Psychological Disorders (Module 5 Ch 15) Flashcards
Memorize by Final Exam on 12/11
Comorbity
When an individual has two or more psychological disorders at the same time
Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety are highly comorbid (very likely to occur together)
Lifetime Prevalence Rate
Examines how likely a disorder is to appear in an individual’s lifetime
Typical Prevalence Rate
Examines how many people at a given time have a disorder
50 to 75% of people will have a psychological disorder at some point
Etiology
The apparent cause and developmental history of a disorder
Epidemiology
The study of the distribution of a disorder in a population
How we get prevalence rates
Insanity Defense
Admitting that you did the action, but claiming that at the time that you did it, you didn’t understand the effects of the action
Not very successful or commonly used
What trends can be seen with mental illness and violence rates?
Only 3-5% of violent crimes are attributed to people with mental illnesses (significantly less than predicted)
People with mental illness are 10x more likely to be the victim of violent crimes
(Victims > Perpetrators)
Abnormal Behavior
How we determine if something is a psychological disorder
Uses 3 metrics: deviance, maladaptive, and personal distress
Different disorders tend to score differently in these categories (ex: schizophrenia = high maladaptive, depression = high personal distress, OCD = high in all)
Deviance
When someone is behaving in a way that is different than others/the norm
Influential when disorders were first being discovered and named, but is not less likely to be used in the diagnosis process
Maladaptive (aka Dysfunctional)
Evaluates whether the behavior in some way interferes with the person’s day-to-day life and if so, to what extent it interferes with it
Personal Distress
How much stress the behavior is causing the individual
Value Judgements
During diagnosis, the individual has to rate how distressing and maladaptive the behavior is to them, creating subjectively in the process of diagnosis (not an exact science)
Syndrome
A group of related symptoms characteristic of a disorder
Why are symptoms important when diagnosing a psychological disorder?
Not every disorder presents the same way for everyone (ex: depression)
Some disorders require more symptoms to be present in order for a diagnosis to occur
Diagnostics and Statistics Manual (DSM)
Includes every recognized psychological disorder and their symptoms, diagnosis requirements (how many symptoms must be present and for how long), and suggested treatments
What changes were made between the DSM-4 and DSM-5 (current edition)?
DSM-4 was very categorical, while DSM-5 tends to be more spectrum-based (ex: autism is now a spectrum disorder)
We also saw the integration of modern disorders such as hoarding and gaming addictions
Neuro-Developmental Disorders
Disorders that are prominent or required to develop in childhood
Intellectual Disabilities
Must manifest in childhood
If they are the result of some sort of accident, they’re considered traumatic brain injuries, NOT intellectual disabilities
Learning Disorders
Includes dyslexia and dysgraphia
ADHD
Symptoms include (an must be present before the age of 12): problems with focus/attention, high impulsivity, and difficulty following through with tasks
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Symptoms can include: issues with sociality (with peers and authority figures) and tendency for hyperfixation
Can also include language impairment, repetitive habits, and sensitivity to sensory input
Joint Attention
The ability to make eye contact with others and look in the same direction as someone else (like when they point at something)
How do diagnosis rates for ADHD and Autism differ among boys and girls? Why might this be the case?
Boys tend to be diagnosed at a higher rate
Girls may be better at managing or hiding their symptoms, leading to underdiagnosis
Depressive Disorders
Any disorder in which depression is a major symptom, including major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and bipolar disorders
How prevalent is Major Depressive Disorder?
Affects 7% of Americans
Seasonal Affective Disorder
A cyclical recurrence of depression that often matches seasonal changes
Typically occurs in winter (may be due to a lack of Vitamin D)
Persistent Depressive Disorder
Long-lasting depression (6 months to 1 year) that’s too mild to meet the criteria for major depressive disorder
What trends can be seen with age of onset among people with depressive disorders?
If someone is going to develop a depressive disorder at some point in their life, it usually presents prior to age 40
This number is expected to decrease
What trends can seen with recurrence among people with depressive disorders?
If you have depression once, you’ll likely experience it again at some other point in your life
Most people with depressive disorders have 5-6 occurrences or episodes of it across their lifetime, each lasting about 6 months to a year
What are some common symptoms of depressive disorders?
Anhedonia, sleep disruption, and helplessness
We can also see enduring changes in motivation and self-worth, as well as problems with concentration, energy, and eating
Anhedonia
The inability to feel joy, even when engaging in activities that previously brought one happiness
Sleep Disruption in Depressive Disorders
Some sleep too much, some too little
Sleep is not restorative or restful (even if plentiful)
Helplessness Theory
When people are experiencing depression, their brains get trapped in a cycle of internal, stable, and global attributions that reinforce the depression and keep them from making change
What attributions do people with depression make (part of helplessness theory)?
Internal: thinking everything bad that’s happening is their fault
Stable: think that nothing they can do will change the bad things
Global: think that everything is bad or will turn out that way
Learned Helplessness
Sense of powerlessness and failure that results from a repeated inability to control or cope with stressful situations/adversities
Depressive Realism
People who are clinically depressed tend to have more realistic perceptions of the world than people who aren’t
Depressed Brains
Tend to be less active, especially in areas responsible for emotion and emotion regulation
Bipolar Disorders
Characterized by a swinging between mania and depression
Affects about 2.8% of the population
Strong genetic component
What symptoms must be present for something to be considered a manic episode? For how long?
7 symptoms must be present for at least a week
DIGFAST: distractibility, indiscretion, grandiosity, flight of ideas, activity increase, sleeplessness, and talkativeness
Distractibility
Having a hard time focusing on anything/getting distracted easily
Indiscretion
Caring less about adhering to social norms