clinical revision Flashcards
what are the. 4Ds
deviance
dysfunction
danger
distress
explain deviance
deviant behaviours are those that are unusual , undesirable or bizarre.
An understanding of statistical and social norms is necessary to determine unusual behaviours and desirability within a social/ cultural group
explain dysfunction
symptoms which distract, confuse or interfere with a persons ability to carry out their usual roles and responsibilities may be seen as dysfunctional
explain danger
hostile or hazardous behaviour which jeopardises the safety of the individual and/or others may be considered grounds for diagnosis
explain distress
when symptoms cause emotional pain or anxiety- this is a sign that a diagnosis may be beneficial
sometimes psychological distress may be manifested as physical symptoms
strength of the 4Ds
✅using ALL 4 might help to avoid errors in diagnosis
E.G. if deviance from statistical or social norms were the only consideration when making a diagnosis - those eccentric but harmless may be seen as abnormal
BUT those with common but debilitating symptoms of depression may be missed
A valid system should be neither over or under inclusive
2 weaknesses of the 4Ds
❌lack of objectivity
ratings are made from feelings so objectivity is unlikely
also affects reliability
4Ds involve making comparisons to a reference between the individual and others in society
decisions would be better if they were made in comparison to a reference group rather than the subjective view of the clinician
this shows that if the 4Ds are applied meaningfully, clinicians require detailed information not only on the person but also their community
❌we end up with labels for ppl with mental health issues
using ‘danger’ as a criteria leads ppl to equate mental illness with being dangerous .
this becomes distorted in the media
most ppl with sz are not actually more dangerous than ppl without (FAZEL ET AL)
such attitudes may become ‘self fulfilling prophecy’ - stereotypes that lead ppl to act in the way predicted by the stereotype
what is the DSM
the DSM describes symptoms, features and associated risk factors of over 300 mental and behavioural disorders arranged into 22 categories
what is the DSM based on
a classification system that was used to identify disorders experienced by world war 2 soldiers
when was the DSM first published
1952
what does erroneous diagnosis lead to
labelling, stigmatisation, ineffective treatment
when was the DSM-5 published
2013
what sections are the manual divided into ?
• 1 : guidance for using the new system
• 2: details the disorder and is categorised according to current understanding of underlying causes and similarities between symptoms
• 3: suggestions for new disorders which currently require further investigation
ALSO info on the impact of culture on the presentation of symptoms and the way they are communicated, especially when the clinician is from a different cultural background
how do clinicians gather info about a patient
observations
unstructured interviews
Describe the diagnostic process
this involves ruling out disorders which do not match the patients symptoms sufficiently
before deciding which disorder offers the ‘best fit’
how is reliablity of the DSM assessed
- SPITZER introduced the use of cohens Kappa to improve reliability of the DSM-III
what does the cohens kappa refer to
the proportion of ppl who receive same diagnosis when assessed then re assessed
what cohens kappa value indicates good agreement
0.7
what type of validity refers to when 2 ppl with the same diagnosis exhibit similar symptoms
descriptive validity
what type of validity refers to when 2 ppl share similar causal factors
aetiological validity
what type of validity refers to when a clinician uses more than 1 method to reach diagnosis and both lead to the same diagnosis
concurrent validity
what type of validity refers to the ability to accurately predict outcomes for an individual from diagnosis
predictive validity
Strength of the DSM in terms of reliability
✅ field trials demonstrated impressive levels of agreement between clinicians for a variety of disorders
REIGER (2013) reported that 3 disorders, including PTSD had kappa values ranging from 0.60-0.79 ( very good)
while 7 more diagnoses (including SZ) had kappa values of 0.40-0.59 (good)
important bcs the criteria for PTSD has changed in terms of symptoms required to make a diagnosis, it is clear clinicians have adapted well to these changes
weakness of the DSM in terms of reliability
❌what counts as an acceptable level of agreement has plummeted over the last 35 yrs
COOPER explains that the DSM 5 task force classified levels as low as 0.2-0.4 as ‘acceptable’
one of the least reliable diagnosis (0.28) was for major depressive disorder
suggests that the DSM may be less reliable than previous versions and that diagnoses of MDD for example may have been made in error
while other cases may have been missed all together