Common and specific features of childhood psychopathology

• Published in: Journal of abnormal psychology (1965) Vol. 107; no. 1; p. 118
• Main Authors: Weiss, B, Süsser, K, Catron, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.02.1998
• Subjects: Child; Child Behavior Disorders - classification; Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Comorbidity; Female; Humans; Internal-External Control; Male; Mental Disorders - classification; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Disorders - psychology; Personality Development; Personality Inventory; Self Concept; Social Environment
• ISSN: 0021-843X
• DOI: 10.1037/0021-843X.107.1.118

This article describes a conceptual and data-analytic model for characterizing different levels of common and specific features of child psychopathology: common features, which differentiate psychopathology from normality; broadband-specific features, which differentiate internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, somatization) from externalizing problems (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity); and narrowband-specific features, which differentiate different narrowband syndromes (e.g., anxiety from somatization, hyperactivity from aggression) within each of the broadband syndromes. As an illustration of the model, data for 6 cognitive variables (e.g., global self-worth, causal attributions) are related to 6 psychopathology domains (e.g., aggression, depression) in a sample of 204 children. It is suggested that common features may be related to severity of psychopathology, whereas specific features may be more related to differentiation of psychopathology.