Contemporary characteristics of the developmental age psychopathology

At present time, it may seem that the available therapeutic possibilities and methods have resulted in lower prevalence, and even disappearance, of certain psychopathological entities. The advancement of therapeutic methods has made possible to tackle new issues that are emerging in developmental psychopathology. These issues are directly related to the specifics of the current social sphere, reflecting the turbulent social changes as consequences of globalization and economic instability in the world. Humanitarian crises are ever more often accompanied by increased prevalence of mental disorders and psychological distress of the population in general. Based on child psychiatrists' reports from all corners of the globe, it is evident that the features of developmental psychopathology are constantly changing. The research studies refer to social events and phenomena that in previous decades were not to be found at the fore of clinical entities distribution. Thus, there are research reports on personality disorders in developmental age. Some thirty years ago, opinions were still divided on whether or not there existed personality disorders in developmental age. Nowadays, however, it is an accepted fact among experts that these disorders in youth warrant attention. This prevailing view has instigated research in this domain and now projects are carried out in many countries, so it is safe to say that the research has become global. Furthermore, the researchers' pay much attention to the problem of suicide both in youth and in children. Some special areas of research are being identified, such as the suicide risk assessment in adolescents undergoing short term antidepressant therapy. Latest data show that researchers are more often engaged in parent education, teaching them behaviours they need to raise a child with hyperactivity syndrome. Also, research results on the quality of emotional relationship with adoptive parents have been published with increasing frequency, especially by American authors. The results show that social services are detecting more and more cases of abuse of adopted children. Psychosomatic illnesses and liaison therapy at paediatric wards also feature prominently in current psychopathology. They are followed by issues of mental health of populations in humanitarian crises, including war, hard physical labour and abuse of child labour. The presentation includes a brief overview of psychopathology from the local perspective, with latest examples from clinical practice. The presentation concludes with the constatation that peculiarities of child and adolescent psychopathology follow the dynamic corresponding to the global social changes and increasing economic problems.