Mental Disorders and History of Psychology Flashcards
What are the 2 types of stress stimuli?
Systemic: physical injuries/fears. Ex: pain, lack of O2, risk of pain
Processive: psychological, more long term and have a greater overall effect. Ex: financial, social.
What are 2 psychological ways you can measure stress (i.e., tests)?
- SRRS: life events over 12 months
2. Daily Hassles: daily hassles over a month (Kanner)
What are the primary and secondary appraisals in terms of stress?
- Primary appraisal: assessment of the meaning of the stimulus (negative or positive, etc.)
- Secondary appraisal: assessment of resources available
Explain how the autonomic nervous system relates to stress.
- Responsible for the flight or fight response (epinephrine), and cool down after the stress (norepinephrine)
- Norep. and epinep. are catecholamines released from the adrenal gland, along with steroids: cortisol.
- adrenal medullary system: autonomic system from hypothalamus to adrenal medulla (fast acting)
- Hypothalamic-pituitary system: hypothalamus releases cortisol-related-hormones to pituitary gland which releases hormone to adrenal cortex to release cortisol
What is the general adaptation syndrome developed by Hans Selye?
Hans selye generalized a universal response to stress: Alarm (physiological shock, adrenal-medullary system in peak, sym. n.s. kicks in), resistance (cortisol), exhaustion (cannot continue adaptation to stress and immune system becomes compromised).
What are the 2 body mechanisms when it comes to adaptations to stress?
- Homeostatic: maintaining balances requires return to baseline
- Allostasis: responding to stimuli/stress to maintain homeostasis (change).
Explain the differences between long and short term stress in terms of brain physiology.
- Long term: cortisol affects the hippocampus because of the high cortisol receptor density. Does this by affecting the dendrites, decreasing neurogenesis, and then leading to decreased neural plasticity (impair memory and chage brain volume).
- Short term: Increases memory ability (adaptive reasons).
What is the biopsychosocial model when it comes to health psychology?
Looks at the overlap between genetics/hormones, thoughts/emotions/behaviours, culture/status, and interactions to treat a disorder.
What is the physiological reactivity model?
An event can lead to a positive or negative appraisal which then leads to either a neg or pos emotion.
Stressors are perceived in different ways by different people: can have more of an effect on others, and therefore some people are more susceptible to mental illness.
Why is hard to change our behaviour, as humans?
We act according to the pleasure principle, and our society is not designed to encourage healthy behaviour.
- We are motivated by immediate and tangible results, where change typically takes a while to occur
What are the 3 groups of coping strategies?
- Problem-focused: trying to change the situation causing the stress
- Emotion-focused: regulating the experience of distress, usually when one feels like they can’t change the stressor
- Seeking social support: combines both through direct effects like socialization, and the buffering hypothesis stating social support buffers stress effects
What is mindfulness?
Paying attention to the present moment, intentionally or not, with no judgement.
Everybody does this to some degree, depending on situations (e.g., being with your significant other, eating a food you really like tends to increase this).
It improves mental health, stress, blood pressure, chronic pain, sleep and energy, immune function, and anxiety and mood.
What is the medical model to mental disorders?
Proposes thinking of mental disorders as a disease. This brought rise to better treatment.
Describe the DSM?
The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: Emil Krapelin developed this in 1952, based on symptoms and syndromes. Currently on the 5th edition, and has 22 major categories.
What is some of the controversy with DSM-5?
- It medicalizes normal behaviour/blurring lines.
- Mainly only based on north American culture/behaviour
- Arguments of too many categories with ignorance to biological underpinnings
- More dwelling on symptoms.
What are the 4 D’s of defining disorder?
- Disturbance: of though, emotions, or behaviour
- Dysfunction: of a biological system/developmental process
- Distress: (or disability) in everyday life to self or to others
- Deviant: thought or emotion, or behaviour , but only combined with dysfunction.
What are the disadvantages of “labelling” a person with a mental illness?
- Possible effects in social, career, and cultural life
- Allows them to understand why they have differences
- Can provide accomadations
- Mislabelling/or missing entirely can leading to large under-labelled people
What are examples of universal and culture specific disorders?
Universal: schizophrenia, depression, panic attacks
Culture specific: some anxiety disorders like in Japan the fear of offending others. Also anorexia mainly in western countries, but beginning to expand.
What is a comorbid disorder?
When someone has 2 mental illness with however much degree at the same time.
What age group is the most susceptible/likely to experience a mental/substance abuse disorder?
