Unit 6

Question 1

What is the definition of a mental disorder?

Answer 1

a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning.

Question 2

What are mental disorders usually associated with?

Answer 2

significant distress or disability in social, occupational or other important activities

Question 3

What is the clinical significance of all disorders determined based on?

Answer 3

based on the impairment it causes in functional areas
-> attempt to mitigate the cultural effect

Question 4

How does the DSM-5 define Delusion?

Answer 4

an often highly personal idea or belief system, not endorsed by one’s culture or subculture, that is maintained with conviction in spite of irrationality or evidence to the contrary.

Question 5

What is Erotomanic delusion?

Answer 5

when someone falsely thinks that another person is in love with him or her

Question 6

What does the DSM-5-TR include?

Answer 6

updated and expanded content while retaining the DSM-5 framework
-> e.g.: gender, formulation, adding new research

Question 7

Which disorder is added newly into the DSM-5-TR?

Answer 7

the Prolonged Grief disorder
-> represents a prolonged maladaptive grief reaction that can be diagnosed only after at least 12 months after the loss happened

Question 8

in which 5 areas can culture affect psychological disorders?

Answer 8

• Including knowledge about psychological problems.
• ways individuals explain and express their symptoms according to culture-based display rules.
• Diagnoses: Including professional and nonprofessional judgments.
• Treatment: The way people, including professionals, attempt to overcome psychopathological symptoms.
• The results of treatment are evaluated

Question 9

What are two views on culture and psychopathology?

Answer 9

the relativist perspective
the universalities or absolutist perspective

Question 10

What does the relativist perspective state?

Answer 10

Humans developed ideas, established behavioral norms and learned emotional responses according to a set of cultural prescriptions
-> different understanding of psychological disorders across culture

Question 11

What does the Universalist or Absolutist perspective state?

Answer 11

Despite cultural differences, people share a great number of similar features
-> mental disorders should be ought to be universal

Question 12

What can we say about psychopathology regarding culture?

Answer 12

it is unique for each culture and cannot be understood beyond the context in which it develops
-> culture specific and should have different meanings in different societies

Question 13

What determines the way various psychological symptoms are displayed, understood and treated according to the relativist perspective?

Answer 13

the socioeconomic conditions, religious, social and political norms of each country
-> what is considered psychopathological in one culture can be considered normal in another

Question 14

What does the relativist view targets and criticizes?

Answer 14

ethnocentrism or judgment of one cultural reality from the position of the other

Question 15

what is an example for the relativist perspective?

Answer 15

spirit possession syndromes

Question 16

What is an example for the universalist or absolutist view?

Answer 16

many disorders are characterized by almost identical symptoms across cultures
e.g.: alzheimers, dementia, parkinson, etc.

Question 17

are there reports of different incidence of bipolar disorder based on race or ethnicity?

Answer 17

no

Question 18

What are two viewpoints in an inclusive approach to psychopathology?

Answer 18

Central Symptoms (observed in practically all world)
Peripheral Symptoms (culture specific)

Question 19

What are examples for central and peripheral symptoms in major depressive episodes?

Answer 19

central: dysphoria - generalized discontent and agitation, loss of energy and so on
peripheral: guilty feelings in Canada, shame in Taiwan

Question 20

what does the culture-bound syndrome (cultural concepts of distress) define?

Answer 20

cultural syndromes defined as clusters of symptoms and attributions that tend to co-occur among individuals in specific cultural groups, communities or contexts

Question 21

What can the phenomena described as cultural syndromes be differentiated into?

Answer 21

distinct categories:
- set of psychopathological symptoms not attributable to an identifiable organic cause - recognized as illness
- has locally salient features
- lacks some symptoms recognizable in the west

Question 22

What is a historical term for a condition marked by fatigue, weakness, insomnia, aches and pains?

Answer 22

Neurasthenia

Question 23

is the culture-bound syndrome recognized by western professionals?

Answer 23

not yet

Question 24

What is kuru?

Answer 24

a progressive psychosis and dementia indigenous to cannibalistic tribes in new guinesa have

Question 25

What does a state or set of behavior in culture-bound syndromes often include?

Answer 25

trance or possession states
-> hearing, seeing and communicating with the dead

Question 26

What could trance or possessions be recognized as if not culturally appropriate?

Answer 26

could indicate psychosis, delusions or hallucinations in a western setting

Question 27

What does the syndrome Windigo mean?

Answer 27

syndrome of cannibal obsessions, the existence of which is questionable (Marano, 1985). Used to justify the expulsion or execution of a tribal outcast
-> characterized by delusions of becoming possessed by a flesh-eating monster (the windigo)

Question 28

are the symptoms of anxiety ventral or peripheral?

Answer 28

mainly central, some peripheral

Question 29

What are central symptoms of anxiety?

Answer 29

persistent worry, fear, state of apprehensive anticipation - maladaptive and cause significant distress

Question 30

What might be peripheral symptoms of anxiety?

