Lecture 1 - What is Abnormal Psychology?

Question 1

According to the DSM, what must something be to qualify as a mental disorder?

**by far, the most important thing to know

Answer 1

A mental disorder according to the DSM has to be

• Abnormal
• Persistent
• Not culturally sanctioned
• Have some kind of negative impact
• Not just a physical cause/disorder
• Evidence of dysfunction (psyc, behav, bio fnc)
• clinically significant

Question 2

What does the prevalence of a mental disorder refer to?

Answer 2

The proportion of the population that has a diagnosable

disorder within a specified time period.

Question 3

What are 3 kinds of prevalence statistics do we use?

Answer 3

1. Point-prevalence,
   “right now, X percent of Australians have Y disease”
2. One-year prevalence,
   “in 2007, X percent of Australians had Y disease”
3. Lifetime prevalence
   “during their lifetimes, X percent of Australians have Y disease”

Question 4

What does the Incidence of a mental disorder refer to?

Answer 4

The proportion of healthy individuals that will develop said disorder within a specified time period.
ie. how many new cases will arise.

“every year, X percent of Australians develop Y disease for the first time”

Question 5

How do we find Psychiatric Epidemiology?

Answer 5

◦ Community studies using large ‘representative samples’
◦ Internationally: National Comorbidity Survey; Epidemiologic Catchment Area study.
◦ Australia: National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (ABS; 1997, 2007)

Question 6

What are some problems with Psychiatric Epidemiology?

Answer 6

Our methods are insufficient to find out the number of people seeking or receiving treatment.
Many would remain undiagnosed.

Question 7

What may influence a person’s ability to seek help?

Answer 7

◦  cultural reasons
◦  financial reasons
◦  education
◦  knowledge
◦  beliefs

Question 8

How many categories of ‘Mental Disorder’ are there?

Answer 8

400+

But only the major ones are in the DSM (~297)

Question 9

Why might it be important to distinguish different time-frames for prevalence rates?

Answer 9

Because they will produce quite different numbers.

Question 10

How is incidence and prevalence different?

Answer 10

Prevalence is looking at how many currently have a disorder now/this year/during their lifetime.

Incidence projects how many now healthy people WILL develop a disorder.

Question 11

Why might knowing the incidence of a mental disorder be useful.

Answer 11

For prevention & detection.

Question 12

What is the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in adults?

Give a % range.

Answer 12

32-48 %

Question 13

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

Give a % range.

Answer 13

35-49 %

Question 14

According to the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.,
What disorder has the highest % of people who sought help?
And what %?

Answer 14

Schizophrenia 48%

Question 15

According to the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing,
What is the Life-time prevalence of any mental disorder?

Answer 15

45%

Question 16

According to the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing,
How many Australians aged 16-85 experienced an anxiety, affective or substance disorder at some point in their life?

How many of these received help?

Answer 16

7.3 million

~1/3

Question 17

What diagnoses today are closest to the historical idea of a mental illness?

Answer 17

◦ Historically: mental illness = ‘madness, insanity’
◦ gross distortion of external reality (hallucinations,
delusions), or disorganisation of speech, affect, behaviour
(confusion, memory loss, etc).
◦ Similar to today’s diagnoses of psychosis, schizophrenia, and dementia

Question 18

What is Abnormal Psychology the study of?

Answer 18

The
1. Description (classification, diagnosis)
2. Causation
3. Maintenance &
4. Treatment
of psychological disorders /mental disorders / ‘abnormal behaviour’

Question 19

Provide an argument to support the notion that mental disorders are over-diagnosed?

Answer 19

ALL symptoms, including those that are expectable reactions to environmental stressors and those that are forms of social deviance, are considered mental disorders.

Question 20

What is the ‘single most serious flaw in current psychiatric thinking’?

Answer 20

The failure to consider whether or not the symptoms of psychiatric disorders are actually harmful internal dysfunctions