Between the ages of 15 and 24
How many people are currently suffering from a mental disorder and how many people do in their lifetime?
1/5 currently suffering
1/2 will in their lifetime
Briefly explain neurodevelopment disorders.
- It is one of the 22 categories in the DSM, typically beginning at childhood and worsening.
- Examples include communication problems, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, learning disorders, motor disorders.
- Most don’t go away but severity can chagne
What are the 3 impairment categories of ADHD?
- Inattention
- Hyperactivity
- Impulsivity
What are the requirements for a diagnosis?
- Impairment in 2 or more of the categories, with typically 6 symptoms in each for kids, and 5 for adults.
- Symptoms present before the age of 12
How does ADHD differ between boys and girls?
-Typically 2-4% for girls, and 6-9% for boys, with a 6:1 ratio of being referred
- Boys tend to be more defiant and aggressive, where girls tend to show more setbacks in attention
-Ratios become more equal in adolescence and adulthood
DSM criteria/cutoffs also my be more applicable and favoured toward male ADHD
What are some of the effects/consequences of ADHD?
It can affect education, occupation, and relationships.
Are more at risk for substance abuse, arrests/incarceration, and other mental health difficulties
What are some of the theories and causes of ADHD?
- Genetics (20-50% have another family member with it, monozygotic twins show correspondence).
- Environmental factors from parents with ADHD (i.e., they partake in more risky behaviour)
- Brain differences include: elevated development in basal ganglia, amygdala; frontal lobe under arrousal; dopamine deficiency
- Food additives show a link, where sugar DOES NOT
- Blood lead levels show a link
What are the 2 sets of core symptoms in autism-spectrum disorder?
- Impaired social communication and interactions
2. Repetitive behaviours and restricted interests
What are the variances with intellectuality in ADHD?
- About 25-50% of children have occurring intellectual impairments
- Occasionally high function autism occurs
- Savant skills are possible but not common
- Show comorbid cognitive difficulties (i.e. poor executive functions)
Briefly explain the diagnostic techniques and statistics of Autism.
- Infant sibling studies are when researchers bring in siblings of children with autism with the idea that their siblings are also likely to also develop it. This allows them to look at the very early precursors to autism, including: poor eye contact, decreased babbling, less positive affect, less interest in faces). Thus earlier diagnosis around the age of 6 months.
- Prevalence is consistent around the world, where girls are 4-5 times less likely than males to be diagnosed.
- Typically not diagnosed till age 4 due to the lack of biological markers, and in functioning individuals diagnosis may not be until adolescence or adulthood.
What are causes and connections of autism?
- Genetics play a large role, and is a multi-gene complex. Environmental factors affect whether the genes are expressed: specifically in utero and early development.
- Shows link with more problems before, during, and after birth.
- Paternal (fathers) age plays a large age.
- Linked to higher traffic pollutant concentrations
- No structural brain differences
- Differences in brain connections
What is classified as a major depressive disorder?
Period of at least 2 weeks of depressed mood and/or loss of interest along with 4 other symptoms: changes in body weight/appetite, sleep problems, changes in energy levels, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, poor concentration, suicidal thoughts
- Cannot have mania/elevated mood period (thats bipolar disorder)
Explain the statistics with Depression.
- high mortality: 15% commit suicide
- 2x higher in females
- Typically onset in 20s with females, and 40s with males
- More substance abuse in males
- Rates similar in children and adolescnes
- Recurrence rate of 50% (episodes), 80% if had one episode usually within 5 years of the last.
- On average 5-9 episodes in a lifetime
What are the causes and links of depression?
- Combination of brain chemistry and life circumstances
- Diathesis-stress model: serotonin transport gene (2 short alleles) but only in accordance of stressful events
- The under activity or nor/epinephrine, dopamine and serotonin linked
- Low reactivity of emotional centres
- Higher avoidant and low-reward-orietned personalities
What is the cognitive model of depression?
Cognitive bias for negative events, memories, and perceptions, leading to increased negative thoughts, emotions, and then symptoms of depression. Critical outlook on life also has a strong connection.
What is the behavioural model of depression?
The decreased award seeking and avoidance leads to social isolation, further increasing depression.
Inadequate positive reinforcers/many punishers will bring on depression.
What are the criteria for Bipolar 1 disorder?
Requires at least one episode of mania (depression not a requirement but almost always present). Normal moods tend to occur in between episodes.
What are the criteria for Bipolar 2 disorder?
An episode of hypomania and major depressive disorder, but no mania.