Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Theory and Research) - PSY00076H
- Department: Psychology
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2026-27
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2026-27 |
Module aims
The module explores how mental health and wellbeing develop in children and adolescents, focusing on common difficulties and the factors that shape them. It draws on perspectives from psychology, psychiatry, education, and developmental psychopathology to examine diagnostic frameworks, inequalities, and issues such as bullying, neurodevelopmental conditions, self-harm, and body image.
Module learning outcomes
- To be able to explain the key psychological concepts and constructs related to mental illness and wellbeing in children and adolescents;
- To be able to critically evaluate psychological theories and empirical research related child and adolescent mental health;
- To be able to apply the risk and protective factors framework to explain individual differences in mental illness and wellbeing in children and adolescents;
- To be able to use knowledge gained during the module and apply it to an area of policy or practice related to children and young people.
Module content
- Mental health constructs and diagnostic frameworks
- Theories of development and psychopathology
- Genetics of mental health
- Inequalities in mental health
- Risk and protective factors
- Bullying and mental health
- Neurodevelopmental conditions and mental health
- Self harm and suicide
- Body image and disordered eating
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 60.0 |
| Essay/coursework | 40.0 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 60.0 |
| Essay/coursework | 40.0 |
Module feedback
Marks will be available via e:vision.
Indicative reading
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Diggs D., Deniz E., Toseeb U. (2025) School Connectedness as a Protective Factor between Childhood Adversity and Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes. Development and Psychopathology. 2025;37(3):1355-1373. doi:10.1017/S0954579424001184
Gibson, J., & Toseeb, U. (2024). Developmental Language Disorder and Social-Emotional Development: An Introduction to Theories, Concepts, and Research. Oxford University Press (OUP).
Memmott-Elison, M., Toseeb, U., (2023) Prosocial Behaviour and Psychopathology: An Eleven Year Longitudinal Study of Intra-Individual Reciprocal Relations Across Childhood and Adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 35(4), 1982-1996. doi:/10.1017/S0954579422000657
McChesney, G., Toseeb, U. (2018) Happiness, Self-Esteem, and Prosociality in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a UK Population Cohort Study. Autism Research. 11(7), 1011-1023. doi: 10.1002/aur.1957
Toseeb, U., Wolke, D. (2022) Sibling bullying: a prospective longitudinal study of associations with positive and negative mental health during adolescence, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 51, 940–955. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01495-z
Toseeb, U., Vincent, J. and Asbury, K. (2024), Genetic influences on sibling bullying and mental health difficulties. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 65: 1165-1174. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13956
van Harmelen A-L, Gibson JL, St Clair MC, Owens M, Brodbeck J, Dunn V, et al. (2016) Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents. PLoS ONE 11(5): e0153715. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153715
Westerhof, G. J., & Keyes, C. L. (2010). Mental Illness and Mental Health: The Two Continua Model Across the Lifespan. Journal of adult development, 17(2), 110–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-009-9082-y