Handbook of Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Abstract

Epidemiology is both a scientific discipline and a powerful set of investigative methods that have been adopted by other fields, including the fields that study the behavior problems of children and adolescents. The discipline of epidemiology was developed to study the etiology of diseases, and the methods of epidemiology evolved in service of that aim. Because the mental health disciplines also seek to understand the origins of disorders, it has been to our advantage to adopt many of the methods of epidemiology.