ABPN CAP key terms

The shared focus of two people on the same object or event, often achieved by pointing or following a gaze. It emerges in infancy and supports language learning and social understanding.

An infant's use of a caregiver's facial expression or tone to decide how to respond to an unfamiliar situation. It shows early emotional communication and helps regulate behavior.

The ability to infer that other people have beliefs, desires, and intentions different from one's own. It develops through early childhood and underlies social prediction and empathy.

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. It typically develops in the first two years and marks a shift from sensorimotor to symbolic thought.

Piaget's concept that a quantity stays the same despite changes in its appearance, such as pouring water into a taller glass. It usually appears in middle childhood.

Biologically based individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation, such as activity level, fearfulness, and persistence. Temperament appears early and shapes how children respond to parenting and stress.

The enduring emotional bond between an infant and caregiver that organizes the infant's behavior when distressed or separated. Secure attachment predicts healthier social-emotional adjustment in many contexts.

A process in which functioning in one domain or at one time influences later functioning in another domain, producing spreading effects over development. Examples include early language delays affecting peer relationships.

The principle that different developmental pathways can lead to the same outcome. In child psychiatry, distinct genetic, family, and environmental histories may all result in a similar disorder.

The principle that a single risk factor or early experience can lead to different outcomes across individuals. It highlights variability in developmental psychopathology and the role of protective factors.

A set of mental processes that support planning, working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. These skills develop through adolescence and are often impaired in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions.

Potentially traumatic events before age 18, such as abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction. Cumulative ACEs are associated with elevated risk for mental and physical health problems.

A brief, standardized process to identify children at risk for developmental delays who need further evaluation. It differs from diagnostic assessment and is recommended at specific well-child visits.

A structured observation of appearance, behavior, mood, thought process, cognition, and insight, adapted to the child's age and context. It includes play, caregiver report, and developmental comparison.

A clinical technique in which a child's play, drawings, and narrative are observed and gently guided to understand worries, conflicts, and developmental level. It supplements, but does not replace, verbal interview.

The systematic consideration of alternative explanations for a child's symptoms, including medical, developmental, and psychosocial causes. It guides testing, treatment selection, and avoidance of premature diagnostic closure.

The co-occurrence of two or more disorders in the same child at the same time. It is common in child psychiatry and complicates assessment, prognosis, and treatment planning.

The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, text revision, used for psychiatric classification. It provides diagnostic criteria, coding, and descriptive information; it is not a standalone assessment tool.

A neurodevelopmental disorder defined by persistent inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that impairs functioning in multiple settings. Symptoms begin before age 12 and are not better explained by another condition.

A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent differences in social communication and interaction plus restricted, repetitive behaviors or interests. Severity and support needs vary widely across individuals.

A childhood-onset disorder of chronic irritability with frequent severe temper outbursts that are out of proportion to the situation. It was introduced to reduce overdiagnosis of bipolar disorder in children.

A pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictiveness lasting at least six months and causing impairment. It is common and often co-occurs with ADHD or mood disorders.

A disorder in which a child consistently fails to speak in specific social situations where speaking is expected, despite speaking in other settings. It typically begins in early childhood and is linked to anxiety.

Developmentally inappropriate and excessive fear or anxiety about separation from attachment figures, lasting at least four weeks in children. It causes distress or impairment and can lead to school refusal.

A tic disorder with multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic present for more than one year. Onset is before age 18, and symptoms often fluctuate in severity.

Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections: a proposed subtype marked by abrupt onset of OCD or tics after strep infection. Evidence is debated, and criteria require careful medical evaluation.

A potentially life-threatening toxicity from serotonergic drugs, marked by agitation, autonomic instability, hyperreflexia, and clonus. It can occur after starting, increasing, or combining serotonergic medications.

An electrocardiographic change that increases risk for dangerous ventricular arrhythmias. Some psychiatric medications, especially certain antipsychotics, require baseline and follow-up ECG monitoring in at-risk children.

A prominent FDA warning on a medication label about serious or life-threatening risks. In child psychiatry, antidepressants carry a warning about increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth.

Liver enzyme pathways that metabolize many psychiatric drugs. Genetic variation and co-administered drugs can raise or lower levels, causing toxicity or loss of efficacy in children.

A structured, skills-based psychotherapy that targets unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. In children, it often includes caregiver involvement, behavioral experiments, and practice between sessions.

A dyadic treatment for young children with disruptive behavior that coaches caregivers in real time to strengthen warmth and consistent limits. It uses live feedback from a clinician behind a one-way mirror or earpiece.

A collaborative conversation style that strengthens a person's own motivation and commitment to change. With adolescents, it uses open questions, reflective listening, and affirmation rather than confrontation.

A framework viewing the family as an interconnected system whose patterns, roles, and communication shape individual symptoms. Change in one member affects the whole system and can be a target for treatment.

A multigenerational family diagram that records relationships, major events, and health or mental health patterns. It helps clinicians spot themes and plan family-focused interventions.

A family treatment approach that examines hierarchies, boundaries, and alliances within the family. The therapist works to reorganize dysfunctional structure and strengthen parental authority and clear subsystems.

A collaborative process in which a clinician works with educators and families to address a student's learning, behavior, or emotional needs. It includes observation, recommendations, and coordination of supports.

A form of maltreatment in which a caregiver fabricates or induces illness in a child, leading to unnecessary tests and treatments. It requires careful multidisciplinary evaluation and child protection involvement.

Psychiatric care provided in medical settings, focusing on the interaction between physical illness, medications, and mental health. In pediatrics, it addresses delirium, adjustment, adherence, and safety.

A pattern in which a child resists or refuses attending school because of emotional distress, often anxiety or depression. It differs from truancy and requires family, school, and clinical collaboration.