Chapter 3- Research

Question 1

what is research

Answer 1

systematic way of finding answers to questions—a method of inquiry that follows certain rules

Question 2

scientific research strategies can be used to understand children with ____

Answer 2

problems and how they can be helped

Question 3

what are unscientific aspects of abnormal child psychology

Answer 3

Folklore, home remedies, and fad treatments ranging from chicken soup to swimming with dolphins

Question 4

why are people skeptical about research in abnormal psychology -5

Answer 4

1. Experts on childhood problems frequently disagree
2. Research studies that appear in mainstream media are frequently oversimplified
3. Findings are often in conflict with one another
4. Research has led to different recommendations regarding how children with problems should be helped
5. Many parents and professionals may dismiss the findings because they have encountered an exception

Question 5

what is facilitated communication

Answer 5

facilitator provides manual assistance by lightly holding a child’s hand, wrist, or arm, while the child supposedly communicates by typing on a keyboard or by pointing to letters on an alphabet board

Question 6

what does the example of facilitated communication show

Answer 6

well-meant but highly controversial and mis-used procedure for teaching children with autism and other impairments to communicate

some of the lessons to be learned when scientific methods and evidence are ignored or dismissed

Question 7

Research in abnormal child psychology is best characterized as a ___

Answer 7

multistage process involving key decisions at various points

Question 8

Step one of the research process

Answer 8

researcher(s) developing a hypothesis (research question) on the basis of observation, theory, and previous findings, and deciding on a general approach to research

Question 9

Step two of the research process

Answer 9

identifying the sample to be studied, selecting measurement methods, and developing a research design and procedures

Question 10

Step three of the research process

Answer 10

​​gathering and analyzing the data and interpreting the results in relation to theory and previous findings in an attempt to resolve the problem that initially led to the research

Question 11

Research questions and topics are often based on ____

Answer 11

theories of atypical development and behavior

Question 12

Questions regarding the nature and distribution of childhood disorders include how disorders are ___, ___ , and ____ at ____

Answer 12

defined, diagnosed, and expressed at different ages and in different settings

Question 13

what is Epidemiological research

Answer 13

study of the incidence, prevalence, and co-occurrence of childhood disorders and competencies in clinic-referred and community samples

Question 14

what are incidence rates
example

Answer 14

reflect the extent to which new cases of a disorder appear over a specified period

(e.g., the number of youths who develop a depressive disorder during the school year)

Question 15

what are prevalence rates
example

Answer 15

refer to all cases, whether new or previously existing, observed during a specified period of time

(e.g., the number of teens with conduct disorder in the general population during 2012 and 2013)

Question 16

estimates of prevalance vary due to -2

Answer 16

which definition we use, with estimates based on single symptoms being much higher than those based on patterns of symptoms

whether cases are defined in terms of patterns of symptoms, impairment in functioning (e.g., difficulties at home or at school), or both

Question 17

about __ to ___ of children worldwide have a clinically diagnosable disorder, and many more exhibit specific symptoms or subclinical problems

Answer 17

10% to 20%

Question 18

The rate and expression of childhood symptoms and disorders often vary in relation to demographic and situational factors like -5

Answer 18

socioeconomic status (SES) (e.g., the social, economic, and physical environment in which the child lives as reflected in measures such as family income, education, or occupation)

parents’ marital status
child’s age
gender
cultural background

Question 19

what are the 3 variables of interest in abnormal psychology

Answer 19

correlates, risk or protective factors, and causes of other variables

Question 20

correlates are variables that are associated at a ___
example

Answer 20

particular point in time with no clear proof that one precedes the other

Whitney’s having no friends is associated with her sadness. Is she sad because she has no friends, or has her sadness prevented her from making friends

Question 21

risk factor is a variable that ___
example

Answer 21

precedes an outcome of interest and increases the chances of a negative outcome

Whitney’s depressed mood got worse following her parents’ divorce. Do you think parental divorce is a risk factor for the development of depression or other problems in children?

Question 22

protective factor is a positive variable that ___
example

Answer 22

precedes an outcome of interest and decreases the chances that a negative outcome will occur.

