Mental Illness in Young People I

This subject is not offered in 2013.

120 hours

Undergraduate qualification in a health-related discipline

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.
It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Course content includes:

• Young people and general health issues.
• Epidemiology of mental illness in young people.
• Outline of clinical disorders including DSM IV criteria, descriptions, aetiology and course during late adolescence and early adulthood.
• Mental illness and comorbidity in young people.
• Psychopathology and the developmental trajectory.
• Psychopathology, culture and young people.

By the end of this subject students should be able to:

• Recognise the range of psychopathology in young people.
• Describe the range of clinical disorders which develop during late adolescence and early adulthood.
• Discuss the epidemiology of serious mental illness in young people.
• Develop a basic understanding of the relationship between developmental processes during late adolescence and the emergence of psychopathology.
• Delineate a biopsychosocial framework for understanding the onset and course of mental illness in young people.

• 25% weekly quizzes on lecture content (4 multiple choice questions per week for 5 weeks and 5 multiple choice questions in the last week = 25 questions in all)
• 25% graded contribution to discussion board (weekly contributions to the graded discussion board constituting one original post and at least one follow up post, totally a minimum of 12 posts in all. Forum receives an overall grade according to marking criteria)
• 50% major assignment (essay), 3,000 words, due Week 6

NIL – list of recommended texts are provided on request

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

By the end of this subject students should be able to:

• Recognise the range of psychopathology in young people;
• Describe the range of clinical disorders which develop during late adolescence and early adulthood;
• Discuss the epidemiology of serious mental illness in young people;
• Develop a basic understanding of the relationship between developmental processes during late adolescence and the emergence of psychopathology; and
• Delineate a biopsychosocial framework for understanding the onset and course of mental illness in young people.