Book News

Increasing Awareness of Child andAdolescent Mental HealthE. Garralda & J.P. Raynaud (Eds.)Lanham: Jason Aronson, 2010. pp.

338. £21.95 (pb). ISBN: 978-0-7657-

0662-1.

This 16th volume in the InternationalAssociation for Child and AdolescentPsychiatry and Allied Professionals(IACAPAP) series marks the 2010 worldIACAPAP congress in Beijing. It providesan update on themes that affect childandadolescentmental health, and thosethat are relevant to clinicians through-out the world. Some 300 pages take usthrough a dizzying array of topics asdiverse as the �one child� policy in China,paediatric psychosomaticmedicine, andthe development of child mental healthservices in Eastern Europe.Chapters are authored by experi-

enced clinicians in their field and highlevels of evidence are provided. One iswritten as a collaboration with clini-cians from Brazil and the USA, whocomment on the cultural and theoreti-cal boundaries of ADHD. Evidence todispute ADHD as a culture-bounddisorder is discussed. The authors pro-pose that cross-national studies needto use standardised methodologicalapproaches to facilitate the interpreta-tion and replication of results. Thisissue applies to all areas consideredhere and highlights the need for coor-dinated trans-cultural research pro-grammes.Two chapters consider the possible

increase in autism rates and usingtraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) asa form of treatment. Increased detectionrates, changed definitions and increasedwillingness to address symptoms per-haps account for the upward trend inprevalence rates. However, socialchanges and potential environmentalfactors are also taken into account.Possible causes of autism, accordingto TCM, include parental psychoneuro-sis; imbalance of yin and yang; birthinjury causing infantile stagnation of Qiand blood; and excessive intake of fatand sweet food. The authors suggestthat there is a lack of consensus regard-ing the number, or combination, ofacupoints, the duration of treatmentfor autistic spectrum disorders or whichoutcome measures to use. Neverthe-less, they agree that acupuncture hasa beneficial effect on ASD, allowingsome patients to live a relatively normallife. Whilst many practitioners in the UKwould have limited access to suchtreatments, this is a fascinating arearequiring further research.

This book will appeal to more matureclinicians looking for a fresh perspectiveon their own practice, those with aninterest in international issues or sim-ply those looking to keep an open mind.

Sasha Hvidsten

Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit,

Huntercombe Hospital, Stafford

Depression in Parents, Parenting,and Children: Opportunities toImprove Identification, Treatment,and PreventionM.J. England & L.J. Sim (Eds.)Washington, DC: National Academies

Press, 2010. pp. 488. £30.00 (hb).

ISBN: 978-0-309-12178-1.

The high prevalence of adult depressionis well known, yet how it affects parentsand parenting is often overlooked inpractice. It is estimated that 15.6 mil-lion children in the USA have been livingwith a parent who had depression in thepast year. This is a report by theNational Research Council in the USA,which conducted a thorough review ofthe evidence in this area and makesrecommendations to the US govern-ment. The Committee members are emi-nent academics and clinicians across arange of disciplines, including paediat-rics, child psychiatry and psychology.They assert that depression impairs theability to parent, which in turn impactson children�s social and psychologicaldevelopment. Adult mental health ser-vices may assess and treat a parent inisolation without consideration of theircontext within a family. Comorbidities,such as substance misuse, as well associal issues, including poverty andlanguage barriers, can exacerbate theproblems and impair access to treat-ment.

The book starts with key conclusionsbefore presenting the evidence in detail,with chapters on aetiology, screening,treatment and prevention of depressionin parents. The authors promote anideal �two-generation model� of earlyintervention in parental depression.They conclude with seven key recom-mendations, including: developingstrategies for targeting depression inparents and vulnerable groups; inte-grating this into public health policy;advising that insurance providers offeradequate cover; and implementing acollaborative research agenda to ad-dress knowledge gaps.

