TEST BANK
Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology, 4/E
Robert Weis
Chapter 1: The Science and Practice of Abnormal Child
Psychology
Multiple Choice
1. Epidemiologists often report the prevalence of a medical or psychological disorder.
What is “prevalence?”
A. the number of people in a population with a given disorder
B. the percentage of people in a population with a given disorder
C. the number of new cases of a disorder in a population
D. the percentage of new cases of a disorder in a population
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how it
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: How Common Are Mental Disorders in Children?
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Which of the following is NOT an essential component of the DSM-5 definition of a
mental disorder?
A. a pattern of behavior that occurs within an individual
B. a behavior that reflects an underlying dysfunction
C. The consequences of the behavior cause distress or disability.
D. The disturbance is long-lasting.
Ans: D
Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain how mental health professionals diagnose youths using
DSM-5.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: How Does DSM-5 Define Abnormality?
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. How do developmental psychopathologists characterize abnormal behavior?
A. behavior that interferes with children’s competence and does not meet the demands
of the environment
B. behavior that leads to psychological distress, impairment, and risk of harm to self or
others
C. behavior that leads to psychological distress, impairment, or risk of harm to self or
others
D. behavior that is statistically different than the behavior of the typical child
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1.1: Critically evaluate the concept of a mental disorder as it applies
to children and adolescents.
, Weis, Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology, 4e
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Do We Mean by “Abnormal?”
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. What type of treatment do psychologists provide?
A. psychotherapy
B. psychotherapy and nonmedical intervention
C. medical and nonmedical intervention
D. hypnosis
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1.4: Describe the characteristics of evidence-based practice and the
types of professionals who help children and families in need.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Professionals Help Children and Families?
Difficulty Level: Easy
5. Wakefield’s (1992) concept of “harmful dysfunction” ______.
A. provides criteria for differentiating normal from abnormal behavior
B. requires all mental disorders to have an underlying biological cause
C. asserts that genetic and biological factors play a greater role in psychopathology
than social-cultural factors
D. assumes that a biological or medical cause of a person’s psychopathology has been
ruled out before a psychiatric diagnosis is assigned
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain how mental health professionals diagnose youths using
DSM-5.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: What Do We Mean by “Abnormal?”
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Which of the following is true of students providing services to children in need?
A. If students have been trained to provide evidence-based treatment, the treatment will
be effective.
B. Students should not question the evidence for the intervention or the ethics behind
the intervention.
C. Once students have been trained to provide an intervention, it is safe and ethical for
them to do so without supervision.
D. It is recommended that students ask themselves whether there are alternative
services that might provide greater benefits to the clients than the ones being provided.
Ans: D
Learning objective: 1.4: Describe the characteristics of evidence-based practice and the
types of professionals who help children and families in need.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Students as Evidence-Based Helpers
Difficulty Level: Medium
, Weis, Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology, 4e
7. Which of the following statements about prevalence is true?
A. Point prevalence can never be less than lifetime prevalence for a given disorder.
B. Point prevalence can never be more than lifetime prevalence for a given disorder.
C. Only lifetime prevalence measures the percentage of people with a disorder at each
age.
D. Only point prevalence measures the severity of people’s disorders.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how it
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Prevalence and Incidence
Difficulty Level: Hard
8. Which of the following is a challenge mentioned in your text when determining
prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents?
A. There is no single agency that tracks the prevalence of mental disorders in children
and adolescents.
B. There is no standard definition of what constitutes mental disorder.
C. Epidemiological studies use similar methods to collect data.
D. Some people want to participate in multiple prevalence surveys.
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1.2: Explain how mental health professionals diagnose youths using
DSM-5. | 1.3: Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how it varies as a
function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension.
Answer Location: Prevalence and Incidence
Difficulty Level: Medium
9. How has the overall prevalence of mental health disorders among children changed
over the past several decades?
A. It has increased.
B. It has decreased.
C. It has remained unchanged.
D. It increased initially and then decreased to former levels.
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how it
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Prevalence and Incidence
Difficulty Level: Easy
10. Which of the following is true of comorbidity?
A. It is rare.
B. It refers to the experience of having one disorder, recovering, and then having a
different disorder.
C. It is especially common in individuals with depression.
, Weis, Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology, 4e
D. It is much more common in children than in adolescence.
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how it
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Comorbidity and Costs
Difficulty Level: Hard
11. Medication used to treat a psychological disorder is called ______.
A. psychotropic
B. behavioral
C. neurotropic
D. hallucinogenic
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how it
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Use of Medication
Difficulty Level: Easy
12. Which of the following best describes the relationship between psychotropic
medication and age?
A. Adolescents are more likely to receive psychotropic medication, even though they
are less likely than young children to experience psychological disorders.
B. Children are more likely to receive psychotropic medication, typically because their
psychological disorders tend to be more severe than adolescents’.
C. Adolescents are more likely to receive psychotropic medication because they are
more likely to experience psychological disorders, and the severity of these disorders
tends to be greater than the severity of children’s disorders.
D. There are no major differences in the rates of psychotropic medication prescriptions
between children and adults.
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe the prevalence of childhood disorders and how it
varies as a function of children’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Use of Medication
Difficulty Level: Hard
13. What is the difference between evidence-based practice and evidence-based
treatments?
A. In evidence-based treatment, clinicians must tailor interventions to meet needs of
children and families.
B. In evidence-based practice, clinicians must tailor interventions to meet needs of
children and families.
C. In evidence-based treatment, clinicians use a manual to guide treatment.
