Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology is a comprehensive introduction to the field. It covers theoretical and methodological foundations and examines the characteristics, epidemiology, etiology, developmental course, assessment, and treatment of disorders of childhood and adolescence. At the heart of the text is the partnership of the developmental psychopathology perspective, which analyzes problems of youth within a developmental context, and a traditional clinical/disorder approach, which underscores the symptoms, causes, and treatments of disorders. Woven throughout the text is the view that behavior stems from the continuous interaction of multiple influences, that the problems of the young are intricately tied to their social and cultural contexts, and that empirical approaches and the scientific method provide the best avenue for understanding the complexity of human behavior. -- Back cover.