The close relationship enjoyed by Whitney and her mother may serve as a protective factor against future episodes of depression

Question 23

other variables as causes influence, either directly or indirectly through ___
example

Answer 23

other variables, the occurrence of a behavior or disorder of interest

Tito’s father uses severe punishment when his son misbehaves. Is this punishment a cause of Tito’s aggressive behavior? Is Tito learning aggressive behavior from his father

Question 24

Research into risk and protective factors often requires that ___

Answer 24

large samples of children be studied

that multiple domains of child functioning—physical, cognitive, and psychosocial—be assessed over long periods of time

Question 25

why is it necessary for risk and protective factors to have large samples and multiple domains of child functioning to be assessed- 3

Answer 25

1. only a small proportion of children at risk for a problem will actually develop the disorder 2. the areas of child functioning that will be affected, and how they will be affected, are not known in advance 3. the ages at which a disorder may occur or reoccur are also not known in advance. Sometimes the effects of exposure to a risk factor during infancy or early childhood may not be visible until adolescence or adulthood

Question 26

what are mediating variables

Answer 26

refer to the process, mechanism, or means through which a variable produces a particular outcome describe what happens at the psychological or neurobiological level to explain how one variable results from another

Question 27

what are moderating variables

Answer 27

influence the direction or strength of the relationship of variables of interest The association between two variables depends on or differs as a function of moderating variables, such as the child’s age, sex, SES, or cultural background

Question 28

what is treatment efficacy

Answer 28

refers to whether the treatment can produce changes under well-controlled conditions. In efficacy research, careful control is exercised over the selection of cases, therapists, and delivery and monitoring of treatment.

Question 29

what is treatment effectivness

Answer 29

refers to whether the treatment can be shown to work in clinical practice, not just in well-controlled research settings

Question 30

The study of children’s behavioral and emotional problems requires that the methods we use to measure these problems generate scores that are ___ and ___

Answer 30

reliable and valid

Question 31

what is standardization

Answer 31

process that specifies a set of standards or norms for a method of measurement that are to be used consistently across different assessments of the construct of interest

Question 32

what is reliability

Answer 32

the consistency, or repeatability, of results obtained using a specific method of measurement

Question 33

what is validity

Answer 33

the extent to which it actually measures the dimension or construct that the researcher sets out to measure

Question 34

what is face validity

Answer 34

extent to which it appears to assess the construct of interest

Question 35

what is construct validity what are the 2 components of construct validity

Answer 35

whether scores on a measure behave as predicted by theory or past research 1. convergent validity- reflects the correlation between measures that are expected to be related 2. discriminant validity- refers to the degree of correlation between measures that are not expected to be related to one another

Question 36

what is criterion-related validity 2 types

Answer 36

refers to how well a measure predicts behavior in settings where we would expect it to do so 1. concurrent validity- at the same time 2. predictive validity- in the future

Question 37

what types of measurement methods in abnormal child psychology

Answer 37

Interviews Questionnaires Checklists rating scales psychophysiological recordings brain imaging performance measures direct observations of behavior variety of intellectual, academic, and neuropsychological tests

Question 38

reporting methods assess the ___

Answer 38

perceptions, thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and past experiences of the child, parents, and teachers

Question 39

what is a self-report measure

Answer 39

a child or parent will provide information about his or her own behavior, feelings, and thoughts

Question 40

what is a informant-report method

Answer 40

a person who is well acquainted with the child, usually a parent or a teacher, will provide information about a child’s behaviors, feelings, or thoughts based on his or her observations of the child

Question 41

what are psychophysiological methods

Answer 41

assess the relationship between physiological processes and behavior to identify which nervous system structures and processes contribute to children’s atypical development and behavior

Question 42

what are the most common psychophysiological methods

Answer 42

autonomic nervous system activity like: heart rate blood pressure Breathing pupil dilation electrical conductance of the skin

Question 43

what are neuroimaging methods

Answer 43

used to examine the structure, connections, and/or function of the living brain use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomographic (CT) scans

Question 44

what are observation methods

Answer 44

Using systematic observational methods, a researcher can directly observe the behavior of the child

Question 45

what is a naturalistic observation

Answer 45

conditions that range from unstructured observations in the child’s natural environment

Question 46

what are structured observations

Answer 46

highly structured situations involving specific tasks or instructions usually carried out in the clinic or laboratory especially useful for studying child behaviors that occur infrequently in everyday life

Question 47

Research studies may be examined with respect to their __ and ___

Answer 47

internal and external validity

Question 48

what is internal validity

Answer 48

reflects how much a particular variable, rather than extraneous influences, accounts for the results, changes, or group differences

Question 49

Extraneous influences that could explain the results are called ___ to internal validity

Answer 49

threats

Question 50

what is external validity

Answer 50

refers to the degree to which findings can be generalized, or extended to people, settings, times, measures, and characteristics other than the ones in a particular study

