Psychological Problems Flashcards
mental health problems
some people experience difficulties in they way they think, feel and behave - these are psychological problems
clinical depression
a mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels. It involves behaviour, cognitive and emotional characteristics
nature
aspects of behaviour which are inherited
neurotransmitters
brain releases chemicals released from synaptic vesicles, they send signals across the synapse from one neuron to another
serotonin
neurotransmitter with widespread inhibitory effects throughout the brain, it regulates mood, and low levels are associated with depression
attribution
When observing behaviour (our own or someone else’s) we automatically and unconsciously provide explanations for their behaviour
nurture
refers to aspects of behaviour they are acquired through experience
schema
a mental structure containing all of the info we have about one aspect of the world
antidepressant medication
a group of drugs which reduce symptoms of depression. SSRI is one kind, they increase the amount of serotonin in the synaptic cleft
holistic
refers to the belief that our understanding of human behaviour is more complete it we look at the bigger picture rather than focussing on the constituent parts
reductionist
refers to the belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down in smaller constituent parts , more particularly, the biological building parts of the body
CBT
a method for treating mental health problems
addiction
a mental health problem in which an individual takes as substance or engages in behaviour that is pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences
dependence
indicated by a compulsion to keep taking a drug, or continue a behaviour or indicated by withdrawal symptoms
substance abuse
occurs when someone uses a drug for a bad purpose e.g. to get high rather than a form of medication
substance misuse
occurs when a person uses a drug in the wrong way or wrong purpose
genes
consists of DNA strands, transmitted from parents to offspring. Dna produces instructions for general physical feature and specific physical features
genetic vulnerability
genes do not determine a disorder, they increase someone’s risk of a disorder
heredity factors
are genetic information that is passed from one generation to the next
twin studies
refers to research conducted using twins
peer influence
concerns the effects our peers have on us, peers are people who share our interest and are of a similar age, social status and background. Peer influence is stronger in adolescene when we spend more time with friends.
social norms
refers to a behaviour or belief that is standard, usual or typical of a group of people
aversion therapy
psychological therapy, patient is exposed to stimulus whilst simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort, the stimulus becomes associated with discomfort, so is avoided.
classical conditioning
learning by association, occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together, an unconditioned stimulus and a new neutral stimulus. The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unlearned stimulus alone
12 step recovery programme
kind of self help based on the idea first formulated by AA which set out 12 principles to over coming addiction
self help group
members of the group share a common problem and provide support for eachother
self management programme
people who benefit from the programme also direct the activities. Members set the rules and ensure all members adhere, they make key decisions such as who joins and how often they meet
depression incidence rate
2.6/100
anxiety incidence rate
4.7/100
eating disorders incidence rate
2.6/100
how many will experience a mental health problem
1 in 2
how incidence changes over time
2007 - 24% of adults had mental health problems
2014 - 37%
More women than men
increased challenges of modern day living
lower income households, more mental health problems. Greater social isolation increasing depression
cultural variations in beliefs about mental health problems
hearing voices - positive experience in India and Africa
Culture bound syndromes occur in certain cultures
Characteristics of mental health
subjective and arbitrary, characteristics such as difficulty sleeping are hard to measure
lessening of social stigma
labelling people creates expectations (stigma)
Increased recognition of mental health problems
symptoms focussed on illness rather than on health - Jahoda defined 6 characteristics of mental health :
- accurate perception of reality
- Autonomy
- mastery of the environment
- self attitudes
- personal growth
- dealing with stress
individual effect - damage to relationships
affects two way communication relationships need
individual effect - difficulty coping with everyday life
not looking after self e.g. having problems dressing, socialising
individual effect - negative impact on physical well being
body produces cortisol, preventing immune system functioning fully, causing more illness
social effect - need for more social care
taxes fund social care, providing food, human company and learning new skills for self care
social effect - increased crime rates
people with mental health problems are 4x more likely to commit a crime than normal population
social effect - implications for the economy
McCrone report - care of mentally ill cost £22 billion per years, cheaper drug treatments needed
clinical depression
term for the medical condition
sadness and depression
unipolar depression
one emotional state of depression
bipolar depression
depression alternates with mania, and also periods of normality
diagnosing depression
ICD - mental and physical disorders are diagnosed using symptoms
ICD 10 - current version
number and severity of symptoms
mild unipolar depression is diagnosed if :
2-3 key symptoms are present including 2 others
Present all or most of the time for 2 weeks or more
key symptoms of depression
- low mood
- loss of interest and pleasure
- reduced energy levels
‘other’ symptoms for depression
- changes in sleep ( too much or too little)
- change in appetite
- decrease in self confidence
biological explanation of depression - neurotransmitters
transmit messages chemically across the synapse
biological explanation of depression - serotonin
low levels at the synapse - less stimulation of post synaptic neuron - causing low mood
biological explanation of depression - other effects of serotonin
lack of concentration, disturbed sleep and reduced appetite
biological explanation of depression - reasons for low serotonin levels
Genes could cause inheritance of low serotonin production
Low levels of tryptophan ( ingredient of serotonin) from lack of protein or carbs
biological explanation of depression - evaluation
+ research support - McNeal found low levels of serotonin in brains of depressed people, supporting link to serotonin
