Gender Disorders and Gender Dysphoria
Gender Disorders and Gender Dysphoria BACKGROUND Gender identity refers to a person’s fundamental sense of their own gender. For most children, an awareness of core gender identity (one’s sense of…
Disorders of Elimination: Enuresis and Encopresis
Disorders of Elimination: Enuresis and Encopresis BACKGROUND Helping children acquire bowel and bladder control is, of course, a long-standing problem to parents throughout history (Glicklich, 1951). Typically, this is accomplished…
Somatic Symptoms and Somatoform Disorders
Somatic Symptoms and Somatoform Disorders BACKGROUND Persistent somatic symptoms and complaints are present in many children and adolescents and cause both suffering and functional impairment (Dell & Campo, 2011; Marwah…
Eating and Feeding Disorders
Eating and Feeding Disorders BACKGROUND Eating is of obvious and critical importance to the development, health, and, indeed, the survival of children. Eating is among the very earliest of the…
Tic Disorders
Tic Disorders BACKGROUND Tics are sudden, repetitive movements and vocalizations that typically are brief but occur in bouts. For example, blinking, nose twitching, and rapid jerking of any part of…
Childhood Schizophrenia and Childhood Psychosis
Childhood Schizophrenia and Childhood Psychosis BACKGROUND Interest in psychotic disorders in childhood is a relatively recent historical phenomenon. As commonly used, the term psychotic can itself be problematic given the…
Depressive and Bipolar Disorders
Depressive and Bipolar Disorders BACKGROUND Although described in adults since antiquity, depressive disorders were only recognized in children beginning in the 1980s. Until that time, it was assumed, largely for…
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder BACKGROUND Metaphors used to describe the human brain, such as that of a highly efficient computer, often convey an image of impeccable organization and control. Yet the thoughts,…
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorders BACKGROUND Human beings, like all other organisms, are equipped with systems for the detection of potentially harmful stimuli and for differentiating between that which is harmful and that…
Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders
Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders For developing children, the abilities to learn self-control and to modulate aggressive impulses are important developmental tasks. This learning is fostered by the social contexts…
