From categories to dimensions to evaluations : assessment of needs and developmental course of children in special educational settings

Abstract

The aim of the present PhD thesis was: (a) to test the statistical properties and the generalizability of two rating systems that combine both the categorical and dimensional approach, measuring some of the major childhood psychiatric disorders and a two dimensional non-disruptive construct of the psychopathic syndrome respectively, and (b) to apply this approach in the daily clinical and educational practice. For that reason two studies were carried out: a cross-sectional study, where 2.132 parents/caregivers of pre-pubertal children aged 4-12 years old were recruited randomly from the general population of the Netherlands and Greece and a longitudinal study, in which the parents and teachers of 89 children attending a special education school in the Netherlands were followed up for two years. The findings of the present thesis are relevant for the discussion regarding the development of the DSM-V system, as well as they add to the evidence base of the treatment of developmental disorders and specifically for autism. A rating scale combining both approaches can promote early assessment of children at high risk in the general population as well as it can give a better understanding regarding the development of several disorders among clinical populations, so that optimal treatment strategies are planned.