This report makes bold conclusionsand recommendations regarding social

inequalities and mental health. This istimely given the current evolution ofthe US healthcare system, and is anambitious and important review of theevidence in this area. It is well-refer-enced and surprisingly readable forsuch a detailed text. Although it is aUS-based report, the evidence referencedis international and the describedhealth inequalities are of worldwiderelevance.

This book will be essential reading forclinicians working in the fields of peri-natal psychiatry or parental mentalhealth, and will be of interest to anyoneworking with children who are livingwith parents suffering from depression.

Liz Searle

Great Ormond Street/Royal London

Hospitals Higher Training Scheme

Handbook of Child and AdolescentPsychopathyR.T. Salekin & D.R. Lynam (Eds.)New York: The Guilford Press, 2010. pp.

450. £41.00 (hb). ISBN: 978-1-60623-

682-6.

Investigating the developmental ante-cedents of psychopathy is an area thathas gained momentum since the1990s, when researchers started tothink about psychopathic traits inchildren and adolescents. This bookrepresents the first bringing togetherof leading research scientists and cli-nicians to present a thorough exami-nation of how and why psychopathictraits might be applied to children.Each chapter is authored by interna-tional experts who write with a criticaleye and in a context of developmentaldifferences.

For those familiar with Chris Patrick�s2006 Handbook of psychopathy, thisbook follows a similar line of enquiry,covering classification, assessment andcritical evaluations of the aetiologicaltheories, including genetic and environ-mental influences, personality andcognitive neuroscience perspectives.Importantly, there is a section on thestability and predictive validity of thesetraits. The authors also consider psy-chopathic traits against other childhoodpsychopathologies, including ADHD,substance abuse and trauma. One ofthe key points made is that psychopa-thy is not necessarily a stable trait andthat there is scope for identifying pro-tective factors, which may moderate thedevelopment of psychopathic traits orassociated antisocial behaviour. Onesection focuses on special populations

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Volume 16, No. 3, 2011, pp 172–175

� 2011 The Authors. Child and Adolescent Mental Health � 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA

and considerations, including a discus-sion of possible gender and culturaldifferences (most of this research hasbeen carried out with white males), andissues relevant to forensic assessmentand report writing. Of particular inter-est is a chapter on treatment, includingproblem areas that intervention wouldneed to consider, and the need to eval-uate the outcomes of such interven-tions.Although the current evidencebase for

some topics is still somewhat limited, theauthorsdoanexcellent jobof pickingoutrelevant findings from adult psychopa-thy literature to illustrate theories and toindicate where the child and adolescentfield should focus its efforts. The bookwill be a valuable resource for clinicians,forensic or educational practitionersworking with children or adolescentswith antisocial behaviour problems, asit givesa critical and illustrative overviewof psychopathic traits of young people. Itshould also prove a useful resource forresearchers.Oneof the strengths of eachchapter is to discuss so-far unansweredquestions and the merit in pursuingdifferent lines of enquiry. This bookshouldalsoberecommendedtostudentsof childpsychopathology or forensic psy-chology, as it provides very up-to-datetheories and tackles current debates in astraightforward and sensitive manner.

Alice Jones

Goldsmiths,

University of London

Marital Conflict and Children: AnEmotional Security PerspectiveE.M. Cummings & P.T. DaviesNew York: The Guilford Press, 2010. pp.

316. £24.30 (hb). ISBN: 978-1-60623-

519-5.

The theme of this book is the relation-ship between marital conflict, emotionalsecurity and child adjustment. Theauthors describe emotional securitytheory as extending the secure baseideas of attachment theory beyond themother–child relationship. However, Istruggled with the emphasis on maritalconflict and the scant attention paid tocontexts such as poverty, diverse familyforms, race and culture, or to thepossible differences in the effects ofviolence for boys and girls.The book draws on a range of

research programmes to focus on theeffect of marital conflict on differentaspects of children�s development overtime. The effects of such conflict aresimilar to those we see in children whohave experienced trauma in its widestsense, including relationship learning,the ability to develop peer relationshipsand the tendency to exhibit externalis-ing behaviours. The book provides some

useful information on different ways ofunderstanding the effects of couple-conflict on children.

