Psychological problems

Question 1

Defining mental health

Answer 1

Mental health is subjective so some psychologists used a mental health continuum (a way of looking at mental health by looking at it on a scale; individuals May feel more or less mentally healthy rather than being mentally healthy or not at different times and different situations

Question 2

Prevalence of mental health

Answer 2

1/4 British adults report having been diagnosed with a mental health disorder
Each year 1/10 British children have been clinically diagnosed w a mental health disorder
The WHO estimates about 450 million people world wide suffer some form of mental health problem
LGBTQ is worst 1/10 gay or bisexual men age 16-19 had trued to take there life

Question 3

Incidence of MH

Answer 3

increasing however this may be because of :
Changing classification
More disorders added and others eg anorexia now one but homosexuality was removed
Not all mental health diagnosed and recorded
Symptoms have been researched and changed
Many rely on self report surveys which aren’t accurate
Changes in attitude towards mental health

Question 4

Changes in attitude towards mental health

Answer 4

1900 _ Mental health replaced mental illness
1959 _ until the mental health act (a set of laws and declarations to address issues around mental health )
1960 _ media started breaking taboo of silence
1970 _ mind campaigned for mental health rights
1980 _ rise in care but extremely underfunded
1980-1990 _ organisations and events to promote positive view of mental health
2011 _ 2 million people improved view on mental health

Question 5

Stigma before vs after diagnosis

Answer 5

before
Person can be perceived and labelled as weird crazy or similar generally negative
After
Negative stigma can become self fulfilling prophecy (when an individual behaves in the way an assumption about them expects them to)

Question 6

Discrimination before vs after diagnosis

Answer 6

before
Usually a lack of consideration or even rejecting from society
After
Can be stopped doing things or excluded due to there mental disorder

Question 7

Effect on society

Answer 7

public services
More stress on health and social care survives so people have to rely on care in the community (treatment outside of hospitals in there normal communities) this leads to stress of friends and families however may help to be in comfortable environment
Law
laws have to be pug in place to stop/ limit discrimination
Attitudes
Community care could go 2 ways more exposure means more awareness or more exposure could also cause more conflict

Question 8

Schizophrenia +symptoms

Answer 8

a psychotic disorder where people loose sense of self and reality 
Symptoms
Thought disturbances
Delusions 
Hallucinations
Disorganised speech
Catatonic behaviour
Negative symptoms

Question 9

Schizophrenia - statistics

Answer 9

prevalence - 1% of population
Sex - women (usually diagnosed in 30s) and Men(usually diagnosed in 20s) are equally effected
Recovery rates - 25% fully, 25% much improved, 25% need support, 15% hospitalised, 10%dead
Age - adult disorder that is usually diagnosed before 40s
Ethnicity - British of Caribbean and African origin higher, Asian lower

Question 10

Biological theory of schizophrenia

Answer 10

brain function 
Too many dopamine receptors causing more dopamine to bind which can lead to erratic movement hallucination and delusion
Brain structure 
Lower blood flow and smaller prefrontal cortex (control centre of brain) explains loss of psychological function 
Smaller hippocampus (memory and emotion) more sever = more deflated

Question 11

Criticisms of biological theory of schizophrenia

Answer 11

By only focusing on nature the theory ignores the effect of nurture on development of schizophrenia
It is possible brain dysfunction is an effect of schizophrenia not a cause
Critics say that biological theory is too deterministic
Critics say biological theory is too reductionist
For some psychologist schizophrenia is too Broad of a label that covers a diversity of symptoms

Question 12

schizophrenia research study - hypothesis +design

Answer 12

Hypothesis
dysfunction in prefrontal cortex related to dopamine control synaptic transmission there for an agonist drug such as amphetamine should increase activity in this area
design - 
iv_ amphetamine or not
Dv_ performance on card sort test

Question 13

schizophrenia research study - sample

Answer 13

10 patients from national institution of health in Washington each patient met the criteria for chronic depression 
age - 20-45
Sex - 4 F and 6 M
Race - 8 White 2 black
education - 8.5 - 16 years

Question 14

schizophrenia research study - material and apparatus + procedure

Answer 14

SPECT scan, bar task, WCST test
5 did bar task first and 5 did WCST first to keep counter balance then half given amphetamine other half given placebo then tests were repeated 4 days later

Question 15

schizophrenia research study - results

Answer 15

• amphetamine had minimal effect on supply of blood to brain at any one time
• no significant difference in bar test but WCST increase blood flow to prefrontal cortex and occipital and anterior cingulate cortices
• amphetamine had positive effect on the WCST test as more was correct
• mild behaviour changes