Question 51

what are threats to external validity

Answer 51

characteristics of the participants that apply to some people but not others, the reactivity of subjects to participating in the research, the setting in which the research is carried out, or the time when measurements are made

Question 52

careful definition of the sample is critical for ___

Answer 52

comparability of findings across studies and for clear communication among researchers

Question 53

what is comorbidity

Answer 53

simultaneous occurrence of two or more childhood disorders that is far more common than would be predicted from the general population base rates of the individual disorders

Question 54

Random selection occurs when subjects are drawn from a ___

Answer 54

population in a way that gives each individual in that population an equal chance of being selected for the study

Question 55

samples of convenience subjects are selected for a ___

Answer 55

study merely because of their availability

Question 56

The basic distinction between nonexperimental versus experimental research reflects the ___

Answer 56

degree to which the investigator can manipulate the experimental variable

Question 57

independent variable is

Answer 57

manipulated by the researcher. cause a change in another variable

Question 58

dependent variable is the

Answer 58

variable expected to be influenced by the independent variable

Question 59

in a ____ experiment the researcher has maximum control over the independent variable or conditions of interest and can use random assignment of subjects to groups

Answer 59

true

Question 60

In correlational studies, researchers often examine relationships among variables by using a

Answer 60

correlation coefficient, a number that describes the degree of association between two variables. -1.00 to +1.00

Question 61

In a retrospective design, a sample of people is identified at the

Answer 61

current time and asked for information relating to an earlier time

Question 62

In real-time prospective designs, the research sample is identified and

Answer 62

then followed over time, with data collected at specified time intervals

Question 63

analogue research evaluates a

Answer 63

specific variable of interest under conditions that only resemble or approximate the situation for which one wishes to generalize

Question 64

what does a case study involve

Answer 64

an intensive, usually anecdotal, observation and analysis of an individual child

Question 65

what is a single-case experimental design

Answer 65

most frequently been used to evaluate the impact of a clinical treatment, such as reinforcement or stimulant medication, on a child’s problem

Question 66

what is A-B-A-B reversal design

Answer 66

baseline of behavior is first taken (A), followed by an intervention phase (B), then a return-to-baseline phase during which the intervention is removed (A), and a final phase in which the intervention is reintroduced (B)

Question 67

what is multiple-baseline design

Answer 67

across behaviors, different responses of the same individual are identified and measured over time to provide a baseline against which changes may be evaluated

Question 68

what are between-group comparison designs

Answer 68

comparisons between one group of children assigned to one or more conditions and other groups of children assigned to one or more different conditions Experimental groups vs. Control groups

Question 69

cross-sectional research

Answer 69

different youngsters at different ages or periods of development are studied at the same point in time

Question 70

longitudinal research

Answer 70

the same children are studied at different ages or periods of development

Question 71

what does qualitative research focus on and what is the purpose

Answer 71

narrative accounts, description, interpretation, context, and meaning purpose of qualitative research is to describe, interpret, and understand the phenomenon of interest in the context in which it is experienced

Question 71

what does qualitative research focus on and what is the purpose

Answer 71

narrative accounts, description, interpretation, context, and meaning purpose of qualitative research is to describe, interpret, and understand the phenomenon of interest in the context in which it is experienced

Question 71

what does qualitative research focus on and what is the purpose

Answer 71

narrative accounts, description, interpretation, context, and meaning purpose of qualitative research is to describe, interpret, and understand the phenomenon of interest in the context in which it is experienced

Question 72

Research in abnormal child psychology must meet

Answer 72

certain standards that protect children and families from stressful procedures

Question 73

Current ethical guidelines for research with children are provided through

Answer 73

institutional review boards, federal funding agencies, and professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association, the Society for Research in Child Development, and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Question 74

Ethical standards for research with children attempt to strike a balance between

Answer 74

supporting freedom of scientific inquiry and protecting the rights of privacy and the overall welfare of the research participants

Question 75

what is informed consent

Answer 75

requires that all participants be fully informed of the nature of the research—as well as the risks, benefits, expected outcomes, and alternatives— before they agree to participate

Question 76

what is assent

Answer 76

means that the child shows some form of agreement to participate without necessarily understanding the full significance of the research, which may be beyond younger children’s cognitive capabilities

Question 77

In research with children, one of the most frequently encountered challenges to confidentiality occurs when

Answer 77

the child or parent reveals past abuse or information that would suggest the possibility of future abuse of the child

Question 78

Participation in research is to be

Answer 78

voluntary, yet some individuals may be more susceptible to subtle pressure and coercion than others