Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Adolescents : Nature, Assessment, and Treatment

Systematic, authoritative, and timely, this is an outstanding reference and text for anyone working with or studying adolescents. More than 50 leading experts comprehensively review current knowledge on adolescent externalizing disorders, internalizing disorders, developmental disorders, personality and health-related disorders, gender identity and sexual disorders, and maltreatment and trauma. Chapters identify the core features of each disorder; explore its etiology, course, and outcome; address diagnostic issues specific to adolescents; and describe effective assessment and treatment approaches. The book also provides an integrative conceptual framework for understanding both healthy and maladaptive adolescent development. Doody Review Services Reviewer: Christopher J. Graver, PhD(Madigan Army Medical Center) Description: The authors of this book on the behavioral and emotional problems of adolescence discuss a framework for understanding healthy and maladaptive behavior, present pertinent research regarding frequently encountered problems in adolescence, and include information on the clinical implications of the latest research findings on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Purpose: The book is intended to fill a gap in the professional literature between disorders of childhood and those of adulthood. It brings together many experts involved in clinical and research activities related to disorders of adolescence in order to update the current knowledge base. The book aims to provide an "integrative state-of-the-art account of what is current known about behavioral and emotional disorders in adolescents. Audience: According to the authors, this book is intended for child and adolescent clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, school psychologists, social workers, and practitioners and researchers in related fields. It is quite appropriate for these audiences. The contributors are certainly well qualified to provide an accurate account of the current knowledge in this field. Features: The book is primarily focused on diagnosable psychopathology, but also includes chapters on maladaptive behaviors in adolescence, such as deviant behavior, sexual risk behavior, and responses to chronic illness. It covers the major psychological illnesses, including ADHD, major depressive disorder, learning disabilities and pervasive developmental disorders, and personality disorders. The chapters are expansive in their coverage of these problems, and often include a history, diagnostic criteria, theoretical perspectives, biological studies, and behavioral and pharmacological interventions. Unfortunately, this book has several drawbacks. The first is the relative lack of illustrations, figures, or tables to help summarize the abundance of information. The other drawback, and perhaps the more critical, is that it fails to present much in the way of cutting-edge research. There are few references to studies conducted in the 21st century and the lack of up-to-date information is apparent in several areas. For example, the chapter on learning disabilities refers to a long history of research culminating in the mid-1990s with the idea that learning disabilities are defined by an IQ-achievement discrepancy, but fails to present more recent frameworks suggested by authors such as Hale and Fiorello (2004). Assessment: Overall, this is a useful reference for a wide variety of behavioral and emotional problems in adolescence. It provides relevant background information regarding these disorders and the clinically relevant sections on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention are worthwhile. On the other hand, it is a dense book that is, at times, lacking in state-of-the-art scholarship. It does fill a gap in the literature, but readers interested in cutting-edge research on this topic would be better served by accessing current journals. "This groundbreaking volume brings together more than 50 leading authorities to review current knowledge on adolescent disorders: how they develop, their relationship to earlier childhood trajectories and adult outcomes, and effective strategies for diagnosis and treatment. Comprehensive and timely, this is an outstanding reference and text for anyone working with or studying adolescents and their families."--Jacket