Lecture 13: Health and Development Disorders Flashcards
motor skills
due to children playing outside less than they used to, they develop less motor skills
- however there are large individual differences
the thin ideal
the pressure to be abnormally thin
- means that many female teenages with a normal BMI still feel too fat
- even underweight girls sometimes want to lose weight
mother stress during pregnancy
if the mother experiences a lot of stress during pregnancy, the daugher is more likely to have problems with eating disorders
- testosterone seems to ensure that in boys the biological cause for the development of eating problems is less
anorexia nervosa
characterized by starvation, whereby one reaches or below 85% of one’s ideal body weight
- mainly in women and often occurs due to excessively low leptin levels
- can result of fertility and loss of menstruation
- can become life-threatening
bulimia nervosa
involves binge eating and then trying to get the food out of the body, also known as purging or fasting
- generally not life-threatening
- body weight often remains within the normal range
- however, purging can cause ofther physical problems such as mouth sores, ulcers in the oesophagus and loss of tooth enamel due to exposure to stomach acid
binge eating disorder
repeated excessive eating
- after a binge a person may feel very guilty and embarrased
- linked to obesity
- can be a health hazard
heredity component of eating disorders
internalizing problems such as stress, depression, and mood swings seem to play a role in development of EDs
- teenagers with EDs often have insecure attachments and an extreme need for approval
- these children are also often perfectionistic, have low self-esteem, and feel they have no control over their own lives
socio-economic status and life expectancy
people with a higher socio-economic status have a higher life expectancy than people with a low socio-economic status
socioeconomic health gap
wealthier people have a longer life expectancy than poor people
- starts before birth, as povery makes babies underweight
- can lead to heart disease and early death
- combined with poorer lifestyle (nutrition, medical care, etc)
gender and aging
women can live up to 10 years longer than men
- partly due to women having more social contacts
- mainly due to the extra X chromosome they have making women physically stronger at each stage
activities of daily living (ADL)
women often have ADL problems later in life
- the age at which one can live without ADL problems is called the health span
- more important to prolong healthspan than age at which one lives
major cognitive disorder (NCD) (dementia)
the label for any disease that causes severe, progressive cognitive loss, which affects a person’s independent life
mild vs major cognitive disorder
- mild form experience thinking problems but still able to live independently
- major form unable to live independently
deterioration progress
the deterioration progresses in different ways in different individuals
- these diseases are generally labelled as chronic
- on average one dies within 4 to 10 years
- these disorders typically occur in people who are well into old age
most common neurocognitive disorders
Alzheimer’s disease and vascular neurocognitive disorder or a combination of these 2
vascular neurocognitive disorder (commonly called vascular dementia)
refers to a deterioration in the vascular (blood) system or the network of arteries that feed the brain
- a person’s cognitive problems are caused by multiple small strokes
Alzheimer’s disease
directly affects the core structures of human consciousness, namely the neurons
- neurons die and are replaced by strange wavy structures called neurofibrillary tangles and by bullet-shaped proteins called senile plaques
- neural loss is compounded by vascular problems as these reduce blood flow to the brain
seven stages of Alzheimer’s disease
APOE-4 gene
the most important genetic factor in developing Alzheimer’s
- people having 2 copies of the APOE-4 gene have a 50% chance of developing the symptoms by the age of 68
focus on preventing Alzheimer’s
lies with a protein called amyloid
- a fatty substance that is the basic component of senile plaques
- accumulation of a toxic form of amyloid produces a compunt called tau (tau-p) that causes internal entanglement and neural decay
criteria for abnormal development
- statistical deviance: is the behavior outside the normal range of behavior
- mal-adaptiveness: does the behavior interfere with adaptation or pose a danger to oneself or others
- personal distress: does the behavior cause discomfort to the person
developmental psychopathology
the study of the origin and course of inappropriate behavior
developmental pathways leading to typical and atypical developmental outcomes
- continuity of maladaptation resulting in disorder
- initial maladaptation followed by positive change -> resilience
- continuous positive adjustment
- initial positive adjustment followed by a negative change towards pathology
typical vs atypical development
can be recognized by:
- social norms: expectations about how to behave within a particular social context
- age norms: expectations about what behavior is appropriate or typical for different ages
