Module 2: Research Methods, Assessment, and Intersectional Approaches to Understanding Mental Disorder

Question 1

The perspective taken when examining the cause of psychopathology determines many things:

Answer 1

• It directs research
  -Guides diagnostic decisions
  -Defines treatment responses

Question 2

Biological and psycho-dynamic formulations view dysfunctional behaviour as…

Answer 2

product of forces beyond the individuals control

Question 3

Biological model encourages researchers to seek…

Answer 3

-a physical basis for disorders
- leads to formulation of a diagnostic system that classifies people as disordered
- and implies that physical interventions should be treatments of choice

Question 4

Behavioural perspective leads researchers to seek…

Answer 4

environmental events that shape specific dysfunctional responses and emphasizes the classification of behaviours rather than people.

Treatment involves either manipulating the environment or modifying perceptions people have regarding their experiences and themselves

Question 5

A theory that attributes the supposed causal chain of dysfunctional behavioural to a single factor. Attempts to trace origins of a particular disorder to one factor.
Ex: social anxiety runs in families

Answer 5

Single factor theory (reflects lack of current comprehensive knowledge of disorders).

Question 6

What is the primary focus of most single factor models?

Answer 6

That they reflect the primary focus of the researchers, theorist, or clinician rather than the belief that there really is a single cause.
Human beh. is unlikely to be the product of a single defect or experience.

Question 7

Interactionist Explanations

Answer 7

View behaviour as product of the interaction of a variety of factors (make more satisfactory theories in describing mental disorders).

Question 8

Scientific theories are judged to be valuable b/c they embody 3 essential features:

Answer 8

1) Integrate most of what is currently known about the phenomena in simplest way possible (parsimony)
2) Make testable predictions about aspects of the phenomena that were not previously thought of.
3) Make it possible to specify what evidence would deny the theory.

Question 9

Null Hypothesis

Answer 9

Proposes that a prediction made from a given theory is false. Experiments (and other research strategies) are set up not to prove the worth of a theory, but rather reject (or fail to reject) the null hypothesis.

Thus, theories gain strength b/c alternative explanations are rejected.

Question 10

General aims of theories about mental disorders are to…

Answer 10

1) explain etiology of the problem behaviour
2) Identify the factors that maintain the behaviour
3) Predict the course of the disorder
4) Design effective treatments

Question 11

Aaron T.Beck’s cognitive formulation of depression and anxiety

Answer 11

Has been proposed to describe how CT can not only altar an individual’s cognitive processes in order to reduce symptoms of depression or anxiety, but also affect their neurobiology

Question 12

The most populat theories that have been advanced regarding etiology of mental disorders:

Answer 12

1) Biological theories
2) Psychodynamic theories (derived from Freud)
3) Behavioural or cognitive behavioural theories
4) Cognitive theories examining dysfunctional thoughts or beliefs
5) Humanistic/existential theories examining interpersonal processes
6) Socio-cultural influences

Question 13

The fair and equitable allocation of burdens and privileges, rights and responsibilities, pains and gains in society. Bargaining powers.

Answer 13

Social Justice.

Evidence indicates that many psychological ills are rooted in social injustive, but mental health promotion and prevention programs rarely address these issues.

Question 14

Cultural competence

Answer 14

The degree of compatibility between the cultural and linguistic characteristics of a community and the manner in which the combined policies, structures, and processes underlying local mental health services seek to make these services available, accessible and utilized.

Question 15

The importance of promoting cultural competence through multiple levels of intervention includes:

Answer 15

1) Organization of health systems + institutions
2) Workforce training and composition
3) Provision of culturally focused service models. (e.g., developing and offering interventions that are tailored to cultural context of specific populations.)

Question 16

Example of culturally adapted intervention

Answer 16

CBT

Question 17

Example of culturally rooted intervention

Answer 17

cultural treatment centres, rites of passage programs

Question 18

The process of identifying those perceived to be different in a way that reinforces relations of domination or subordination between those deemed to be mainstream or normal and those who are not.

Answer 18

Othering.

Some argue cultural competence serves to reinforce oppression by othering,

Question 19

Mental Health Equity

Answer 19

State of fairness or impartiality, and applies to any systems that determine how individual or group rights and claims are fulfilled.

Question 20

Inequities are often indicated by

Answer 20

disproportionalities and disparities

Question 21

disproportionalities

Answer 21

differences between the propotion of a group within a service system compared to their proportion within general population

Question 22

disparities

Answer 22

difference in outcomes or experiences between two or more groups who experience the same event.

Question 23

An approach to social justice that centres issues of race and racism in understanding and addressing mental health and social problems

Answer 23

Anti-Racism

*There is a large body of evidence indicates that European colonization and intergenerational trauma are linked to the disproportionate rates of mental health distress among indigenous peoples.

Question 24

Internalized racism

Answer 24

refers to psychological internalization of negative beliefs and stigma about a persons own racial or ethnic group.

Question 25

Consists of beliefs, behavioural practices and policies of societies and institutions that function to disadvantage racialized people and produce racial inequities

Answer 25

Institutional racism

Question 26

Frameworks to inform anti-racist practice in psychology and other health and social services proposes 5 main domains:

Answer 26

1) Reflexive rational practice
2) Socio-political education
3) Structural power analysis
4) systems change
5) Monitoring and evaluation

Question 27

Resilience, risk and protective factors

Answer 27

resilience - positive adaptation
risk - conditions that increase negative mental health outcomes
protective - resources that offset, buffer risk factors

Question 28

Interactionist perspectives on resilience note that…

Answer 28

risk and protective factors do not affect everyone the same way and are influenced by individual differences and interactions with environmental differences.

