Psychology - Mental Disorders (Pt. 1) Flashcards
Some Terms to Know
- Psychopathology = mental disorder = mental illness = psychological disorder
- Etiology: cause
- Affect: emotion or mood
- Hallucination: false sensations (ex: hearing voices, seeing images that aren’t there)
- Delusions: false beliefs (ex: believing that you are being followed by the CIA)
What is considered abnormal?
- Spectrum of normal-abnormal (table 12.1, p. 486)
Indicators of mental illness: - Distress?
- Maladaptiveness?
- Irrationality?
- Unpredictability?
- Unconventionality and undesirable behavior?
How to determine psychopathology
- DSM-IV-TR: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition, Text Revision)
- Mental Disorder is any “clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual that is associated with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) or with significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom.”
How to determine psychopathology (Cont’d)
- “In addition, this syndrome or pattern must not be merely an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event, for example, the death of a loved one. Whatever its original cause, it must currently be considered a manifestation of behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunction in the individual. Neither deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual) nor conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual, as described above”
Major Depressive Episode
A. Five (or more) of the following symptoms have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning.; at lease one of the symptoms is either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.
(1) depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day (e.g., feels sad or empty)
(2) markedly diminished interest in pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day.
(3) significant weight loss or weight gain without trying.
(4) insomnia or hypersomnia.
(5) psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day.
(6) fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day.
Major Depressive Episode (Cont’d)
(7) feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt.
(8) diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.
(9) recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.
B. The symptoms do not meet criteria for a Mixed Episode (both manic and depressive symptoms at the same time)
C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning.
D. The symptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance.
E. The symptoms are not better accounted for by Bereavement, i.e., after the loss of a loved one, the symptoms persist for longer than 2 months.
Personality Disorders
Cluster A: Individuals seen as odd and eccentric and marked by unusual behavior.
Cluster B: Dramatic and emotional individuals characterized by erratic behavior.
Cluster C: These disorders often include feelings of anxiety and fearfulness.
Cluster A Disorders
- Paranoid Personality Disorder: marked by distrust of others and suspiciousness; causes interpersonal difficulties; blame others for mistakes and failures; on guard for perceived attacks by others.
- Schizoid Personality Disorder: marked by impaired social relationships; inability and lack of interest in forming attachments to others; unable to express feelings; seen as cold and distant ‘loners’ by others.
Cluster A Disorders (Cont’d)
- Schizotypal Personality Disorder: marked by cognitive and perceptual distortions; excessively introverted; odd in their communication and behavior; superstitious thinking; sometimes display psychotic symptoms when under stress.
Cluster B Disorders
- Histrionic Personality Disorder: marked by excessive attention-seeking behavior; overly emotional; prone to irritability and emotional outbursts when not the center of attention; theatrical appearance and behavior; sexually provocative and seductive.
- Narcissistic Personality Disorder: exaggerated sense of self-importance; preoccupation with being admired; lack of empathy; overestimation of abilities and accomplishments; unable to see things through another perspective; envious of others and think others are envious of them.
Cluster B Disorders (Cont’d)
- Antisocial Personality Disorder: lack of moral or ethical development; inability to follow socially acceptable models of behavior; disregard for rights of others; shameless manipulation of others; behavioral problems as a child; deceitfulness; lack of remorse or guilt.
- Borderline Personality Disorder: Impulsivity; instability in interpersonal relationships and self-image; drastic shifts in affect; inappropriate anger; intense fear of abandonment; self-destructive behavior such as self-mutilation.
Cluster C Disorders
- Avoidant Personality Disorder: hypersensitivity to rejection; insecurity in social situations; reluctance to enter into social interactions; desire affection and are often lonely; inability to relate to others causes anxiety and low self-esteem; shy and insecure.
- Dependent Personality Disorder: Difficulty in separating in relationships; clinging and submissive behavior; acute fear of separation or being alone; indiscriminate in selection of mates; indecisive; overlook needs in order to keep others involved in the relationship.
Cluster C Disorders (Cont’d)
- Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder: Excessive concern with maintaining order, rules, schedules, and trivial details; difficulty relaxing and having fun; seen as rigid, stubborn, and cold; perfectionistic; inefficient and inflexible.
- differs from OCD in that individuals with OCPD do not suffer from true obsessions or compulsive rituals or the anxiety that they seek to relieve by performing these.
Etiology
- Genetic factors some key traits are heritable ex: impulsivity in BPD - Cognitive factors maladaptive schemas ex: "relationships are always messy and undesirable" for schizoid p.d. - Biological neurotransmitter imbalance ex: lower serotonin levels in BPD - Psychosocial abuse/trauma and early abandonment parenting styles (ex: authoritarian and overprotective parents not promoting autonomy = dependent p.d.)
Diagnostic criteria for 301.83 Borderline P.D.
A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicted by five (or more) of the following:
(1) frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
(2) a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
(3) identity disturbances: persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
