventions reviews the empirically validated treatments that are relevant for family practice in the social work setting.