Development and Psychopathology

This chapter discusses the principles inherent to a developmental psychopathology perspective. It focuses on the interplay between normality and pathology, the growing acceptance of the importance of a multiple-levels-of-analysis and multidomain approach, and an emphasis on the utilization of a developmental framework for comprehending adaptation and maladaptation across the life course are among those elements that are central to a developmental psychopathology approach. The chapter describes principles that have guided the field of developmental psychopathology. Next, the chapter explicates the definitional parameters of the discipline and discusses issues that are integral to research conducted within a developmental psychopathology framework. It concludes by describing some important future directions for prevention, research on interventions, and research on developmental psychopathology. The power embodied by cross-disciplinary collaborations that utilize multiple-levels-of-analysis methodologies promises to significantly strengthen our capacity to decrease the burden of mental illness for society.