Question 16

schizophrenia research study - conclusion

Answer 16

amphetamine increased prefrontal cortex activity during a cognitive task this implies that problems associated with schizophrenia and the prefrontal cortex are partly reversible through drug treatment
supports biological theory

Question 17

schizophrenia research study - criticisms

Answer 17

sample size was too small to draw reliable conclusions
sample was potentially culturally bias
study may lack temporal validity because criteria for schizophrenia has changed
some psychologists would be concerned about the ethics of using scans when we are unclear on there long term effects
the difference in brain activity may have been affected by haloperidol given to participants before other drugs

Question 18

depression +symptoms

Answer 18

a loss of interest and enjoyment with everyday life with increased tiredness and reduced activity
symptoms
-lowered mood
-reduction in energy and decrease in activity
-reduction in capacity for enjoyment, interest and concentration
-marked tiredness after even minimum effort
-disturbed sleep
-diminished appetite
-reduced self esteem and self confidence
-loss of interest and pleasurable feelings
-waking several hours early
-marked psychomotor retardation and agitation
-weight loss
-loss of libido

Question 19

depression - statistics

Answer 19

4-10% of people in England will experience depression at some point in there life
49% of poc study had depression
33% females compared to 19% males have MH issues
0.9% children suffer from severe depression

Question 20

ABC model of depression

Answer 20

a theory that view depression as a result of irrational thinking
A= activating event
a situation which triggers and individual to potentially have irrational thoughts
B= belief
how the event is interpreted by the individual rationally vs irrationally
C= consequences
how you feel or what you do as a result of your belief

Question 21

criticism of ABC model

Answer 21

• the model assumes that the individual becomes depressed due to an irrational evaluation of a situation however the evaluation may actually be considered rational
• the model is too reductionist
• depression that comes from nowhere may be explained by innate biological processes
• it is hard to conclude cause and effect using this model
• by supporting the idea of free will Ellis’ model assumes that the individual is responsible for their illness

Question 22

depression & Facebook envy study- background + aim

Answer 22

Tandoc believed increase depression rates were due to better diagnostics, attention paid to student well being and heavy use of social media
his aim is to see if depression can be predicted by Facebook usage also look at if face book can lead to envy which could lead to depression

Question 23

depression & Facebook envy study- hypothesis

Answer 23

• heavy Facebook users will report feeling high levels of envy
• users with large network of friends report feeling higher levels of envy
• those who report high levels of envy will also report a higher level of depression symptoms

Question 24

depression & Facebook envy study- method

Answer 24

research method/design- self report online survey
sample - 854 students from mid western university 68% female average age= 19
materials - questionnaire different variables were Facebook (hours per day and activity on the app) envy (rating statements such as “I generally feel inferior to others” by how much they agree) depression (centre for epidemiology studies depression scale)

Question 25

depression & Facebook envy study- results

Answer 25

• heavy face book users show stronger feelings of envy
• the size of the network of Facebook friends was not related to envy
• face book envy was a significant positive predicter of depression amongst college students
• no direct significant relationship found between frequency of use and depression
• Facebook surveillance not a predicter of depression
• surveillance can indirectly lead to depression as it leads to envy which can lead to depression

Question 26

depression & Facebook envy study- criticisms

Answer 26

• the study had a cultural bias
• the study had an age bias
• participants may have given socially desirable answers which would effect the reliability of the study
• the results lack construct validy as complex phenomena was measured using simple number scales

Question 27

Anti psychotic to treat schizophrenia

Answer 27

Block dopamine receptors which stops some of the chemical messages passing in the brain
Conventional vs atypical both treat positive symptoms of schizophrenia (thoughts and feelings that the individual does not normally have when they are well such as delusions and hallucinations) only atypical treat negative symptoms of schizophrenia( thoughts and behaviours an individual had before being ill that an individual nk longer has or has to a lesser extent such as feeling lethargic or social withdrawal)

Question 28

Use of psychotherapy to treat depression and schizophrenia

Answer 28

Oiginate from ABC model however in cbt therapy a D and E were added
D - disputing the patients irrational belief
E - effect of changing a person’s veiw on an event
This works on cognative and behaviour issues
Short term between 5-20 sessions
In depression helps to re evaluate negative thoughts
In schizophrenia helps evaluate the voices

Question 29

Neuro psychological tests

Answer 29

These tests are designed by psychologists to measure how well the brain is functioning they are offten used with people who have experienced some sort of brain injury to allow the psychologist to understand what damage has occurred to the patients cognative function

Question 30

Brain imaging techniques

Answer 30

Machinery that allows us to scan people’s brain to see what activity is occurring or see differences in structures