About the Book
Part of the new American Pyschopathological Association Series. Containing contributions from leading scholars of causal thinking in epidemiology and psychopathology research, this volume is based on presentations at the ground-breaking 2008 meeting of the American Psychopathological Association. The authors explore the meaning of causal statements that are made from statistical and experimental evidence; then, they suggest novel approaches to analyze these
statements and thus make them more informative and medically rigorous. The collection of chapters uniquely includes both methodological contributions and detailed assessments of how causal inferences can be
made when considering research results on developmental psychopathology, clinical psychopharmacology, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychiatric genetics. In analyzing causal references, the authors examine controversies surrounding various disorders and their treatment.
Table of Contents:
Causal Theory and Scientific Inference
1) Causal Thinking in Psychopathology Research
Patrick E. Shrout, PhD
2) What Would Have Been is Not What Would Be: Counterfactuals of the Past and Potential Outcomes of the Future
Sharon Schwartz, PhD, Nicolle M. Gatto, PhD, Ulka B. Campbell, PhD,
3) The Mathematics of Causal Relations
Judea Pearl, PhD
4) Causal Thinking in Psychiatry: A Genetic and Manipulationist Perspective
Kenneth S. Kendler, MD
5) Understanding the Effects of Menopausal Hormone Therapy: Using the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Trials and Observational Study to Improve Inference
Garnet L Anderson, PhD, Ross L Prentice, PhD,
Innovations in Methods
6) Alternative Graphical Causal Models and the Identification of Direct Effects
James Robins, MD, Thomas Richardson, PhD
7) General Approaches to Analysis of Course: Applying Growth Mixture Modeling to Randomized Trials of Depression Medication
Bengt Muthén, PhD, Hendricks C. Brown, PhD, Aimee M. Hunter, PhD,
Ian A. Cook, MD, Andrew F. Leuchter, MD
8) Statistical Methodology for a SMART Design in the Development of Adaptive Treatment Strategies
Alena I. Oetting, M.S., Janet A. Levy, PhD, Roger D. Weiss, MD,
Susan A. Murphy, PhD
9) Obtaining Robust Causal Evidence from Observational Studies: Can Genetic Epidemiology Help?
George Davey Smith MD, DSc
10) Rare Variant Approaches to Understanding the Causes of Complex Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Matthew W. State, MD, PhD,
Causal Thinking in Psychiatry
11) Causal Thinking in Developmental Disorders
E. Jane Costello, PhD, Adrian Angold, MRCPsych
12) Causes of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Naomi Breslau, PhD
13) Causal Thinking for Objective Psychiatric Diagnostic Criteria: A Programmatic Approach in Therapeutic Context
Donald F. Klein, MD, DSc
14) The Need for Dimensional Approaches in Discerning the Origins of Psychopathology
Robert F. Krueger, PhD, Daniel J. Goldman
About the Author :
Patrick Shrout
New York University
New York, NY
Katherine Keyes, MPH
Mailman School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology
Columbia University
New York, NY
Katherine Ornstein, MPH
Mailman School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology
Columbia University
New York, NY
Review :
"This unique edited volume brings together diverse influential perspectives on causal thinking that can be applied to understand the determinants of psychopathology. Rubin's potential outcomes model from statistics, Campbell's perspective from the behavioral sciences, perspectives from epidemiology, graphical causal models from computer science, and novel approaches based on genetic theory are all represented. New approaches to designs and analysis are
presented; new thinking about psychiatric diagnosis is also presented. This innovative set of chapters will be of interest not only to researchers in psychopathology, but also to those researchers from a
variety of disciplines who wish to both broaden and integrate their understanding of important new perspectives on causal inference." -- Stephen G. West, PhD, Professor, Psychology Department, Arizona State University; and Gastprofessor, Arbeitsbereich Methoden und Evaluation, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany
"Causality and Psychopathology is an incomparable and fundamental book for any social scientist that is seriously considering addressing causal issues in psychopathology research. The breadth of topics (e.g., counterfactuals, confounding, statistical bias, mediation analysis, inference, trajectory classes, observational research) covered makes it an invaluable resource for all of us navigating the perils of establishing causal relationships in diverse types of
studies as well as the problems (e.g. non-adherence, selective missing, attrition) in making causal statements about mental health processes. The authors' chief contributions lie in raising awareness
of the available tools and analytical methods that can advance causal inference in psychopathology. The book is a masterpiece. -- Margarita Alegría, PhD, Director, Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, Cambridge Health Alliance & Harvard Medical School, Somerville, MA
