Psychodiagnostic Chart-Child (PDC-C): a valid and clinically sensitive diagnostic tool for patient-tailored intervention planning

Heterotypic and homotypic continuity in psychopathology: a narrative review

Psychopathology is a process: it unfolds over time and involves several different factors. To extend our knowledge of such process, it is vital to understand the trajectories that lead to developing and maintaining a specific disorder. The construct of continuity appears very useful to this aim. It refers to the consistency, similarity, and predictability of behaviors or internal states across different developmental phases. This paper aims to present a narrative review of the literature on homotypic and heterotypic continuity of psychopathology across the lifespan. A detailed search of the published literature was conducted using the PsycINFO Record and Medline (PubMed) databases. Articles were included in the review based on the following criteria: (1) publication dates ranging from January 1970 to October 2022; and (2) articles being written in the English language. To ensure a thorough investigation, multiple combinations of keywords such as "continuity," "psychopathology," "infancy," "childhood," "adolescence," "adulthood," "homotypic," and "heterotypic" were used. Articles were excluded if exclusively focused on epidemiologic data and if not specifically addressing the topic of psychopathology continuity. The literature yielded a total of 36 longitudinal studies and an additional 190 articles, spanning the research published between 1970 and 2022. Studies on continuity focus on the etiology of different forms of mental disorders and may represent a fundamental resource from both a theoretical and clinical perspective. Enhancing our understanding of the different trajectories beneath psychopathology may allow clinicians to implement more effective strategies, focusing both on prevention and intervention. Since literature highlights the importance of early detection of clinical signs of psychopathology, future research should focus more on infancy and pre-scholar age.

From symptoms to subjective and bodily experiences: the contribution of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2) to diagnosis and treatment monitoring in eating disorders

PURPOSE

Atheoretical and descriptive conceptualizations of eating disorders (EDs) have faced substantial criticism due to their limited ability to assess patients' subjective characteristics and experiences, as needed to determine the most appropriate treatment options. The present article provides an overview of the clinical and empirical literature supporting the potential contribution of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2) to both diagnostic assessment and treatment monitoring.

METHODS

Following a discussion of the most relevant shortcomings of current diagnostic models of EDs and a description of the rationale and structure of the PDM-2, evidence supporting the core PDM-2 dimensions of ED patients' subjective experiences (i.e., affective states, cognitive processes, relational patterns, somatic/bodily experiences and states) are examined, alongside their relevance to ED diagnosis and treatment.

RESULTS

Overall, the reviewed studies support the diagnostic importance of these patterns of subjective experiences in EDs, highlighting their potential role as either predisposing or maintaining factors to target in psychotherapy. A growing body of multidisciplinary evidence also shows that bodily and somatic experiences are central to the diagnosis and clinical management of ED patients. Moreover, there is evidence that a PDM-based assessment may enable closer monitoring of patient progress during treatment, with regard to both subjective experiences and symptom patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

The study suggests that current diagnostic frameworks for EDs would benefit from the addition of a person-centered perspective that considers not only symptoms, but also patients' full range of functioning-including their deep and surface-level emotional, cognitive, interpersonal, and social patterns-to improve patient-tailored interventions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V, narrative review.

Special issue: <em>Research in child and adolescent psychotherapy</em>

Not available.

Personality Disorders in Childhood: Validity of the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children (CPNI)

BACKGROUND

A growing body of evidence has shown that maladaptive traits and emerging patterns of personality can be traced to an early stage of development and may be assessed in childhood. The goal of present study was to provide preliminary data on the validity of the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children (CPNI), an instrument designed to assess personality pathologies and other clinical conditions in childhood.

METHOD

A sample of 146 clinicians completed the CPNI, as well as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to evaluate the behavioral problems and social competencies, regarding a child (aged 6-11 years) who had been in their care between 2 and 12 months. The clinicians also filled out a clinical questionnaire to provide information on the children, their families, and psychotherapies.

RESULTS

There were significant and clinically consistent associations between the CPNI and CBCL. They confirmed the good concurrent (convergent and discriminant) validity of the CPNI.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings seem to support the validity of the CPNI as diagnostic instrument, taking children's PDs and behavioral problems into account. Despite some limitations, the CPNI represents a helpful measure to evaluate the children's personality configurations according to the DSM model. It may be employed along with other tools based on other diagnostic frameworks within the context of a multi-method and multi-informant assessment to provide an accurate and comprehensive formulation of children's overall functioning.