A Survey of Dynamic Systems Methods for Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract A survey of dynamic systems (DS) methods appropriate for testing systems‐based models in developmental psychopathology is provided. First, we review the rationale for developing new methods for the field. In line with other investigators, we highlight the fundamental incompatibility between developmentalists' organismic, open systems models and the mechanistic research methods with which these models are tested. We explain key DS principles and discuss their commensurability with developmental psychopathologists' core theoretical concerns. Next, we provide an updated survey of research designs and methodological techniques currently being used and refined by developmental DS researchers. The strengths and limitations of each approach are discussed throughout this review. Finally, we elaborate on one specific dynamic systems method, state space grids , which addresses many of the limitations of previous DS techniques and may prove useful for the discipline. This approach was developed as a middle road between DS methods that are mathematically demanding on one hand and purely descriptive on the other. We review examples of developmental and clinical studies that have applied state space grids, and we make suggestions for future analyses. Finally, we conclude with some implications for the application of this new methodology to change processes in prevention and treatment research.