ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the complex issue of distinguishing normal from abnormal behaviors and the theoretical perspectives that guide our understanding of child and adolescent psychopathology. It also focuses on the broad challenges facing all clinicians who must distinguishing normal from abnormal behavior and how this decision-making process can be guided by the use of the 4 D's: deviance, dysfunction, distress and danger. Historically, one of the major roadblocks to recognizing child psychopathology as a unique field of study was the tendency to consider child disorders from an adult perspective. Contemporary clinicians often integrate assumptions from several theoretical approaches in their attempt to understand the complex features of childhood disorders. It looks at five different theoretical approaches that can enhance our understanding of childhood disorders: biological, behavioral, cognitive, family systems and psychodynamic.
