RPT Child Development & Psychopathology 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A child who has experienced chronic trauma demonstrates hypervigilance, emotional numbing, and avoidance of trauma reminders for over one month. In DSM-5, this presentation is best classified as:
- Acute Stress Disorder
- Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Correct answer)
- Unspecified Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder
Correct answer: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD requires symptoms across four clusters (intrusion, avoidance, negative cognitions/mood, hyperarousal) persisting more than one month following trauma.
Question 2: Which developmental theorist proposed that moral development progresses from 'heteronomous morality' (rules as fixed) to 'autonomous morality' (rules as socially negotiated)?
- Lawrence Kohlberg
- Jean Piaget (Correct answer)
- Carol Gilligan
- Erik Erikson
Correct answer: Jean Piaget
Piaget described two stages of moral development: heteronomous (rules as sacred and fixed) and autonomous (rules as flexible agreements).
Question 3: A play therapist working with a child who has experienced sexual abuse notices the child repeatedly acting out sexual scenarios with anatomically detailed dolls. The most therapeutically appropriate response is to:
- Immediately stop the play and redirect to another activity
- Allow the child to continue while tracking themes and maintaining a safe, boundaried environment (Correct answer)
- Directly interpret to the child that they were abused
- Avoid having anatomically detailed dolls available in the therapy room
Correct answer: Allow the child to continue while tracking themes and maintaining a safe, boundaried environment
Allowing the child to continue while the therapist tracks themes follows nondirective principles, permitting the child to process trauma at their own pace within a safe container.
Question 4: Which of the following is the most accurate description of 'theory of mind' and its typical developmental emergence?
- The ability to understand that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions different from one's own, emerging around age 4 (Correct answer)
- The cognitive ability to solve abstract problems, emerging around age 7
- The understanding that objects have fixed identities, emerging around age 2
- The capacity for empathy and emotional attunement, emerging at birth
Correct answer: The ability to understand that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions different from one's own, emerging around age 4
Theory of mind — understanding that others have independent mental states — typically emerges around age 4, assessed by false-belief tasks.
Question 5: In the context of childhood enuresis, which of the following is true according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria?
- Enuresis can only be diagnosed after age 3
- Enuresis is diagnosed when voiding occurs at least twice weekly for three consecutive months in a child at least 5 years old (Correct answer)
- Enuresis is diagnosed only when an underlying medical condition is present
- Enuresis requires both day and nighttime wetting to meet diagnostic criteria
Correct answer: Enuresis is diagnosed when voiding occurs at least twice weekly for three consecutive months in a child at least 5 years old
DSM-5 requires repeated urination into bed or clothes at least twice weekly for three months (or significant distress/impairment) in a child aged 5 or older.
Question 6: A parent reports that their 3-year-old frequently engages in parallel play but rarely interacts directly with other children. The play therapist's most appropriate response is:
- Refer immediately for autism evaluation, as parallel play is developmentally abnormal at this age
- Reassure the parent that parallel play is developmentally expected and normal for this age (Correct answer)
- Diagnose the child with Social Anxiety Disorder and begin exposure-based play therapy
- Recommend social skills training to remediate the social deficit
Correct answer: Reassure the parent that parallel play is developmentally expected and normal for this age
Parallel play is a normal developmental stage for toddlers and preschoolers, preceding the emergence of cooperative play around ages 4–5.
Question 7: Which of the following is the strongest risk factor for the development of Conduct Disorder in childhood, according to research?
- Being an only child
- Low socioeconomic status alone
- Callous-unemotional traits combined with early-onset aggression (Correct answer)
- High intelligence with poor academic achievement
Correct answer: Callous-unemotional traits combined with early-onset aggression
Callous-unemotional traits (low empathy, reduced guilt) combined with early-onset aggression are among the strongest predictors of persistent Conduct Disorder and poor prognosis.
RPT Child Development & Psychopathology 5
A child who has experienced chronic trauma demonstrates hypervigilance, emotional numbing, and avoidance of trauma reminders for over one month.
In DSM-5, this presentation is best classified as: