L1: Intro to Abnormal Psychology

Question 1

What is abnormal psychology? Include four elements of the discipline.

Answer 1

The scientific study of mental disorders. Aim is to describe, understand causation and maintenance, and identify effective treatment.

Question 2

Historically, how were mental disorders understood prior to the rise of the psychoanalytic model?

Answer 2

Thought to be one or a few kinds of madness/insanity.

• Severe symptoms similar to what we’d consider psychosis, schizophrenia or dementia today.
• anxiety, depression etc. not consider forms of mental disorder, but part of the personality.

Question 3

How have the quantity of patients and workers in the mental health care professions changed over the past century?

Answer 3

• historically only a small number of people were treated for mental health issues in insane asylums. Workers were doctors or untrained alienists.
• now the definition of mental illness has expanded to encompass a larger proportion of the public. There are large number of professions, eg. psychologists, counsellors, social workers etc. working in the field.

Question 4

Why is the number of people seeking treatment not an accurate estimate of the number of people meeting criteria for a mental disorder?

Answer 4

Treatment seeking depends on financial and cultural factors, knowledge, education, beliefs

Question 5

What are three measures of prevalence used in psychiatric epidemiology?

Answer 5

Point prevalence, one year prevalence and lifetime prevalence.

Question 6

Define point prevalence.

Answer 6

How many people have disorder X at the point the survey is conducted.

Question 7

Define one year prevalence.

Answer 7

How many people have had disorder X in a one year period.

Question 8

Define lifetime prevalence.

Answer 8

How many people have had disorder X in the course of their entire lifetime.

Question 9

What is incidence?

Answer 9

What percentage of people will newly develop disorder X within a given time period.

Question 10

What is the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in adults?

Answer 10

32-48%.

Question 11

What is the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders before age 21?

Answer 11

35-49%

Question 12

What is the lifetime prevalence of any mental disorder in the general population?

Answer 12

45%

Question 13

Approximately what fraction of people who met diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder sought treatment?

Answer 13

1/3rd.

Question 14

What are the four general criteria a mental disorder must meet in the DSM?

Answer 14

• there must be a clinically significant behavioral or psychological pattern
• associated with current distress or disability, or a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom
• can’t be a culturally sanctioned or expected response to an event
• whatever the original cause, must currently be a manifestation of biological, psychological or behavioral dysfunction in the individual.