Answer 30

western: view of success
japan: being offensive to others
…

Question 31

when do we NOT speak of anxiety as a disorder?

Answer 31

when it is culturally appropriate

Question 32

What was the most common label for symptoms of depression in the past?

Answer 32

melancholy

Question 33

What are similar symptoms of depression in more than three quarter of individuals?

Answer 33

adness, tension, lack of energy, loss of interest, ideas of insufficiency, inability to concentrate

Question 34

What are universal and peripheral symptoms of depression?

Answer 34

universal: dysphoria
cultural: headache in latin countries, heart problems in middle eastern etc.

Question 35

What are symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 35

Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and catatonic behavior.
-> 1% of population affected
-> universal symptoms
-> more common in black people and men

Question 36

where are suicide rates higher?

Answer 36

in high pressure cultures
-> germany, taiwan, United States
-> highest: Sri Lanka and Hungary (ethnic violence, rapid social developments?)

Question 37

What remains the most serious contributor to suicide?

Answer 37

depressive illness

Question 38

What are personality disorders?

Answer 38

Enduring patterns of behavior and inner experience that deviate markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture. It is a persistent behavioral pattern that leads to the individual’s distress and impairment in one or several important areas of functioning

Question 39

What does the DSM-5 suggest about personality disorders?

Answer 39

that judgments about appropriate and inappropriate traits vary across cultures.
-> psychologists are expected to make a determination according to the tolerance threshold

Question 40

What is the tolerance threshold?

Answer 40

• Measure of tolerance or intolerance toward specific personality traits in a cultural environment.
• Low thresholds indicate societal intolerance, while high thresholds indicate societal tolerance.
• Societies with higher diversity acceptance have higher tolerance thresholds

Question 41

What do personality disorders represent in a cultural context?

Answer 41

a deviation from what is considered “standard” personality in a specific social and cultural environment

Question 42

What is the first assumption about personality disorders?

Answer 42

hypotheses about specific culture-bound personality traits that are prevalent in some cultural groups and less prevalent in others

Question 43

What examples illustrate culture-bond traits?

Answer 43

Conscientiousness and deeply seated habits of self-discipline have been cultivated in German culture for many years. This could explain a higher occurrence of OCD in Germans compared to other nations with different cultural conditions.

Question 44

What is the second assumption about personality disorders?

Answer 44

it embraces assumptions about specific social and cultural circumstances that determine views serving as “filters” for evaluating personality traits and disorders

Question 45

How can cultural filters affect the evaluation of traits?

Answer 45

Some traits are considered “standard” in one culture but seen as excessive or abnormal in another

Question 46

Why should cultural sensitivity be applied to personality disorders?

Answer 46

Cultural sensitivity involves being aware of differences without assigning them a value—positive, negative, better, or worse

Question 47

How does culture influences substance abuse?

Answer 47

Variation in attitudes toward consumption, patterns of use, accessibility and prevalence
e.g.: alcohol, marijuana
-> therefore not universal criterion

Question 48

What do some authors say regarding addictive behavior?

Answer 48

it has biological factors

Question 49

What are psychodiagnostic biases?

Answer 49

the cultural background of the professional can influence his perception of different behaviors

Question 50

What can cultural settings affect?

Answer 50

diagnostic practices
→ may also play a significant role in psychotherapy.

Question 51

what do many psychologists argue today?

Answer 51

that professionals could use religion as a factor facilitating psychotherapy

Question 52

what may facilitate the development of so-called repressive adaptive style rooted in an individuals desire to hide the symptoms?

Answer 52

shame of mental illness

Question 53

What does the type of therapy: Intercultural mean?

Answer 53

Includes a professional who knows the language and culture of the client (he could belong to this cultural group)

Question 54

What does the type of therapy: Bicultural mean?

Answer 54

• Two practitioners: Western + a native healer from the patient’s cultural background.
  *To consider the patient’s cultural identity and background while also utilizing evidence-based Western
  techniques and perspective.
  *Effective for individuals who may feel disconnected from their cultural roots or who have experienced cultural conflict.

Question 55

What does the type of therapy: Polycultural mean?

Answer 55

*Patient’s meetings with several therapists who represent different cultures.
*To provide the patient with exposure to different cultural perspectives and beliefs, as well as to address any cultural conflicts or misunderstandings that may arise during the therapeutic
process. The aim is to create a holistic and inclusive healing process that acknowledges the complexity of cultural identities.

Question 56

Who has higher psychological functioning and sees less pathology in their clients?

Answer 56

matched therapists
-> it reduces diagnostic mistakes

Question 57

What is the framework for successful patients-therapist interactions?

Answer 57

• Therapist asks client to give their interpretation of the problem.
• Therapist offers her explanation of the problem.
• Both explanations are compared
  →A joint explanatory concept