Ex: divorce affects young boys more than girls in short term but girls suffer from “sleeper effects” and feel consequences later in adolescence.

Question 29

Culmuative risk

Answer 29

The summation of a person’s risk for a disorder or disease up to a specified age.

Question 30

4 central mechanisms can help ppl cope with adversity and develop positive mental health:

Answer 30

1) reducing risk impact
2) interrupting unhealthy chain reactions
3) enhancing self esteem + self efficacy
4) creating opportunities for personal growth

Question 31

Prevention activities may be biological or psychological

Answer 31

Ex: of biological primary prevention - encouraging pregnant women to avoid alcohol can precent fetal alcohol disorder

Ex of biological secondary prevention is the administration of special diets to children bown with phenylketonuria

Question 32

An intervention or prevention program that targets individuals (usually children or adolescence) at high risk for disorder or disease.

Answer 32

High risk program

Question 33

The most effective prevention programs are those that:

Answer 33

• are comprehensive
• are varied teaching methods
• provide sufficient “dosage”
• theory driven
  -promote positive relationships with adults and peers
• appropriately times
  -socio-culturally relevant
• use outcome evaluation
  -have well-trained staff

Question 34

Preventing substance abuse programs that work include active participation and role plays that focus on:

Answer 34

1) knowledge and attitudes
2) drug refusal interpersonal skills
3) intrapersonal skills (goal setting, problem solving, stress reduction)

Implementation is important for understanding outcomes

Question 35

What is the role of theory in guiding our understanding of mental health disorders?

Answer 35

Hint: What a theory is, how we might use it in putting together a case, theory about what constitutes a mental health disorder

Question 36

What are the criteria for judging assessment methods?

Answer 36

Hint: What does it tell us, what might it’s limitations be?

Question 37

What are the pros and cons of various assessment methods?

Answer 37

Hint: What makes one method good or bad, or good for one purpose and not another.

Question 38

prevention synthesis and translation

Answer 38

Acknowledges that scientific reports are insufficient tools for transmitting knowledge

Question 38

Scaling up of a program to other settings for widespread adoption

Answer 38

Dissemination

Question 39

Wandersman argue that dissemination is influenced by three inter-related systems:

Answer 39

1) prevention synthesis and translation
2) prevention delivery
3) prevention support

Question 40

prevention delivery

Answer 40

Individual, organizational and community supports for prevention at local level.

Question 41

prevention support

Answer 41

Stakeholders directly involved in implementing the program

Question 42

A good assessment tool depends on two things:

Answer 42

1) Accurate ability to measure some aspect of the person being assessed
2) knowledge of how ppl in general fare on such a measure for the purpose of comparison

Question 43

Alternate-form reliability

Answer 43

An attribute of a test demonstrated by a high correlation between scores on two versions of a test. To circumvent the problem that one may improve on a test the 2nd time around b/c of practice, text designers may prepare two forms of the same test —- That is, they decide what construct that want their test to measure, think up q’s (or items) that would test that construct, and then word those questions in a slightly different way in order to create a second test that measure the same construct as the first.

Question 44

Refers to the degree of reliability within a test - the extet to which different parts of the same test yield the same results.

Answer 44

Internal consistency

Question 45

Split-half reliability

Answer 45

A measure of internal consistency often ascertained by comparing responses on odd-numbered test items with responses on even-numbered test items and seeing if the scores for these responses are correlated.

Question 46

A measure of internal consistency, calculated by averaging the intercorrelations of all items on a given test. T

Answer 46

Coefficient alpha

he higher the coefficient alpha, the higher the internal consistency of the test.

Question 47

Face validity

Answer 47

Means that the user of a test believes that the items on the test resemble the characteristics assocaietd with the concept of being tested.

Question 48

Content Validity

Answer 48

requires that a tests’ content include a representative sample of all behaviours thought to be related to the construct that the test is designed to measure.

Question 49

An attribute of a test that gives higher scores to ppl already known to have greater ability in the area it tests. Used b/c some qualities are easier to recognize than to define completely, such as artistic ability.

Answer 49

Criterion validity

Question 50

Neuropsychological screening tests:

Answer 50

Bender visual motor gestalt
Repeatable Battery Assessment of Neuropsych status update
Montreal cognitive assessment
Halstead-Reitan neuropsych test battery

Question 51

Bender visual motor gestalt

Answer 51

produces many false negatives

Question 52

Montreal cognitive assessment

Answer 52

Quicker, more practical

Question 52

Halstead-Reitan neuropsych test battery

Answer 52

several hours, is not a screening test

Question 53

Actuarial approach

Answer 53

An approach to evaluating the data on patients, making predictions, and coming to decisions that relies exclusively on statistical procedures, empirical methods, and formal rules.

Question 54

Clinical Approach

Answer 54

An approach to evaluating and interpretating the data on patients, making predictions, and coming to decisions that relies on judgement of clinician’s experience and personal judgement.

Guided by intuition honed with professional experience rather than formal rules.

Question 55

Refers to the importance of a test within a specific theoretical framework and can only be understood in the context of that framework.

Answer 55

Construct Validity.

Useful when the construct to be measured is abstract, such as self esteem.