The purpose of diagnosis is to classify the problem within the context of other known behavioural clusters or disorders for the purposes of being able to draw on clinical knowledge regarding potential aetiology, course and treatment alternatives. The purpose of assessment is to diagnose the nature of the problem to ensure that the most appropriate treatment can be selected.

There are three questions that need to be answered by the clinician after the assessment:

1. What are the characteristics of the child’s problem?
2. How should the problem be evaluated?
3. What are appropriate intervention strategies?

The diagnostic method can be used to predict what types of measures might be selected. Classifying child disorders can be done by using the categorical classification system or the empirical/dimensional classification system.

The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) and international classification of

Goddard established one of the largest training schools for the mentally disabled (i.e. extremely low IQ) but did much to harm the attitudes towards these people. There were several obstacles that prevented child psychopathology to become a unique discipline:

1. The nature-nurture debate about the origins of a child’s problem.
2. The shift in emphasis from treatment to identification (i.e. identified from an adult perspective).

Developmental psychopathology defines a system on human development as holistic (i.e. the whole child needs to be looked at) and hierarchical (i.e. moving toward increasing complexity). Recently, emphasis has been placed on finding protective and risk factors for the development of maladaptive behaviours in children.

To diagnose a child, information is necessary from several sources (e.g. school, home environment, sport team) to get a holistic image of this child. A case formulation refers to a hypothesis about why

It is not clear what through what processes peer rejection lead to internalizing problems and how the teacher can be a protective factor in this. School-age children who experience difficulties in their relationships with peers are at increased risk for psychopathology. Social self-concept act as a mechanism through which peer rejection influences the development of internalizing problems.

The social self-concept refers to cognitive self-perceptions of one’s functioning in the social domain and this is negatively influenced by peer rejection. A poor self-concept is a cognitive vulnerability factor leading to the development of internalizing problems.

Teacher-student relationships are predictive of internalizing problems and self-perceptions. Supportive teacher-student relationships may compensate for the negative effect of peer rejection on children’s self-concept. This means that good teacher-student relationships could be a protective factor against the negative effect of peer rejection on one’s social self-concept.

Peer rejection predicts declines in