Option 2: Abnormal psychology studies Flashcards
A study to question normality and abnormality
Luhrman 2015
Luhrman aim
investigate the impact culture has on the experience of hearing voices
Luhrman sample
- 60 people diagnosed with schizophrenia
- From Ghana (Accra), US (California) and India (Chennai)
- All heard voices
- 31 women 29 men
Luhrman method
- Structured interviews in english or native language
- Number, frequency and familiarity with voices
Whether they engaged and what the voices said - Whether they were a positive influence in their life
- What they thought the causes were
Luhrman results
- All cultures had good and bad voices
- Non US = familiar eg. family or spirit, 75% in Ghana God, 50% positive
- US = 10% recognised voices, 25% God even though 75% religious, 70% told to hurt themselves or someone else
- Seen as intrusion or deeply distressing which was rare in non american and they usually described as enjoyable, interesting or playful
- US 85% said schizophrenia and disrupted thoughts
- 20% of non US used labels not an illness but a relationship
Luhrman conclusion
- violent voices common in Western experience of schizophrenia not inevitable
- people connect with voices = may be able to modify = less frightening experience
Luhrman strengths
- Structured interview = easy to compare
- Had native speaker
- Triangulation
- Controlled for religiosity and urban-dwelling
- Recorded and transcribed
Luhrman limitations
- Social desirability
- Demand characteristics
- Might not want to talk badly about family members or spirits
- Did not identify race of american participants
Two studies to question the validity of diagnosis
Rosenhan 1973
Li-repac 1980
Rosenhan aim
investigate how doctors diagnose people as “sane” or “insane” - not used in modern psychology
Rosenhan sample
- 8 pseudo-patients - 5 m 3 f, various ages
- Rosenhan was one himself
- staff of 12 hospitals in 5 states in USA - actual participants
- no consent
Rosenhan method 1
- told doctor hearing voices - often unclear, but said words like “empty” and “thud”
- 1973, DSM II = clear sign of schizophrenia
described lives as they were - After admitted acted completely normal
- Talk to patients and staff, taking notes on experiences
only way to get out if convinced staff they were “sane”
Rosenhan results 1
- All admitted
- Ranged from 7 to 52 days with average 19 days
- All released with “schizophrenia in remission,” and one “manic depressive psychosis.”
- nurse’s notes showed no signs of abnormality during stay
Rosenhan conclusion 1
- once initial diagnosis, label of schizophrenia remained - even though no signs of abnormality
- challenged the validity of diagnosis and how may influence staff
Rosenhan method 2
- hospitals told 1 or more pseudo-patients try to be admitted over three months
- staff rated all patients 1 - 10 scale for “likelihood of being a pseudo-patient.”
Rosenhan results 2
- 193 patients - none were pseudo-patients
- 41 judged to be pseudo-patients
- one psychiatrist suspected 23
Rosenhan conclusion 2
- validity affected when doctor’s credibility at risk
- less likely to make diagnosis and feared making mistake
- Sick role bias - when someone comes to dr, they assume there is a problem so look for symptoms
Rosenhan limitations
- Limited sample
- Only tested for one disorder
- Ethical considerations - deception, consent, spent time working with fake patients which could have been - spent on real patients
- Stressful for pseudo-patients
- No can verify how they were treated in hospital and all notes self reported
- Researcher bias
Li-repac aim
How clinician’s bias and stereotyping affects diagnosis
Li-repac sample
- 10 patients used - 5 white and 5 Chinese
- all diagnosed with mental illness
- controlled for age, socioeconomic status and pathology
- 5 white clinicians and 5 Chinese-American male - actual participants
- recruited through personal contact
- white had no previous contact with Asian patients
Li-repac method
- semi-structured interviews with patients + videotaped
- questions like “How have you been feeling lately?” and “How do you spend a typical day?”
- Participants describe ideal, functioning individual using 112-item test - no significant difference = similar definition of normality
- randomly assigned videos to rate for normality - 2 white and 2 Chinese patients
- describe personal traits and signs of pathology
Li-repac results
- White rating white = easy going, adventurous, capable, reasonable etc
- White rating chinese = anxious, awkward, dependable, intelligent, mild etc
- Chinese rating chinese = adaptable, friendly, dependable, ambitious, self controlled etc
- Chinese rating white = aggressive, rebellious, talkative, rational, complicated etc
Li-repac conclusion
- White saw Chinese patients more depressed Chinese raters
- White saw Chinese patients less socially competent and less capacity for relationships than Chinese raters
- Chinese rated more severe pathology when judging quiet patients
Li-repac limitations
- Participant variables
- Social desirability
biological explanation of ptsd
- In animals exposure to severe stress can damage hippocampus
- some human studies show smaller hippocampal volume in individuals with PTSD
- Does this represent the neurotoxic effect of trauma, or is smaller hippocampal volume a pre-existing condition that renders the brain more vulnerable to the development of PTSD?
