Chapter 12: Mental Disorder Part 2

Question 1

What are impairments in memory associated with and what can they result in?

Answer 1

• Are associated with a range of disorders

- Often can result in disorganised behaviour and impairments with daily functioning.

Question 2

What does the stress vulnerability model explain?

Answer 2

Explains why some people may develop a mental disorder when they experience stress and others do not.

Question 3

What does the stress vulnerability model propose?

Answer 3

All people have some level of vulnerability for any given mental disorder and the risk of developing the disorder varies in relation to the combined effect of an individual’s level of vulnerability (the level of stress that is experienced and their ability to cope).

Question 4

What is self-efficacy?

Answer 4

An individual’s belief in their capacity to execute behaviours necessary to succeed in a specific situation or accomplish a particular task.

• Feeling of competence
• Influences the challenges we accept and the effort we expend.
• Can be specific to a situation and not always transferrable to other situations.
• Different to self-esteem (overall feeling of self-worth)

Question 5

Describe 3 ways poor self-efficacy increases the chance of developing a mental disorder:

Answer 5

• Potential stressors are unmanageable
• Aspects of the environment are dangerous and unsafe
• The tendency to dwell on the inability to cope and magnify severity of the situation

Question 6

What are social risk factors for mental disorders?

Answer 6

Risk factors that originate in the external environment and interact with biological and psychological factors in influencing our mental health state.

Question 7

List 3 types of social risk factors for mental disorders:

Answer 7

• Disorganised attachment
• Loss of a significant relationship
• Role of stigma as a barrier to accessing treatment

Question 8

What does attachment refer to, how can it vary, and how can it change? Give some examples:

Answer 8

The emotional bond which forms between an infant and another person, usually the primary caregiver.
-Can vary in terms of strength and kind of attachment.
-Pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour associated with attachment type changes over time.
Eg. Mother, father, grandparent, foster carer, childcare worker

Question 9

What is an unhealthy attachment considered a risk factor for? Give some examples of what is meant by the term unhealthy:

Answer 9

An unhealthy attachment early in life is considered a risk factor for the development and progression of a mental health disorder.
-Unhealthy = neglectful, abusive, threatening, distress, fear, confusion, apprehension, detachment.

Question 10

What is disorganised attachment characterised by, what does it influence, and what is it linked to?

Answer 10

Characterised by inconsistent or contradictory behaviour patterns in the presence of a primary caregiver.

• Research suggests that attachment formed during the first 12 months of life influences socio-emotional development.
• DA linked to abuse, hostile or unresponsive caregiving, post-natal depression, mother having unresolved trauma or loss through separation, divorce, and death (but can also exist when none of these are present).

Question 11

Describe the characteristics of children at age 2 and at age 5 with disorganised attachment:

Answer 11

• Development of elevated aggression by age 2.

- Higher rates of disruptive behaviour, and more impulsive and difficulty regulating emotions, at age 5.

Question 12

Describe the characteristics of adults with disorganised attachment:

Answer 12

• Tend to have difficulty forming close relationships, and may have trouble opening up to others or to seek out social support.
• May have difficulty trusting people, and struggle with relationships or parenting due to the lack of role models.
• May have difficulty managing stress and may be hostile and aggressive.

Question 13

What is a significant relationship? Give some examples:

Answer 13

A relationship perceived by an individual as being of considerable importance to them.
Eg. Parents, friends, and pets

Question 14

List 3 characteristics/elements desired in significant relationships:

Answer 14

• Feelings of attachment
• The fulfillment of needs
• Some degree of dependence or independence

Question 15

What is grief? List 3 effects of grief:

Answer 15

The total reaction to the experience of loss, comprising a mix of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Eg. Sadness, separation anxiety, and anger.

Question 16

Describe 2 examples of what research studies have found about the effects of the loss of a significant relationship:

Answer 16

• May precipitate depression or a substance use disorder in the same way that other major stressors, such as losing your job, can precipitate the disorder.
• People with a history of depression or substance abuse may be at a higher risk of experiencing a relapse of their disorder due to their loss.

Question 17

List 4 examples of why 2/3 people do not see or have access to treatment:

Answer 17

• Unemployed/homeless
• Too expensive
• Don’t know where to access
• Thought they could manage with help of family/friends

Question 18

What is stigma? Give some examples:

Answer 18

A sign of shame, disgrace or disapproval typically associated with a particular characteristic or attribute that sets a person apart.
Eg. Skin colour, disability, or mental health disorder.

Question 19

What is the difference between being stigmatised and being discriminated against?

Answer 19

• When people are stigamatised they are viewed in a negative way because of the characteristic.
• When they are treated differently, then discrimination is occurring.

Question 20

What does social stigma refer to? Give an example:

Answer 20

Any aspect of an individual’s identity that is devalued in a social context – negative attitudes, beliefs, behaviour that causes exclusion, rejection, avoidance, fear, and discrimination of those with a mental disorder.
Eg. People with depression should be able to ‘snap out of it’

Question 21

What is self-stigma? Give an example:

Answer 21

Stigmatising views people hold about themselves.

Eg. I should be able to snap out of my depression

Question 22

List some effects of stigma:

Answer 22

-Feelings of shame, self-doubt, poor self-esteem, low self-efficacy, hopelessness and isolation
-Distress
-Lack of understanding by family, friends or others
-Misrepresentation in the media
-Fewer opportunities for social interaction and employment
bullying, physical violence or harassment.

Question 23

Give an example of how stigma can also perpetuate a mental disorder and delay recovery or make recovery harder:

Answer 23

Staying active and engaged, living a productive life, and feeling accepted by others as part of the community are important elements of mental wellbeing. However, the experience of stigma can erode self-confidence and make people with a mental disorder shy away from engaging with others to avoid misunderstanding and ridicule.

Question 24

What is a cumulative risk?

Answer 24

The aggregate risk to mental health from the combined effects of exposure to multiple biological, psychological and/or social factors.

• It is the accumulation of risk factors that impacts on people’s mental health.
• The more risk factors to which we are exposed, the greater the vulnerability to a mental health disorder.

Question 25

List the 2 cumulative risk models:

Answer 25

• Additive model

- Threshold model

Question 26

What does the additive model of cumulative risks propose?

Answer 26

As the number of risk factors increases, there is a corresponding increase in the likelihood of developing a mental disorder (linear relationship).

Question 27

What does the threshold model of cumulative risks propose? Give an example:

Answer 27

The risk of developing a mental disorder is far more likely after exposure to a certain number of simultaneously occurring risk factors and that the risk is in excess of the total of their separate effects.
-Risk factors have a multiplicative effect.
Eg. In a study of four-year-olds, exposed to different numbers of risks, children exposed to four or more risks had six times the likelihood of experiencing behavioural disorders.