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History and Overview of Childhood Assessment

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Handbook of Childhood Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Assessment

Part of the book series: Autism and Child Psychopathology Series ((ACPS))

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Abstract

The history of childhood assessment began with the development of intelligence testing. Mental health-based assessments followed soon after; however, researchers found that the rates of child and adolescent psychopathology varied based on the scale used. To mitigate this issue, researchers and clinicians focused on using multiple measures of assessment across multiple informants. Other formal methods of assessment including structured interviews, observation, and checklists were also developed to aid in the assessment process. The development of assessment methods with accepted norms, reliability, and validity enhanced the standardization of the diagnostic process and played an important role in differential diagnosis. In this chapter, an overview of the methods of assessment, areas of assessment, and the implications of assessment on diagnosis are discussed in detail.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Johnny L. Matson & Esther Hong

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  1. Johnny L. Matson
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  2. Esther Hong
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Correspondence to Esther Hong .

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  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Johnny L. Matson

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Matson, J.L., Hong, E. (2018). History and Overview of Childhood Assessment. In: Matson, J. (eds) Handbook of Childhood Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Assessment . Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93542-3_1

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