Sara Barratt

The Tavistock and Portman NHS

Foundation Trust, London

The Extremes of the Bell Curve:Excellent and Poor School Perfor-mance and Risk for Severe MentalDisordersJ.H. MacCabeHove: Psychology Press, 2010. pp. 196.

£25.95 (hb). ISBN: 978-1-84872-045-9.

This book forms part of the MaudsleyMonographs series. It describes aresearch programme that uses popula-tion databases and clinical registries tostudy school performance (as assessedby grade-point average) in relation tosubsequent severe mental illness,namely schizophrenia, schizo-affectivedisorder and bipolar disorder. It iswritten clearly and covers the researchprogramme and context in comprehen-sive detail, including a fascinatingchapter on intelligence, creativity andmental illness. In the introduction,MacCabe states that he has aimed forthe book to be as accessible as possibleand not to be purely for mental healthresearchers and practitioners. Indeed,he is meticulous in defining all thetechnical terms. However, as his topicdeals with the details of a researchprogramme, those unfamiliar with re-search and clinical terms might need tokeep a dictionary handy or they mayneed to keep turning back to check thedefinitions of terms. His book providesdetail on study methods and terms thatwould be interesting and informative tothose who are less familiar to research,but which could be skipped over by theexperienced researcher. The investiga-tion is rigorously carried out andreported, and the topic raises manyresearch and clinical questions aboutthe nature of psychosis. I wouldstrongly recommend it for anyone whois interested in this area.

Tamsin Ford

Peninsula Medical School,

University of Exeter

Supporting Traumatized Childrenand Teenagers: A Guide to Provid-ing Understanding and HelpA. DyregrovLondon: Jessica Kingsley Publishers,

2010. pp. 240. £19.99 (pb). ISBN: 978-

1-84905-034-0.

Working with traumatised young peopleis likely to be daunting for any profes-sional; when others are most in need of

guidance, professionals may feel leastable to provide it. The practical empha-sis and confident tone of this volume isa welcome addition to the toolkit ofanyone working in this area. Atle Dyre-grov has an eminent international rep-utation and his breadth of knowledgeand experience is clear throughout.Personal accounts of those workingwith traumatised young people, as wellas the voices of young people, are rep-resented in the form of vignettes, whichemphasize the individual nature of thetrauma and therapeutic work. Theavailable literature on trauma in chil-dren and young people is used to goodeffect, despite the many gaps and areasfor further development.

This book faces the challenge of beingsufficiently comprehensive to take inthe complexity of trauma and itscauses, while also being accessibleand practical. A fine balance is achievedbetween the commonalities and differ-ences in the experience and treatmentof trauma. In explaining trauma, Dyre-grov emphasizes the adaptive functionof young people�s reaction to traumaticevents and how such a response canlead to particular experiences commonto many young people and ultimately topathology. He also focuses on individ-ual differences and predictive risk fac-tors that are important in trauma, andoffers a risk profile to be used followinga potentially traumatic event.

The reciprocity between traumaticevents and child development are refer-enced throughout, which emphasizesthe additional complexity of workingwith children and adolescents. Theoptions for treatment of trauma (inparticular, PTSD) are reviewed and theevidence base of such treatments exam-ined, but often further information issignposted rather than discussed indetail. Dyregrov excels in detailing thesteps to be taken immediately after apotentially traumatic event and evenincludes possible scripts to be used byprofessionals, as well as advice forschools on preventing and managingpotential or actual traumatic events.

While the book is very successful inproviding a comprehensive and practi-cal account of the area, the scope andcomplexity of the subject may make thisdifficult reading for those withoutknowledge of child development and abasic understanding of supportingthose dealing with grief. At times thisbook may challenge or contradict cul-tural traditions, or tacitly held assump-tions, but ultimately it gives clear andwelcome guidance. I would recommendthis book to other professionals and,indeed, have already done so.

Tara Kealy

Western Education and Library Board,

Armagh, Tyrone

Book News 173

� 2011 The Authors. Child and Adolescent Mental Health � 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.