Somatoform & Dissociative Disorders (Textbook)

Question 1

2 types of somatoform disorders (previous and current)

Answer 1

• Previous: pain disorder and hypochondriasis

- Current: conversion disorder and somatization disorder

Question 2

pain disorder

Answer 2

onset and maintenance of pain, caused largely by psychological factors

Question 3

body dysmorphic disorder

Answer 3

preoccupation with imagined or exaggerated defects in physical appearance

Question 4

hypochondriasis

Answer 4

• seen under umbrella of “health anxiety”

- similar to illness phobia (fear of getting an illness)

Question 5

conversion disorder

Answer 5

• previously known as hysteria
• may experience impairment of sensations -> “anesthesias”
• ex. aphonia (loss of voice), anosmia (loss of smell), hysterical blindless (but still have “blindsight” -> can see but are unaware of it)

Question 6

what body-related disorder is no longer in DSM 5?

Answer 6

somatization disorder

Question 7

differentiating between conversion disorders and malingering

Answer 7

la belle indifference may be indication of a conversion disorder, but not always

Question 8

4 factors of Illness Attitudes Scale

Answer 8

• worry about illness and pain
• disease conviction (i.e., illness beliefs)
• health habits (i.e., safety-seeking behaviours)
• symptom interference with lifestyle

Question 9

etiology of somatoform disorders

Answer 9

people who have them more sensitive to physical sensations or interpret them catastrophically; have unrealistic anxiety about bodily systems; environmental influences (ie. parents with disorder)

Question 10

etiology of conversion disorders

Answer 10

• psychoanalytic view: due to repressed emotional arousal from an event
• behavioural: adopting symptoms for some kind of gain (ie. reducing stress)
• sociocultural: less repressive society -> conversion disorders declining
• biological: may be related to areas controlled by right hemisphere

Question 11

Other Specified Dissociative Disorder

Answer 11

• Another type of dissociative disorder
• Symptoms that cause clinically significant distress or impairment but do not meet the full criteria for the disorders listed above
• 4 manifestations:
• • Chronic and recurrent syndromes of mixed dissociative symptoms
• • identity disturbance due to prolonged and intense coercive persuasion
• • acute dissociative reactions to stressful events
• • dissociative trance

Question 12

etiology of dissociation and dissociative disorders

Answer 12

• dissociation: due to stress and fatigue

- behavioural view: dissociative disorders are an avoidance response to protect from stressful events

Question 13

dissociative experiences in the general population

Answer 13

• many people have dissociative experiences, but rarely are they clinically significant (ie. going on autopilot isn’t a big deal)
• experiences of depersonalization and derealization are more clinically significant

Question 14

2 models of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Answer 14

• Trauma model: DID begins in childhood as a result of severe abuse
• Fantasy model: people who develop DID are prone to engaging in fantasy