Psychological Problems (2022) complete Flashcards
Paper 2
what do you know about incidence of mental health problems (MIND statistics)
MIND says that per 100 people
- 7 have anxiety
- 6 have depression
- 6 have a form of eating disorder
how does incidence of mental health problems change over time
In 2007, 24% of adults were accessing treatment which rose to 37% in 2014
By 2030 it is estimated that 2 million more adults will have mental health problems than in 2013
how have increased challenges of modern living impacted mental health?
Income - those in lower income households are more likely to have mental health problems than those from higher income households
City living - results in greater social isolation, increasing loneliness and is linked to increased depression
describe two cultural variations in beliefs about mental health problems
Schizophrenia - In Western society, hearing voices is seen as a sign of schizophrenia whereas in India and Africa it is seen as a positive experience
Eating Disorders - some syndromes are culture bound; eating disorders were relatively rare for many years outside of the Western world
define characteristics of mental health
The signs and symptoms relating to mental illness are subjective
what are the six categories of mental health?
Self attitude Personal growth and self actualisation Integration Autonomy Accurate perception of reality Mastery of the environment
what is lessening of social stigma?
Labelling a person as ‘mentally ill’ or a ‘schizophrenic’ develops expectations about their behaviour which can act as a stigma and be harmful
The preferred term is mental health, which has less stigma and is focused on health
define individual effects
The way that mental health problems affect the person experiencing them
what are the three individual effects of mental health problems?
Damage to relationships
Difficulties coping with day-to-day life
Negative impact on physical health
explain damage to relationships as an individual effect of mental health problems
MH can affect the ability to talk to others which affects relationships because communication is important
Can cause isolation as people avoid others as they feel bad about themselves and fear judgement
explain difficulties coping with day-to-day life as an individual effect of mental health problems
Mental health problems are linked to difficulties with getting dressed, socialising, cleaning the house
explain negative impact on physical health as an individual effect of mental health problems
If you are anxious or stressed, the body produces cortisol
This prevents the immune system from functioning properly so physical illness is more likely
define social effects
The way that mental health problems affect others in society
what are the three social effects of mental health problems
Need for more social care
Increased crime rate
Implications for the economy
explain need for more social care as a social effect of mental health problems
Taxes fund social care which offers people the basic necessities
Social care includes helping people to learn social and work skills to make them feel less isolated and more competent
explain increased crime rates as a social effect of mental health problems
There is an increased risk of violence in people with mental health problems (4x)
However this may be explained by co-occuring problems such as substance abuse
explain implications for the economy as a social effect of mental health problems
MH care costs £22bn a year so
cheaper drug treatments should be researched more
Increase in dementia is also an issue
what is a psychological explanation?
psychological explanations focus on factor like influences of others and our thinking
what are the 4 main points of the psychological explanation of depression?
Faulty thinking - depressed people tend to ignore +’s and focus on -‘s, black and white thinking
This causes hopelessness and negative self schemas
Seligman proposed some people have a negative attributional style so make negative internal, stable and global attributions that result in depression
This is because of learned helplessness
If a person has a bad experience their first instinct is to escape, if they can’t they give up trying
define attribution
The process of explaining causes of behaviour
define negative self schema
Negative thoughts we hold about ourselves due to negative experiences, they cause us to interpret all information about ourselves negatively
what is learned helpessness?
If a person has a bad experience their first instinct is to escape, if they can’t they give up trying
give 3 evaluation points of the psychological explanation of depression
STRENGTH - there is research support for learned helplessness
STRENGTH - has lead to ways of treating depression
WEAKNESS - negative beliefs may sometimes be realistic
elaborate strength of psychological explanation of depression (research support for learned helplessness)
There is research support for learned helplessness
Seligman demonstrated the process, dogs learned to react to a challenge by giving up
This supports his explanation of depression due to negative attributions
elaborate strength of psychological explanation of depression (has lead to ways of treating depression)
Has lead to ways of treating depression
CBT teaches people to think differently replacing faulty thinking with rational thinking to help relieve depression
Therefore, the explanation leads to successful ways of treating depression
elaborate weakness of psychological explanation of depression (negative beliefs may sometimes be realistic)
Negative beliefs may sometimes be realistic
There are occasions where life is depressing and it is realistic to feel sad
Alloy and Abraham found that depressed people gave more accurate estimates of disasters than ‘normal’ people
Therefore a negative attributional style may not be all that bad
define aversion therapy
A form of therapy in which a patient is exposed to a stimulus whilst simultaneously being exposed to some form of discomfort
define classical conditioning and explain it
Learning by association, two stimuli are repeatedly paired together so that the neutral stimuli produces the same response as the unconditioned stimulus
how is aversion therapy used to treat alcoholism
Antabuse given (drug that causes vomiting) Just before vomiting the alcoholic has several alcoholic drinks
Neutral stimulus (alcohol) associated with unconditioned response (vomiting) which becomes a conditioned response
how is aversion therapy used to treat gambling
Write gambling related or unrelated phrases on cards
Gambler reads out each card and gets shocked for every related phrase
Electric shock (unconditioned stimulus) given for any gambling related phrase (neutral stimulus) to become a conditioned response
how is aversion therapy used to treat smoking
Smoker rapidly smokes in a closed room and becomes nauseated to associate disgust with smoking
Rapid smoking (unconditioned stimulus) in closed room causing nausea Feel disgust/nausea when looking at cigarette (now a conditioned response)
give 3 evaluation points of aversion therapy
STRENGTH - can be combined with CBT holistically
WEAKNESS - addicts may abandon therapy
WEAKNESS - benefits are short term
elaborate strength of aversion therapy (can be combined with CBT holistically)
Can be combined with CBT holistically
Aversion therapy gets rid of the immediate urge to use the substance whilst CB works on long term support for addicts thoughts and feelings
This provides a long term solution to the problem
elaborate weakness of aversion therapy (addicts may abandon therapy)
Addicts may abandon therapy
Aversion therapy uses unpleasant stimuli and addicts may find it more unpleasant than they initially thought
This means it is hard to assess the effectiveness of the treatment in research studies, so it is difficult to come to any conclusion about the general effectiveness of aversion therapy
elaborate weakness of aversion therapy (benefits are short term)
Benefits are short term
In a long term follow up of upto nine years McConaghy et al found that it was no more effective than a placebo and covert sensitisation was more effective
This suggests that aversion therapy lacks overall effectiveness
what are the 4 main points of self help programmes?
They require individuals to organise treatment with no professionals helping them
Participants must surrender control to a higher power ad let go of their will
Persson comes to terms with their ‘sins’ through a share and members listen to accept the ‘sinner’
Recovery is lifelong and the members can call each other in case of relapse
Self help groups are peer sharing models that support members through recovery, some avoid the religious element and some have local traditions
give 3 evaluation points of self help programmes
STRENGTH - 12 step is holistic
WEAKNESS - lack of any supporting research
WEAKNESS - may only be effective for certain types of people
elaborate strength of self help programmes (12 step is holistic)
12 step programme is holistic
Many steps are concerned with emotions and social support to help a person manage their emotions
This means it has advantages to aversion therapy
elaborate weakness of self help programmes (lack of any supporting research)
Lack of any supporting research
The AA reported in 2007 that 33% of its North American members remained sober for 10 years but this doesn’t tell us the dropout rate
This suggests it is quite hard to judge effectiveness
elaborate weakness of self help programmes (may only effective for certain types of people)
May only be effective for certain types of people
The dropout rates are quite high indicating that the self help approach is demanding and requires high levels of motivation
This means that the treatment is a limited approach