- nature-nurture: biological, psychological and social factors throughout the life course, as well as the impact of risk factors vs protective factors
- continuity-discontinuity: development/changes of psychpathology during the life span
diathesis-stress model
shows that the interaction between nature and nurture is important
developmental psychopathology through different life phases
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
characterized by social and communication problems, as well as limited interests and repetitive behavior
- starts in early childhood or present from birth
- diagnosis is often made as late as 4 years of age
- symptoms already noticeable at age 1
autism and attachment
more than half of autistic children are securely attached
- higher than average number develop disorganized-disorganized attachments
- large variation in degree, nature, severity, and causes of symptoms
reasons for increase in ASD prevalence
- increased awareness
- broader definition
- increased diagnosis
genetic and environmental influences on ASD
genes contribute significantly to the development of ASD; almost 19% of 3 year olds with older siblings with ASD also have it
- ASD most likely inherited from parents or a result of mutations
- environmental influences include viruses and chemicals (e.g. infections during pregnancy, prenatal exposure to rubella and exposure to alcohol)
treatments of ASD
focuses on behavioral and social skills training
- small minority of cases outgrow the symptoms of ASD
- improvement in functioning as one gets older
externalizing problems
- lack of self-control
- violations of social expectations
- being aggressive
- disobedient and disruptive
internalizing problems
- the child turns feelings of distress, sadness, or anger inward, bottling up emotions
- may be related to anxiety disorders, phobias, severe shyness, or depression
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
characterized by one or both symptoms: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsiveness
- children with ADHD usually very active
- difficult temeprament and irregular eating/sleeping patterns
possible causes of ADHD
- deviated frontal cortex and problems with executive functions (especially inhibition)
- lower levels of dopamine noradrenaline
- frontal cortex matures more slowly
ADHD treatment
can be treated with medication and behavioral threrapy
- pharmaceuticals: stimulant drugs (e.g. Ritalin and Adderall)
- behavioral therapy: learning to stay focused on tasks, control impulsivity and communicate socially
- medication > behavioral treatment, but combination is most effective
cannabis/marihuana (CG)
early onset and long-term use can lead to problems with memory and executive functions
- in general associated with decreased intelligence, impaired memory, poorer attention, and lower verbal ability
Dupperouzol et al. (2019)
- lower decision-making and episodic memory are associated with higher CG
- decision making ability predicted no change in CG
- riskier decision-making was associated with a higher CG
- increase in CG reduced memory performance for 1 year
substance use disorders
occur when a person continues to use a substance despite adverse effects
- most commonly used substance is alcohol
risk factors for depression
- experience of abuse or neglect
- depressed caregivers -> adopting the depressive interaction style of caregivers
- disorganized attachment
treatment of depression in children
- cognitive behavioral therapy
- parent-child interaction therapy for emotional development: teaching parents more effective parenting skills
- antidepressants to correct levels of neurotransmitters (not as effective in children as they are in adults, and only prescribed in severe cases)
transmission of depression
transmission from childhood is not as strong as from adolescence, but there is transmission from infancy to school age and then to adolescence
- half of children and adolescents with depression will have a new depressive episode in adulthood
depression and puberty
before puberty, depression rates are similar between boys and girls
- during puberty, the rates for girls increase, which may be due to differences in coping
different degrees of severity in Alzheimer’s disease
diagnostic bio-markers for Alzheimer’s disease
- mutation of genes such as the APOE-4
- atrophy in the hippocampus
- tempo-parietal cortical atrophy
cholinesterase inhibitors
an anti-dementia drug which slow down the process that breaks down an important neurotransmitter
memantine
an anti-dementia drug that is an NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonist, which works by regulating the activity of glutamate, an important neurotransmitter in the brain involved in learning and memory
antipsychotics and antidepressants
used as an anti-dementia drug, but also for other symptoms such as depression
risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease
- alcohol consumption
- saturated fat
- smoking
- age
- gender (women more likely to get Alzheimer’s than men)
- genes (APOE-4, PS-1, PS-2, and APP)
- physical conditions such as diabetes, traumatic brain injury and cardiovascular disease
protective factors for Alzheimer’s disease
- high level of education
- high SES
- rich social network and social commitment
- physical activity
- mediterranean diet
- drinking coffee
