Statistical Infrequency Evaluation Flashcards
real-life application
A strength of the statistical definition is that it has a real-life application in the diagnosis of intellect disability disorder
There is therefore a place for statistical infrequency in thinking about what are normal and abnormal behaviours and characteristics.
Actually, all assessments of patients with mental disorders include some kind of measurement of how severe their symptoms are compared to statistical norms
Statistical infrequency is thus a useful part of clinical assessment
unusual characteristics can be positive
IQ scores over 130 are just unusual as those below 70, but we would not think of superintelligence as an undesirable characteristic that needs to be treated
Just because very few people display certain behaviours DOES make the behaviour statistically abnormal but DOES not mean it requires treatment to return to normal
his is a serious limitation to the concept of statistical infrequency and means that it would never be used alone to make a diagnosis
deviation from social norms
not a sole explanation
A strength of the deviation from social norms is that it has a real-life application in the diagnosis of antisocial personality
There is therefore a place for deviation from social norms in thinking about what is normal and abnormal
However, even in this case, there are other factors to consider, for example, distress to other people resulting from antisocial personality disorder ( the failure to function definition),.
So in practice, deviation from social norms is never the sole reason for defining abnormality
deviation from social norms
cultural relativism
Another problem with using deviation from social norms to define behaviour as abnormal is that social norms vary tremendously from one generation to another and from one community to another
This means, for example, that a person from one cultural group may label someone from another culture as behaving abnormally according to their standard rather than the standards of the person behaving that way.
For example, hearing voices is socially acceptable in some cultures but would be seen as a sign of mental abnormality in the UK
This creates problems for people from one culture living within another culture group
failure to function adequately
Patients perspective
A strength of failure to function adequately is that it does attempt to include the subjective experience of the individual
It may not be an entirely satisfactory approach because it is difficult to assess distress, but at least this definition acknowledges that the experience of the patient (and/or others) is important
In this sense, the failure to function adequately definition captures the experience of the many who need help.
This suggests that failure to function adequately is a useful criterion for assessing abnormality
failure to function adequately
is it simply a deviation from social norms
In practice, it is difficult to say whether someone is really failing to function or just deviating from social norms
For example, we might say that not having a job or a permanent address is a sign of failure to function adequately
But then what do we say about people with alternative lifestyles
Similarly, those who practice extreme spots could be accused of behaving in a maladaptive way, whilst those with religious or supernatural beliefs could be seen as irrational
If we treat these behaviours as failures of adequate function, we risk limiting personal freedom and discriminating against minority groups
deviation from ideal mental health
It is a comprehensive definition
A strength of deviation from ideal mental health is that it is very comprehensive. It covers a broad range of criteria for mental health
In fact, it probably covers most of the reasons someone who would seek help from mental health services or be referred for help
The sheer range of factors discussed in relation to Jahada’s ideal mental health make it a good tool for thinking about mental health
deviation from ideal mental health
it sets an unrealistically high standard for mental health
Very few of us attain all of Jahoda’s criteria for mental health, and probably none of us achieves them all at the same time and keep them up for a very long time
Therefore, this approach would see pretty much all of its use as abnormal
However, there is a potential that this could be a positive.
On the positive side, it makes it clear to people the ways in which they could benefit from seeking treatment such as counselling to improve their mental health
