Definitions of abnormality 16 Flashcards
4 definitions of abnormality, ffa, dimh,dsc, si
A01 Statstical infrequency
Statistical infrequency defines A using statistical methods Abnormality is understood as traits or behaviours that are statistically rare or infrequent. To identify what is abnormal, we first define what is normal by looking at the average or most common characteristics. The further a characteristic or behaviour is from this average, the rarer or more abnormal it is considered.
Statistical frequency is represented on a histogram, where the distribution of data shows how common or rare certain traits are. In a histogram, the peak represents the most common values/ normal values while values further from the peak are rarer/ abnormal .This approach helps to tell between typical and atypical characteristics based on how far they deviate from the statistical norm.
A01 DSC
- Social norms can be defined as the expected rules and standards of behaviour in society , set by the social group and adhered to by members of the social group and these many differ between cultures and may differ in a single culture during different periods of time
- Abnormality can therefore be defined as what deviates from these expectations, the degree of abnormality depends on the degree of extremety of the deviation
E.g homosexuality was seen as abnormal, this judgement was based on social deviation of peoples standards of behaviour at the time
A01 FFA
-Abnormality can be judged in terms of not being able to cope with everyday life
- Functioning may refer to going about in day to day life, such as eating regularly and washing clothes etc
- Not “functioning” adequatley may cause distress for the individual and distress for others, e,g schizophrenia may cause distress to others as the indivdual may inflict harm and suffering on to others
- Example, assesment of ability to function called WHODAS considers 6 key areas important in a persons life and individuals may rate these from 1 - 5 and are given an overall score, this is quantative measure of functioning
A01 DIMH
-To understand what it means to deviate from ideal mental health, we need to define what ideal mental health actually is
- Jahoda 1958 identified 6 features of ideal mental health
-Characteristics which enable an individual to feel happy
- Self attitudes, personal growth, integrigation, autonomy, having an accurate perception of reality, mastery of enviroment e,g ability to love
DIMH defintion proposes the absence of these criteria indicates abnormality and potential mental disorder
Significant overlap between criteria here and in ffa e,g being able to cope with stressful situations is a sign of normality
Limitation of FFA ( A03) subjective of who judges?
- Questions may arise by using this definition such as who is the person \ group of people who decide if someone is failing to function adequately
- There may be variation between people whether or not certain behaviours and actions may be distressing for a person to live with or a person may feel content with carrying out these behaviours in their lifestyle
- They may also just be simply unaware they are not coping
-It is others who judge this behaviour as abnormal, meaning the judgement depends on who is making the desicion
Limitation FFA A03, incomplete definition?
- Some seemingly dysfunctional behaviour can actually be adaptive and functional for the individual
- For example some mental disorders such as eating disorders or depression may lead to extra attention for the individual which can be rewarding
- E.g transvestisim is classed as a mental disorder but people can regard this as normal
- Failure to distinguish between functional and dysfunctional behaviours means def is incomplete
Strength FFA AO3 subjective experience recognised
- This definition of abnormality does recognise the subjective experience of the patient
- Allows us to view mental disorder from the POV of the person experiencing it
-FFA is relatively easy to judge objectively as we can list behaviours in WHODAS - Definition therefore has sensitivity and practicality
Limitation, A03 cultural relativism
- FFA is limited by being culturally relative
- Definitions of adequate functioning are related to cultural ideas of how ones life should be lived, failure to function will have different diagnoses when applied to people of different cultures as the standard of one culture is used to measure another]
Use of this model is limited by cultural relativsm
DIMH A03 Limitation unrealistic criteria
According to ideal mental health criteria most of us are abnormal
Jahoda presented these as ideal criteria, and we would need to ask how many would a person need to lack in order to be judged as abnormal
This means criteria are difficult to measure e.g mastery of enviroment is hard to measure
Interesting concept but useless when it comes to identifying abnormality
DIMH limitation AO3 , equates physical and mental health
- Tries to apply the principles of physical health to mental health
- In general physical illness are easier to detect and diagnose as they have physical causes, however many mental health issues do not have physical causes, such as consequence of life experiences
- Makes it unlikely to diagnose mental abnormality the same as normality
Strength of DIMH AO3 , positive approach
- Focuses on the positives rather than the negatives
- Alternate perspective on mental disorder that focuses on the ideal, what is desirable rather than undesriable
- Ideas have had influence and are in accord with positive psychology movement
Limitation SI AO3 , cut off point is subjective
- If abnormality was defined in terms of statstical infrequency we need to decide where to separate normality from abnormality-
- For example a symptom of depression is difficulty sleeping, some people may think abnormal sleep is less than 6 hours but some people think it is less than 5, people disagree meaning its hard to fine ehats abnormal
Strength SI AO3 - can be appropriate
- Appropriate to use a statistical criterion to define abnormality
- Intellectual disability is defined in terms of normal distribution using concept of standard deviation to establish a cut off point for abnormality
Limitation AO3 cultural relativism
- An issue is that behaviours that are statistically infrequent in one culture may be statistically more frequent in another
- Schizo people claim to hear voices however this is an experience common in other cultures
-There are no universal standards or rules for labelling a behaviour as abnormal
Strength AO3 of DSC
- This distinguishes between desirable and undesirable behaviour which is a feature absent from the statistical infequency model
- This also takes into account the effect that behaviour has on others
- Deviance is defined in terms of transgression of social rules, and ideally these are established to help people live together, according to this definition abnormal behavior is behaviour that damages others
- This offers a practical and useful way of identifying desirable and undesirable behaviour, altering others secure help for person concerned
