Here/In This Issue and There/Abstract Thinking: Risk Calculators in Child Psychiatry

Abstract

The National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Project has been the subject of much excitement and controversy. The goal of this project is to integrate dimensional measurements across levels of organization (from genes to self-report) to identify cross-cutting constructs that are biologically based and have implications for prognosis and treatments. 1 National Institute of Mental Health. Research domain criteria. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research-priorities/rdoc/. Accessed November 16, 2015. Google Scholar Although this framework is modeled on approaches in other areas of medicine that have resulted in advances in therapeutics (e.g., oncology), many clinicians and researchers have questioned the potential relevance of this approach in psychiatry. 2 Weinberger D.R. Glick I.D. Klein D.F. Whither research domain criteria (RDoC)?: The good, the bad, and the ugly. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015; 72: 1161-1162 Crossref PubMed Scopus (54) Google Scholar In this issue of the Journal, the relevance of RDoC to child psychiatry is addressed directly through a review article and indirectly through 2 original articles that use RDoC-informed strategies. These articles illustrate how dimensional approaches might facilitate the identification of early markers of risk and resilience in youth, a first step in the development of early interventions.