Aggressive behaviors in children and adolescents have undergone important conceptual and definitional modifications in the past two decades. In particular, subtypes of aggression have been proposed that separate the form and the function of the aggressive behaviors (i.e., social vs. physical aggression; reactive vs. proactive aggression).…

Although descriptive and etiological approaches to psychopathology have made notable advances, they seem to have reached a plateau. After reviewing the six approaches to etiology that now preempt the field--ecological, developmental, learning, genetic, internal environment, and neurophysiological models--a second-order model, vulnerability, is…

This paper argues that human agency as a causal factor in behavior must be considered in any model of behavior and behavior disorders. Since human agency is historically tied to the issue of consciousness, to argue that consciousness plays a causal role in behavior requires a plausible explanation of consciousness. This paper proposes that…

This handbook was written to share the feelings, experiences, and knowledge of parents of children with emotional disorders. The first chapter, "Feelings Come First," considers recognition of unusual behavior patterns underlying emotional disturbances and the difficulty of determining their causes, their impact on the family, and coping…