Lecture 3: Social Construction & Management Flashcards

1
Q

pre 1930s view of mental illness

A
  • Before the 1930s, mental illness was viewed as an unresolved psychological conflict that stemmed from an individual’s development (psychoanalytic perspective)
  • Mental illness was viewed as dimensional and existing on a continuum
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2
Q

changes in the field of psychiatry

A
  • The condition of World War ll veterans resulted in a greater need for a streamlined classification system
  • Post World War ll, the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) came out
  • In the 1970s, there was a growing anti-psychiatry and anti-institutionalization movement
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3
Q

1970s- 2013 view of mental illness

A
  • The 3rd version of the DSM embraced the dominance of a biomedical model
  • This pulled in some credibility to the field of psychiatry
  • There was a greater emphasis on making discrete diagnoses
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4
Q

2013- present view of mental illness

A
  • In 2013, the DSM-lV attempted to return to the idea of mental illness as dimensional and existing on a continuum
  • Advances in biomedical technology suggest that mental health could exist on a continuum
  • High degrees of comorbidity between mental illnesses suggest that the boundaries between disorders are arbitrary
  • The field wasn’t much closer to understanding the underlying causes of mental illness
  • This attempt was ultimately unsuccessful
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5
Q

Psychiatric nosology

A

the classification of mental disorders

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6
Q

reliability

A

concerned with the consistency of results

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7
Q

validity

A

concerned with whether what we’re measuring what it is intended to

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8
Q

problems with the DSM-lll

A
  • Those in charge of writing it had a lot of control over what constitutes a mental illness
  • It continued to have reliability issues
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9
Q

why is classification important?

A
  • Allocation of resources
  • Identity and stigma
  • Reflection of the social environment
  • Professional authority and legitimacy in the sciences
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10
Q

Szasz’s myth of mental illness

A
  • Szasz was a psychiatrist who criticized the notion of mental illnesses because doctors couldn’t find concrete evidence of mental illness in the brain
  • He thought that there were fundamental issues with viewing mental illness as a medical disorder
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11
Q

Szasz’s points of departure

A

conception of mental illness as real (a result of neurological defects) and fit within the same framework as a physical ailment

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12
Q

Szasz’s two fundamental errors

A
  • Neurological consequences cannot encompass what people do
  • False dualism between mental and physical symptoms
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13
Q

Szasz’s definition of mental illness

A

Szasz defined mental illness as a deviation from an agreed-upon norm

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14
Q

is psychiatry neutral?

A
  • Psychiatry is not-value free
  • There is friction between socially constructed deviations and objective medical remedies
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15
Q

objectives of mental illnesses

A
  • Hide difficulties of living
  • An explanation for why problems exist
  • Obscure moral conflicts of humanity
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16
Q

resolution to the objectives of mental illness

A
  • Disease -> problems in living
  • Manifestation of the burden of understanding
17
Q

two types of sociological assessment techniques

A

diagnostic & dimension instruments

18
Q

diagnostic instruments

A
  • Assess lifetime and current psychiatric status
  • Ex. Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short-Form (CIDI-SF)
19
Q

advantages of diagnostic instruments

A
  • Helps identify those in need of services
  • It may produce more precise assessments of mental status
20
Q

disadvantages of diagnostic instruments

A
  • There is a high degree of overlap in diagnosis and treatment
  • Discrete measurement of non-discrete phenomena
21
Q

dimensional instruments

A
  • Assess the presence, frequency, and severity of symptoms
  • Ex. Beck Anxiety Inventory
22
Q

advantages of dimensional instuments

A
  • It helps reduce misclassification issues
  • Still able to help with diagnosis
23
Q

disadvantages of dimensional instruments

A
  • Only measures current distress
  • Not always practical
24
Q

social constructionism

A

Emphasis on cultural and historical aspects

25
Q

key themes of social constructionism

A
  • Social control
  • Power
  • Iterative process
  • Structure vs. agency
26
Q

cultural meanings of illness

A

Illnesses have particular social and cultural meanings attached to them

27
Q

illness experiences as socially constructed

A
  • Social realities are created
  • Identity formation and meaning-making
28
Q

medical knowledge as socially constructed

A
  • Medical knowledge as a reflection and reproduction of inequality
  • Can we be completely objective in diagnosing mental health conditions?
29
Q

medicalization

A
  • the process by which nonmedical problems become defined and treated as medical
  • Behaviours transformed into diseases with assumed biological or neurological bases
30
Q

why is medicalization increasing?

A
  • Professional politics
  • Pharmaceutical companies
  • Insurance companies
31
Q

pros of medicalization

A
  • Lessen stigma/build legitimacy
  • Build solidarity
  • Increase awareness
  • Explanation of potential unknowns
  • Financial support where needed
  • Access to resources
32
Q

cons of medicalization

A
  • Decontextualization of mental health
  • Reductionist
  • Misinterpretation of normal behaviour
  • Inflation of prevalence rates
  • Rise in pharmaceuticals
  • Policing of behaviours