The interdisciplinary science of developmental psychopathology has evolved from itshistorical roots in a variety of fields including: sociology; epidemiology; embryology; theneurosciences and psychobiology; psychoanalysis; clinical, developmental, and experimentalpsychology; and psychiatry (Cicchetti, 1990) into an increasingly mature integrative frameworkwithin which the contributions of these heretofore largely separate disciplines could be fullyrealized within the broader context of understanding individual development and functioning,both normal and abnormal (see chapters in Cicchetti & Cohen, 1995a, 1995b; see alsoCicchetti & Toth, in press). In one of the early statements concerning the goals of this field,Cicchetti (1990) asserted that: “Developmental psychopathology ... should bridge fieldsof study, span the life cycle, and aid in the discovery of important new truths about the processesunderlying adaptation and maladaptation, as well as the best means of preventing or amelioratingpsychopathology. Moreover, this discipline should contribute greatly to reducing the dualismsthat exist between the clinical study of and research into childhood and adult disorders, betweenthe behavioral and biological sciences, between developmental psychology and psychopathology,and between basic and applied science” (p. 20).