Developmental psychopathology: Concepts and challenges

The defining features of developmental psychopathology concepts include att ention to the understanding of causal processes, appreciation of the role o f developmental mechanisms, and consideration of continuities and discontin uities between normality and psychopathology. Accomplishments with respect to these issues are reviewed in relation to attachment disorders, antisocia l behavior, autism, depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and intellectual de velopment. Major research challenges remain in relation to measurement issu es, comorbidity, gender differences, cognitive processing, nature-nurture i nterplay, heterotypic continuity, continuities between normal variations an d disorders, developmental programming, and therapeutic mechanisms in effec tive treatments.