ABPN CAP study guide
ABPN CAP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) is a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties, and it describes its work as setting certification standards for psychiatrists and neurologists. Child and adolescent psychiatry certification is a subspecialty credential within that system, intended for physicians who have completed general psychiatry training plus additional training focused on children, adolescents, and families. The ABPN CAP study guide has 5 sections and about 1,515 words.
01Normal Development and Developmental Psychopathology
A candidate must distinguish normative variation from disorder. Key concepts: developmental milestones and trajectories; prematurity-adjusted age; temperament; attachment; sensitive periods; risk and resilience; equifinality and multifinality; developmental cascades; and the distinction between delay (slow but typical sequence) and deviation (atypical sequence, e.g., regression).
249 words, about 1 min02Psychiatric Assessment, Diagnosis, and Classification in Children and Adolescents
Assessment is multi-informant and multi-method: developmental history, parent and teacher reports, child interview and observation, rating scales, and records. Diagnosis requires DSM-5/ICD criteria, symptom duration, developmental appropriateness, and functional impairment-not just a high checklist score.
234 words, about 1 min03Psychiatric Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence
Candidates must know the defining features, age of onset, course, and differential for major youth disorders: ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, disruptive behavior disorders, anxiety disorders, OCD, major depression, bipolar disorder, DMDD, tics/Tourette, eating disorders, trauma-related disorders, and early psychosis. Key distinctions: episodic mania with elevated mood/energy versus chronic nonepisodic irritability (DMDD); OCD rituals versus ASD repetitive behavior (ego-dystonic and intrusive versus comforting); tics versus stereotypies (variable, suppressible urges versus fixed, rhythmic); and depression versus irritability in youth.
228 words, about 1 min04Somatic and Neurologic Considerations, including Psychopharmacology
Before attributing symptoms to psychiatry, screen for medical mimics: seizures, sleep apnea, thyroid disease, anemia, delirium, autoimmune/endocrine disorders, genetic syndromes, hearing/vision problems, and substance effects. Neurologic findings-focal deficits, headache with red flags, regression, abnormal movements-require evaluation.
223 words, about 1 min05Psychotherapy
Effective youth psychotherapy is evidence-based, developmentally adapted, and measurement-based. Know first-line modalities: behavioral parent training for disruptive behavior in young children; exposure-based CBT for anxiety and OCD; CBT for depression; IPT-A and DBT-A for adolescent mood/emotion dysregulation; TF-CBT for trauma; family-based treatment for eating disorders; and social skills/parent-mediated interventions for ASD.
581 words, about 3 min