definitions of abnormality Flashcards
what are the four definitions of abnormality?
- statistical infrequency
- deviation from social norms
- deviation from ideal mental health
- failure to function adequately
definition of statistical infrequency
abnormality is defined as those behaviours that are extremely rare, i.e. any behaviour that is found in very few people is regarded as abnormal.
definition of deviation from social norms
abnormality is seen as a deviation from unstated rules about how one ought to behave. anything that violates these is considered abnormal.
definition of failure to function adequately
people are judged on their ability to go about daily life. if they cannot do this and are also experiencing distress then it is considered a sign of abnormality.
definition of deviation from ideal mental health
abnormality is defined in terms of mental health, behaviours that are associated with competence and happiness. ideal mental health would include a positive atitude towards the self, resistance to stress and an accurate perception of reality.
evaluation of statistical infrequency
some abnormal behaviours are desirable. for example, very few people have an IQ over 150 but this abnormality is desirable not undesirable. equally, there are some normal behaviours that are undesirable. for example, experiencing depression is relatively common.
thus, using statistical indrequency to define abnormality means that we are unable to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviours.
this is in comparison to statistical infrequency
evaluation of deviation from social norms
this definition does distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviour, a feature that was absent from statistical infrequency model. the social deviancy model also takes into account the effect that behaviour has on others. according to this definition, abnormal behaviour is behaviour that damages others.
this definition therefore offers a practical and useful way of identifying undesirable and potentially damaging behaviour which may alert others to the need to secure help for the person concerned.
evaluation of failure to function adequately
this definition of abnormality recognises the subjective experience of the patient. it allows us to view mental disorder from the POV of the person experiencing it. in addition, failure to function is also relatively easy to judge objectively because we can list behaviours (WHODAS) and thus judge abnormality objectively.
this definition has a certain sensitivity and practicality.
failure to function adequately
WHODAS
The DSM includes an assessment of ability to function called WHODAS. it considers six areas: understanding and communicating, getting around, self-care i.e.
with a quantitiative measure of functioning, individuals rate each item on a scale of 1-5 and given an overall score out of 180.
evaluation of ideal mental health.
a limitation is that it tries to apply the principles of physical health to mental health. in general, physical illnesses have physical causes such as a vrus. and as a result this makes them relatively easy to detect and diagnose. it is possible that some mental disorders have physical causes but many do not. they are the consequences of life experiences.
therefore, it is unlikely that we could diagnose mental abnormality in the same way that we can diagnose physical abnormality.