study for the biological explanation of ptsd
Gilbertson 2002
Gilbertson aim
To investigate whether low hippocampal volume is a symptom or etiology of PTSD
Gilbertson sample
- 34 sets of monozygotic twins
- with on trauma-exposed twin in each pair
- raised in the same household
Gilbertson method
- Two conditions
- trauma-exposed twin did not develop PTSD
- trauma-exposed twin developed PTSD
- MRI scans were used in order to gauge hippocampal volume
Gilbertson results
- Trauma-exposed with PTSD + trauma unexposed twins = both had smaller hippocampi
- As symptoms of severity increase = lower hippocampal volume
Gilbertson conclusions
Smaller hippocampal volume is an etiology of PTSD and increases vulnerability to PTSD
Gilbertson strengths
- Twins = Assumed they had similar experiences and so similar hippocampi in terms of structure and function
- fMRI = accurate and can’t show demand characteristics
Gilbertson limitations
- Might have had very different experiences
- Only correlational = no cause and effect
- Different types of trauma
cognitive explanation of ptsd
- appraisals (way you mentally process an event) of traumatic event, PTSD symptoms and reaction of others are critical influences in posttraumatic responses
- negative appraisals = avoidance and maintaining a negative sense of self
- Adaptive appraisals = belief that everything will be alright and PTSD symptoms are normal after trauma, acceptance
study for the cognitive explanation of ptsd
Hitchcock 2015
Hitchcock aim
investigated correlations between negative appraisals after experiencing a traumatic event and the development of PTSD symptoms
Hitchcock sample
- 97 children aged 7-17 years (mean age 12.8)
- admitted to hospital because they had experienced a one-off traumatic event (e.g. car accident, house fire, etc.)
- On average in hospital for a week
Hitchcock method
- Trauma interview
- With parents
- History of child trauma
- Previous psychological treatment
- Rating 0-3 injury severity
- Symptom measure
- using the “Clinically Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) (modified for children)
- negative appraisals measured
- using a 25-item self-report questionnaire called the “Child Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (CPTCI)
- Done 1 month after events and 6 months after
Hitchcock results
there was a moderate but statistically significant correlation between negative appraisals and PTSD symptom severity after 6 months
Hitchcock conclusion
Negative appraisals can increase the chances of developing PTSD
Hitchcock limitations
- Children not same for adults
- Ethical considerations
- Correlational = no cause and effect relationship
sociocultural explanation of ptsd
- if the risk factors outweigh the protective factors then you are more likely to get ptsd
- eg. less money and social support
- likely to be lower class, pocs and women
- SIT - when feel separated from communities eg. women after rape or veterans after war
study for the sociocultural explanation of ptsd
Garrison 1995
Garrison aim
To examine rates and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adolescents after Hurricane Andrew
Garrison sample
- random-digit dialing
- 158 Hispanic, 116 black, and 104 white
- High and low impact areas within Dade County, Florida
- 6 months after Hurricane Andrew
Garrison method
- structured telephone interview
- emotional reaction
- disaster-related losses
- lifetime exposure to violent or traumatic events
- psychiatric symptomatology
Garrison results
- 3% of males and 9% of females met the criteria for PTSD
- highest rates among black people (8.3%) and Hispanics (6.1%)
- Also increased with age
Garrison conclusion
- Socio-economic disparity between racial groups and genders = whites have more net worth than minority groups
- Less money means more negative cognitive reappraisal.
Garrison limitations
- Only correlational
- Self reported data
- Only one type of traumatic event
two studies for the ethics of research of causes of ptsd
garrison and Hitchcock
two studies for research methods into the etiology of ptsd
Garison and Hitchcock
two studies for the ethics of research into diagnosis
Li-repac and Rosenhan
two studies for research methods into diagnosis
Li-repac and Rosenhan
two studies for prevelance rates
Garrison 1995 and Irish 2011
Irish aim
To understand gender differences in the development of PTSD
Irish sample
- 365 participants who had been in a car crash
- from Ohio USA
Irish method
- Used questionnaires to gather data, the Clinician-Administered PTSD scale, (CAPS)
- The data was gathered on income levels, PTSD symptoms, showing the severity of their injuries and how close they were to death.
Irish results
- Women were more at risk of developing PTSD and a higher perceived life threat.
- Income was negatively correlated with PTSD symptoms (higher income, fewer symptoms).
- Differences in income between men and women explained why women were more at risk of developing symptoms of PTSD.
Irish conclusion
Women and people from low SES backgrounds are more at risk for PTSD.
Irish limitations
- Only correlational
- Self reported data
- Only one type of traumatic event
- Assumes that women are poorer than men