- alternative explanation - some people with depression don’t have low serotonin levels so other factors must be involved
psychological explanation of depression - faulty thinking
depression is caused by irrational thinking. Negative ‘black and white’ thinking creates feelings of hopelessness
psychological explanation of depression - negative schemas
negative schemas of self cause a person to interpret all info about themselves negatively
psychological explanation of depression - attribution
internal, stable and global negative attributional styles create negative ways of explaining causes of behaviour
psychological explanation of depression - influence of nurture
negative attributional styles develop through processes such as learned helplessness
psychological explanation of depression - evaluation
+ research support - dogs learned to react to challenge by ‘giving up’ supporting learned helplessness
+ real world application - the cognitive explanation leads to a successful therapy, getting people to challenge their irrational thinking
antidepressant medication -
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’S)
Increase serotonin levels in synaptic cleft
antidepressant medication - presynaptic neuron
serotonin stored in vesicles
electrical signals in neuron causes vesicles to release serotonin into synaptic cleft
antidepressant medication - synaptic cleft
serotonin locks into postsynaptic receptor transmitting the signal from presynaptic neuron
antidepressant medication - reuptake
SSRIs block reuptake so there is more serotonin in the synaptic cleft
antidepressant medication - evaluation
- reductionist - antidepressant medication targets just neurotransmitters, a more holistic approach would include psychological factors too
- side effects - nausea, vomiting or increased suicidal thoughts means people stop taking the drug
CBT stands for
cognitive behaviour therapy
aim of cbt
to change faulty thinking and catastrophising to rational thinking
cbt - behaviour
behavioural activation - planning and doing a pleasant activity helps create positive emotions
cbt - therapist deals with irrational thoughts
disputes negative and irrational thoughts to develop self belief and self liking
cbt - client deals with irrational thoughts
thought diary to record unpleasant emotions and automatic thoughts
Rational response to automatic thoughts is rated
cbt - evaluation
+ lasting effectiveness- therapy provides lifelong skills to deal with future depressive episodes
- not for everyone - requires effort which some don’t have, drop out rate increases
Wiles’ study key points
70% of depressed people are treatment resistant
a more holistic approach might be to use cbt and antidepressants
wiles’ study - aim
to test the benefits of using cbt and antidepressants for treatment resistant depression rather than antidepressants alone
wiles’ study - method
2 groups - one group would continue using just antidepressants
other group would use antidepressants and cbt
Depression improvement measures using becks depression inventory
wiles’ study - results
6 months -
50% reduction in symptoms in 21% of usual care group
41% reduction in symptoms of usual care + CBT
wiles’ study- conclusion
Using cbt alongside antidepressants is more effective than medication alone
wiles’ study - evaluation
+ well designed - p’s were randomly assigned to groups so extraneous variables were carefully controlled
- assessment of depression -> people self reported so may not score depression accurately so results may lack validity
withdrawal symptoms include
sweating, agitation, headaches and vomiting
what can addiction also be called
dependence syndrome
characteristics of addiction said by the ICD-10
- strong desire to use substance
- difficulty controlling use
- withdrawal symptoms
genetic vulnerability
the more ‘addiction’ genes you inherit, the more likely you are to develop addiction
hereditary factors in the biological explanation of addiction
genetic info has a moderate to strong effect on addiction
Kaij’s twin study - aim
to see if addiction is due to nature (hereditary factors) or nurture (twins)
Kaij’s twin study - method
swedish male twins registered with police force for DUI or public drunkenness
identical twins - 48 pairs
non identical - 126 pairs
Interviewed and took questionnaires to monitor levels of alcoholism
Kaij’s twin study - results
22% concordance rates for non identical 46% in identical
Kaij’s twin study - conclusion
alcohol abuse related to genetic factors
Kaij’s twin study - evaluation
- cannot be generalised due to only on swedish males
- lacks validity, flawed study as they may not be measuring addiction, just an alcohol related incident, also uses questionnaires
peer influence (psychological explanation of addiction)
peers are people who are equal in terms of e.g. age or education
(psychological explanation of addiction)
Social learning theory
we learn from others
we observe and then imitate rewarded behaviours
we identify with peers and therefore are more likely to imitate them
(psychological explanation of addiction)
Social identity theory
we identify with and want to be accepted by our social groups, creating pressure to conform
psychological explanation of addiction - evaluation
+ supporting research, investigating relationship between peers and smoking, nearly all with positive correlation
- reductionist, refer to other studies. ie. KAIJ, psychological explanation cannot explain addiction alone, genetic factors must play a role
what is aversion therapy
based on classical conditioning - creates an association between addiction and unpleasant experience
how do you treat alcoholism with aversion therapy
Antabuse (drug) that causes nausea/vomiting
this then becomes a conditioned response to alcohol
how do you treat gambling with aversion therapy
electric shock when any gambling related phrase is used
associating gambling with pain
evaluate aversion therapy
- reductionist, focusing on changing the link between unwanted behaviour and pleasure, combine with other treatments
- ethical issues, due to the unpleasant nature of treatment
what is self management for addiction
- individual organises their own treatment
- no pro therapist
- e.g. 12 step programme
what are your 4 key points of the 12 step programme
- admit powerlessness over the addiction
- find hope, believe in a higher power
- make a list of people who have been harmed
- try make amends
evidence of AA
- high dropout rate (81%_
- only 33% of 8000 members remain sober for 10 years after
- no significant differences between AA and other treatments
- research is difficult due to the group wanting to stay anonymous
evaluate self management of addiction
+ holistic approach, as they help people work on the bigger picture
- lack of clear evidence in understanding the effectiveness
