Shermerhorn, Chow & Cummings  (2010, as cited in Kramer, 2013) described that when parental conflict effect children and adolescents, there is an increase emotional and behavioral problems. Additionally, during high levels of negative exchange, the children tend to blame themselves for their parent’s conflicts and feel emotionally insecure.


Inter-parental Conflict

Parent training worked better for younger than older children from. The understanding of the importance of intervening early in the developmental cycle, childhood to middle adolescence.

Importance of Parent Training

Set of family intervention using evidence-based strategies in family behavior therapy that addresses:

- Family formation and adaptation (Family Check-Up Model
- Family disruption and maladaptation (Parent Management Training - Oregon Model)
- Family attenuation and dissolution (Treatment Foster Care - Oregon Model)

Oregon Model of Behavior Family Therapy (OM)

Hyperactive & Antisocial Behaviors, in Preschoolers

10-18 months
- Unresponsive Mother & Irritable Infant

24-32 Months
- Child is coercive & unskilled & Ineffective parenting and discipline, ineffective teaching, uninvolved parenting

48 Months
- Labelled “Hyperactive”

72 Months 
- Labeled “Antisocial” & Parents are antisocial

Progression Model

Strong correlation with hyperactivity and antisocial behavior. However, the relationship between the two is mediated by parental discipline practices.

Parent Discipline

Parental beliefs, values, norms, standards, attitudes about parenting are directly related to child outcomes. 

Consequently, failures in parenting such as parental rejection, parental depression, parental anger, parental low self-esteem, negative perceptions of the child are directly related to child deviant outcomes.

Parental Beliefs

Inadequate discipline and poor parental monitoring are key factors in the antisocial behavior. Discipline and the use of positive reinforcement play a central role in the development of a child’s competence.

Role in Coercion Theory

Fear tendencies for children and adolescents 

- Children ages 2-4, imaginary creatures and the dark
- Children ages 5-7, natural disasters, injury, animals
- Children ages 8-11, poor academic and athletic performance
- Adolescents 12-18, peer rejection



Developmental Considerations for Clinical Child Psychology

Beginning as early as 1 year old, the child’s ability to pick up emotional cues from others in their environment.

Social Referencing in Children

Insecure-Ambivalent - No interest in exploration, ineffective in receiving comfort from caregiver when angry or resists contact from them.

Insecure-Avoidant - Explores but does not seek affection when reunited with parent.

Secure - explore freely when parent is present. Looks to parent for emotional cues during signs of distress.


Insecure-Avoidant, Insecure Ambivalent, & Secure Attachment Descriptions

Patterson (1982, as cited in Kramer, 2013) argued that parental behavior alters the probability of child responses. Differences in family interactions of nonaggressive and aggressive children were found that aggressive children were twice as likely as nonaggressive children to persist in behavior following parental punishment.  Parent-child interaction is reciprocal and “teach” each other behaviors that lead to child aggression.  


Arizona State University

Early 20th century, Childhood was largely overlooked and treated as a downward extension of adult psychopathology which downplayed the nature of childhood. 1950’s-70’s Clinical Child Psychologists uncovered the limitations of relevance of adult-centered approaches to therapy. In the 1980’s DSM-III included developmental considerations in the diagnostic criteria for childhood disorders. From 1994-2013 DSM-IV contains infants, children, and adolescents, and DSM-5 includes clinical child psychology. By the 2000’s to present developmental psychopathology evolved to study childhood disorders . Currently developmental psychopathologists study the development of children and protective factors of prevention for at risk populations.


Clinical Child Psychology 

Kramer, G. P., Bernstein, D. A., & Phares, V. (2013). Introduction to clinical psychology (8th ed.). Pearson. 


References for Clinical Child Psychology

Parent-Child Interaction Patterns

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. DSM-5 Changes: Implications for Child Serious Emotional Disturbance [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2016 Jun. Table 17, DSM-IV to DSM-5 Conduct Disorder Comparison. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t13/


[DSM-V] Conduct Disorder

Behavior that violates social norms, disregards others that can lead to harm. This includes rule-breaking, lying, aggression and theft in children.

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