Diagnosing mental health disorders

Question 1

What are the 5 D’s in diagnosing mental health disorders

Answer 1

Deviance
Dysfunction
Distress
Danger
Duration

Question 2

What is Deviance

Answer 2

Is behaviour frequent in society?

Question 3

Define Dysfunction

Answer 3

Does is affect the ability to function in everyday life

Question 4

Define distress

Answer 4

Is the behaviour upsetting to the individual and others?

Question 5

Define danger

Answer 5

Does the behaviour put the individual and others in danger?

Question 6

Define duration

Answer 6

Has this behaviour persisted over a long period of time?

Question 7

What is a strength in terms of validity of 5 D’s

Answer 7

DSM focuses on the Ds, showing each has validity. For example, in the DSM, it’s not enough for schizophrenia to include deviant behaviour; distress must also be present as well as dysfunction.

Question 8

Why is it a weakness of labelling people using the 5 D’s.

Answer 8

It can create stigma

Example: Using ‘danger’ as a criteria in diagnosing mental health disorder may make people associate mental illness as being dangerous. - Such attitudes may become ‘self-fullfilling’ prophecies

Question 9

A strength of using the 5Ds approach

Answer 9

Using these might help avoid errors in diagnosing.

Question 10

Give an example of how it might help avoid errors in diagnosing

Answer 10

If statistical or social norms were only consideration, then those who are eccentric yet harmless would be seen as abnormal while those with debilitating but common symptoms of depression would be missed.

Question 11

Why is this important

Answer 11

A good classification system should not be over or under-inclusive