Normality, Mental Health And Mental Illness

Question 1

What is the socio-cultural approach?

Answer 1

Describes normality and abnormality in terms of what a particular society and culture views as acceptable or unacceptable behaviour.

Question 2

What is an example of socio-cultural approach?

Answer 2

In Aus people marry one person (normal), in other countries normal to marry more than one person

Question 3

What is the functional approach?

Answer 3

Thoughts, feelings and behaviour are considered normal if the individual is able to cope with living independently (function) in society.

Question 4

What is an example of the functional approach?

Answer 4

Being able to feed and clothe yourself, find a job, make friends, it is normal to stay in bed all day now and then (sick/tired) but to do it everyday is not normal.

Question 5

What is the historical approach?

Answer 5

Based on the notion that, within a particular society or culture, what is considered normal and abnormal can change over time.

Question 6

What is an example of the historical approach?

Answer 6

Homosexuality used to be mental disorder, now it’s common and normal. Smacking a child used to be normal, now it is abnormal and parent could be charged.

Question 7

What is the situational approach?

Answer 7

Within a society or culture, thoughts, feelings and behaviour that may be considered normal in one situation may be considered abnormal in another.

Question 8

What is an example of situational approach?

Answer 8

Normal to wear pjs to bed, abnormal to wear pjs to school

Question 9

What is the medical approach?

Answer 9

States that abnormal behaviour is an “illness” that has an underlying biological (physical) cause which may be inherited, or develop from problems associated with brain structure, brain activity or brain chemistry

Question 10

What is the statistical approach?

Answer 10

Normality is how most people think, feel or behave and abnormal behaviour is how few people think, feel or behave.

Question 11

What is normality?

Answer 11

A pattern of thoughts, feelings or behaviour that conforms to a usual, typical or expected standard within a cultural context.

Question 12

What is abnormality?

Answer 12

A pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are deviant, distressing and dysfunctional (X3 D)

Question 13

What is mental health?

Answer 13

A state of emotional and social wellbeing in which individuals realise their own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively and can contribute to a community. On a continuum, we may be more or less mentally healthy.

Question 14

What is a mental illness?

Answer 14

A psychological dysfunction that usually involves impairment in the ability to cope with everyday life, distress, thoughts, feelings and behaviour not typical of the person and inappropriate in their culture.

Question 15

What is the biopsychosocial framework?

Answer 15

An approach to describing and explaining how biological, psychological and social factors combine and interact to influence a person’s physical and mental health.

Question 16

What is classification?

Answer 16

Refers to the organisation of items into groups on the basis of their common properties, often groups into which items are organised are called categories.

Question 17

What are the underlying principles of classification?

Answer 17

It enables order and organisation, it makes it easier to identify and understand relationships between different groups, the use of specific terms as labels for different categories assists communication between people who use them.

Question 18

What are the two main approaches to classifying mental disorders or illnesses?

Answer 18

Categorical approach and dimensional approach.

Question 19

What is the categorical approach?

Answer 19

An approach to classifying mental disorders involving an assessment of whether an individual has a disorder on the basis of symptoms and characteristics that are described as typical of the disorder.

Question 20

What are examples of the categorical approach?

Answer 20

DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10

Question 21

What is the DSM?

Answer 21

A categorical system for diagnosing and classifying mental disorders based on recognisable symptoms that are precisely described for each disorder.

Question 22

What is in the DSM?

Answer 22

Known causes of the disorder, statistics (gender, age at onset, and prognosis), prevalence, whether it is likely to affect others in the family, description of how the disorder will progress. DOES NOT CONTAIN TREATMENTS FOR DISORDERS

Question 23

What are the 5 axis of the DSM called?

Answer 23

1. Clinical disorders, 2. Personality Disorders and Mental Retardation, 3. Generic mental conditions, 4. Psychological and environmental problems/stressors, 5. Global assessment of functioning
   When making a diagnosis all 5 axis must be taken into account to fully evaluate the individuals mental condition.

Question 24

What is the ICD-10?

Answer 24

International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. the international standard of classifying and diagnosing all diseases and health problems. A categorical system for diagnosing and classifying mental disorders based on recognisable symptoms that are precisely described for each disorder.

Question 25

What are the similarities between the DSM and ICD?

Answer 25

Provide detailed descriptions of each disorder. Diagnostic guidelines provided.

Question 26

What are the differences between ICD and DSM?

Answer 26

• ICD is less detailed.

- the DSM HAS MORE INFORMATION in regards to the course, prognosis and prevalence of each disorder.

Question 27

What are the strengths of categorical approaches?

Answer 27

• very detailed, comprehensive in terms of disorders, key features and symptoms.
• allows for consistent diagnosis and treatments in all hospitals and clinics throughout the world.
• regularly revised on the basis of research findings.

Question 28

What are the limitations of the dimensional approach?

Answer 28

-the use of categories can promote negative labelling, stigma and shame
-ignores the the patient’s unique combination of symptoms
Some disorders have low inter-rater reliability- doctors often come to different conclusions about the appropriate diagnosis.

Question 29

What is a dimensional approach?

Answer 29

Quantifies a person’s symptoms or other characteristics of interests and represents them with numerical values on one or more scales or continuum a, rather than assigning them to a category.

Question 30

How do dimensional approaches work?

Answer 30

Classification is accomplished by assessing a person on relevant dimensions and giving them a score on each of them. This can be done using standardised inventories or questionnaires.

Question 31

What is the key feature of dimensional approach?

Answer 31

A mental disorder is not considered in terms of whether it is present or absent. Rather the focus is on grading a person in terms of the magnitude, degree or severity on particular dimensions rather than assigning them to a diagnostic category.

Question 32

What are the strengths of the dimensional approach?

Answer 32

• avoids slotting people into single diagnostic categories, refusing the possibility of the person being stigmatised.
• takes into account a wider range of a person’s symptoms and characteristics
• quantifying and grading patient symptoms can provide clearer descriptions of their mental state to identify the most impacting factors

Question 33

What are the limitations of the dimensional approach?

Answer 33

• disagreement about the type/number of dimensions associated with disorders that would suitably represent the wide range of mental disorder symptoms.
• no standardised inventory or system to support a mental health professional using a dimensional approach.
• can be time-consuming for mental health professionals to create relevant scales/questions to suitably rate patients on many dimensions.

Question 34

What are the 6 different approaches to describing normality?

Answer 34

Socio-cultural, functional, historical, situational, medical, statistical