The Oxford Handbook of Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Mental Health Assessment

This fully updated new edition of The Oxford Handbook of Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Mental Health Assessment remains the leading reference for those seeking to understand and assess mental health in infants and young children. Detailing the latest empirical research on measures and methods of infant and young child assessment and providing clinically applicable information for practitioners, this handbook takes a closer look at current developmentally based conceptualizations of mental health function and dysfunction in infants and young children as well as current and new diagnostic criteria in specific disorders such as sensory modulation dysfunction, autism spectrum disorders, affective disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Presented in four sections, chapters correspond to four broad themes: contextual factors in early assessment; temperament and regulation in assessment of young children; early problems and disorders; and translation and varied applied settings for assessment. Each chapter presents state of the science information on valid, developmentally based clinical assessment and makes recommendations based on developmental theory, empirical findings, and clinical experience. Chapters have been added to this second edition covering family assessment, early care and educational environments, new approaches for distinguishing temperament from psychopathology, assessing language, and implementing second stage screening and referral. The volume recognizes and highlights the important role of developmental, social, and cultural contexts in approaching the challenge of assessing early problems and disorders. This new, updated volume will be an ideal resource for teachers, researchers, and a wide variety of clinicians and trainees including child psychologists and psychiatrists, early interventionists, and early special educators.

About the Author

Rebecca DelCarmen-Wiggins, PhD is a health scientist administrator and research program officer with expertise in mental health and behavioral issues in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director, Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH). Dr. DelCarmen-Wiggins was previously the Chief of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Early Childhood Research Program in the Division of Developmental Translational Research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Trained as a clinical child psychologist, Dr. DelCarmen-Wiggins is also a licensed psychologist in Washington, DC and Maryland. She is the recipient of a National Service Research Award. She has conducted research studies in the area of infant attachment and has authored or coauthored articles and book chapters in the topic of mental health in young children. Her recent work is focused on advancing women's health and improving how research addresses the influence and intersection of sex and gender in health and disease. Alice Carter, PhD is a Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston working to advance early identification of psychopathology and neurodevelopmental disabilities as well as factors that place children at risk for difficulties in social and emotional development. Dr. Carter was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University with a joint appointment in the Yale Child Study Center. A former fellow of Zero to Three, Dr. Carter is an author or co-author of over 200 articles and chapters and the co-author of the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA) and the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) with Margaret Briggs-Gowan, PhD. Her recent work is focused on addressing health disparities by improving early identification, evaluation, and treatment of infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorders.