Psychopathology- Failiure to function adequatley

Question 1

What is failure to function adequately?

Answer 1

refers to the point at which someone is unable to continue their daily routine, or cope with everyday life

Question 2

Give some examples of coping with everyday life

Answer 2

Being able to manage daily tasks and take care of the self in terms of:
-good personal hygiene
-regular eating habits
-attending work or school
-socialising with others

Question 3

Give some examples of things somebody with FTFA may be struggling with

Answer 3

-showering frequently
-Household chores
-bills and other financial issues

Question 4

Individuals who experience FTFA are likely to have increased absences, from work what may this result in?

Answer 4

-Reduction in income
-job loss
l-ack of contact with colleagues

Question 5

What effects may FTFA have on relationships?

Answer 5

Damaging:
-increased conflict with friends and family as a result of an individual’s increasingly erratic, disturbing behaviour
-work colleagues may distance themselves from the person who is experiencing FTFA

Question 6

According to Rosenhan and Seligman, what are the signs that somebody is experiencing FTFA

Answer 6

-severe personal distress
-behaviour which ‘stands out’ or seems to go against social norms
-behaving irrationally
-self-inflicted harm

Question 7

Give a strength of failure to function adequately
(guidelines for classification and diagnosis)

Answer 7

-This measure of abnormality provides clear guidelines for the classification and diagnosis of abnormality as it is focused on observable signs that an individual is not coping e.g. lack of hygiene, clear behavioural distress signals
-Checklists such as those provided by Rosenhan & Seligman (1989) can be used to assess the degree of FTFA, which increases the reliability and objectivity of the measure
-These observable signs allow for the individual to receive help

Question 8

Give a limitation of FTFA (cultural relativism)

Answer 8

-Importance is limited to being culturally relative
-Standard of one culture being used to measure another
-Definitions of adequate functioning are related to cultural ideas of how somebody should
-Criterion for failure to function is likely to result in different diagnoses when applied to people in different cultures
-Real-life application/implications for diagnosis and treatment: Explains why lower class + non-white patients (whose lifestyles differ from the dominant culture) are diagnosed more often with mental disorders

Question 9

Give a limitation of FTFA (functional behaviour)

Answer 9

-Some ‘dysfunctional behaviour’ may actually be adaptive and functional for the individual
-Disorders such as EDs and depression may lead to extra attention for the individual
-This attention may actually be important and useful for the individual so the behaviours associated with the disorder are functional
-No clear distinction between functional and dysfunctional behaviour, definition incomplete
-Does not account for ID the attention may not be useful for all patients and could make the situation worse

Question 10

Give a limitation of FTFA (judgement)

Answer 10

-Who is the person is decides whether somebody is not functioning adequatley
-If a person is experinecinga ny of rosenhan and seligmans signs they may recognise that this is not normal and seek help
-but others may not realise they are not coping
-For example people with SZ who have misinterpretations of reality (delusions)
-it is outsiders who judge whether somebdoy is not coping so diagnosis of subjective and everybodys standards of adequate functioning are different