definitions of abnormality 2

Question 1

failure to function adequately

Answer 1

• someone may cross the line between normal and abnormal when they can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life
• we might decide that someone isn’t functioning adequately when they can’t maintain basic standards of nutrition or hygiene, or if they cannot hold down a job or maintain relationships

when is someone failing to function adequately? -

• rosenhan and seligman proposed some additional signs that can be used to determine when someone is not coping, the more of these indicators that are present, the more abnormal an individual is considered to be
• when a person no longer conforms to standard interpersonal rules, such as maintaining eye contact or respecting personal space
• when a person experiences sever personal distress
• when a person’s behaviour becomes irrational or dangerous to themselves or others

example - intellectual disability disorder -

• one of the criteria for diagnosis is a very low IQ, but a diagnosis would not be made on this basis only
• individual must be failing to function adequately before a diagnosis would be given

Question 2

deviation from ideal mental health

Answer 2

• a different way to look at normality and abnormality is to ignore the issue of what makes someone abnormal, but instead think about what makes anyone normal
• once we have an idea of how we should be psychologically healthy then we can identify who deviates from this ideal

what does ideal mental health look like? -

jahoda suggested that we are in good mental health if we meet the following criteria -
- we have no symptoms of distress
- we are rational and can perceive ourselves accurately
- we self-actualise
- we can cope with stress
- we have a realistic view of the world
- we have good self-esteem and lack guilt
- we are independent of other people
- we can successfully work, love and enjoy our leisure

• there is some overlap between what we call deviation from ideal mental health and what we call failure to function adequately
• for example, we can think of someone’s inability to keep a job as either failure to cope with work pressures or as deviation from the ideal of successfully working

Question 3

failure to function adequately evaluation - represents a threshold for help

Answer 3

• strength is it represents a sensible threshold for when people need professional help
• most of us will have symptoms of a mental disorder at some time, around 25% of the UK will experience a mental health problem in any given year
• however many people press on this in the face of fairly severe symptoms, people tend to seek help at the point that we cease to function adequately
• means that treatment and services can be targeted to those who need them most

Question 4

failure to function adequately evaluation - discrimination and social control

Answer 4

• limitation is it is easy to label non-standard lifestyle choices as abnormal
• hard to say when someone is really failing to function and when they have chosen to deviate from social norms
• for example not having a job or permanent job may seem like failing to function, for some people it would be but some other people may choose to live ‘off-grid’
• also those who favour high-risk leisure activities or unusual practices could be classed as irrational and a danger to self
• people who consciously make unusual choices are at risk of being labelled abnormal, freedom of choice may be restricted

Question 5

deviation from ideal mental health evaluation - a comprehensive definition

Answer 5

• strength is it is highly comprehensive
• jahoda’s concept includes range of criteria for distinguishing mental health from disorder, covers most reasons why we may seek help with mental health
• means that individual’s mental health can be discussed with professionals who may take different views
• provides a checklist against we can assess ourselves and others

Question 6

deviation from ideal mental health evaluation - may be culture-bound

Answer 6

• limitation of criteria is that different elements are not applicable across a range of cultures
• some of criteria are firmly located in the context of the US and Europe, for example the idea of self-actualisation would likely be dismissed as self-indulgent in much of the world
• within Europe there is lots of variation in the value placed on independence
• difficult to apply concept of ideal mental health across cultures