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Risks and Outcomes in Developmental Psychopathology

Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF

EDITED BY SIDNEY CROWN and ALAN LEE

Edited by Hans-Christophe Steinhausen & Frank Verhulst. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1999. 332 pp. £47.50 (hb) ISBN 0 19 262799 6

The bringing together of clinical and developmental research perspectives that is intrinsic to the concept of developmental psychopathology has been one of the most important recent advances in the field of child and adolescent psychopathology. Accordingly, I approached this book with a high level of positive anticipation but, unfortunately, I came away gravely disappointed. It does contain useful summaries of research findings on the children of parents with various forms of psychopathology and there are reasonable accounts of many of the major forms of psychopathology that effect young people. All that is good and worthwhile, but there are two major features almost entirely ignored.

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First, developmental perspectives are barely considered. Apart from an account of a questionnaire study of international adoptees and a chapter on child maltreatment, there is no systematic discussion of high risk as defined in terms of psychosocial features (such as family discord, scapegoating or neglect), or prenatal factors other than maternal alcohol consumption (such as very low birth weight or infection) or extrafamilial influences (such as those involved in peer groups, schools or the community). Similarly, key research areas such as Hetherington's studies of parental divorce and remarriage or Dodge's work on attributional biases are not even mentioned. The concepts of resilience and developmental programming are similarly ignored. Developmental psychopathology pioneers such as Cicchetti or Sroufe are not referenced. Child development research as a whole is very inadequately dealt with.

The second extremely surprising omission is genetics. How can a book on risk ignore a field in which there have been huge advances of direct relevance, and in which findings on gene—environment correlation and interactions have forced a reconceptualisation of both how risk factors operate and how environmental risks need to be investigated? All the book does is pay misleading lip-service. Steinhausen claims that "it is quite clear from a large series of studies that alcohol use and abuse are genetically determined" (emphasis added). They are not! Genetic influences are indeed important, but they are not determinative. Taylor rightly says that "genetic influences on hyperactive behaviour are known to be strong", but gives no details. Gillberg manages to discuss risk factors for autism without even mentioning genetics (a remarkable feat), and the same applies to McClellan and Werry's account of schizophrenia. As a consequence, the book has a very old-fashioned feel and readers are left with no idea of how research is moving ahead, let alone how it is likely to affect clinical practice. I am astonished that the very distinguished contributors to this edited volume allowed themselves to be constrained in the way that seems to have been the case. Regretfully, not a book I can recommend.

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rutter, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Rutter, M.