What is 'abnormality'? Flashcards
What is the demonic model?
A belief that mental illness was due to demonic possession. Prevalent in the Middle Ages, but remnants still exist.
What is the medical model?
Is when mental illness started to be treatable but very poorly. It was seen as a physical ailment that could be cured, leading to hospitalisation of individuals in asylums.
What is institutionalisation?
poor treatment efficacy and conditions
What is deinstitutionalisation?
More effective treatment allowed some a ‘more’ normal lives but high levels of homelessness and poverty. But we are still trying to find the right way to provide support.
Define Mental Health.
capacity of an individual to behave in a way that promotes their emotional and social wellbeing.
Define mental health problems.
wide range of emotional and behavioural abnormalities that affect people throughout their lives. May be consistent or intermittent.
Define mental disorder.
a clinically recognisable set of symptoms and behaviours that cause distress to the individual and impair their ability to function as usual.
What are the two models which help explain a number of disorders?
Biopsychosocial Model
Diathesis Model.
Explain Biopsychosocial Model.
Mental health and related disorders are influenced by a number of factors that interlink:
Biological - genetics, hormone and neurotransmitter imbalances
Psych- cognitive biases, coping skills, maladaptive thought patterns.
Social- social support, experience, trauma or stress.
If issues arise in 3 areas, there is potential risk for developing a disorder.
Explain Diathesis Stress Model.
Disorders are triggered when people with pre-existing vulnerabilities experience some sort of acute or chronic stressor.
The greater the Diathesis, the less stresses needed to trigger an event.
Diathesis- individuals possess some sort of internal factor which predisposes them to mental illness.
Stress- an environmental cue which triggers mental illness.
WHAT IS ABNORMAL
Explain statistical infrequency.
an indicator of abnormality; the behaviour/disorder in question is statistically rare in the population.
Limitation: not all rare behaviours are psychological disorders, and not all psychological disorders are rare.
WHAT IS ABNORMAL
Explain personal distress.
An indicator of abnormality;The person is experiencing relatively high levels of personal distress.
Limitation: not all distressed people are demonstrating abnormal behaviour (e.g. grief)
WHAT IS ABNORMAL
Explain impairment.
An indicator of abnormality; there is a reduced capacity to perform everyday functions.
Limitation: other non-psychological disorders, and general personality traits (e.g. laziness) can cause impairment. Can not just use this as a measure of abnormality.
WHAT IS ABNORMAL
Explain violation of norms.
An indicator of abnormality. The person is displaying behaviour that is not socially appropriate.
Limitations: not all socially inappropriate behaviour is reflective of mental illness. Can be used as social control (political dissidents in Russia) or foster prejudice (e.g. homosexuality used to be classified in the DSM. People such as protestors may just want to change norms. Disorder is dependant on normalities of society.
WHAT IS ABNORMAL
Explain biological dysfunction.
An indicator of abnormality. There is empirical evidence of neurological impairment.
Limitation: some psychological disorders (e.g. specific phobias) are learnt.
DIAGNOSTIC ISSUES
Social Context.
Labelling behaviour as psychopathological when socially inconvenient.
e.g. ‘drapetomania’ = repeated attempts to escape by slaves; with the treatment being whipping and amputation of toes.
DIAGNOSTIC ISSUES
Labelling vs. Diagnosing.
Creation of terms that allegedly describe a disorder, but have no or limited empirical support, and provide no explanation of cause of ‘disorder’.
e.g. compulsive shopping disorder.
DIAGNOSTIC ISSUES
Cultural Differences.
Some disorders are specific to certain cultures. They may also look or be described differently in different cultures.
Windigo = In Native American’s, a morbid fear of becoming a cannibal.
Bullimia Nervosa= Binging and purging to maintain weight. In cultures exposed to western media vs. Anorexia Nervosa which occurs throughout the world.
But most of disorders are universal.
DIAGNOSTIC ISSUES
What are the common misconceptions?
- Diagnosis reduces the individual to their disorder.
- Diagnoses are too unreliable to be useful.
- Diagnosis is only descriptive and therefore meaningless.
- Diagnoses stigmatise people; this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t diagnose, it means we should talk more.
DSM
What is the DSM?
It is the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual which contains the clinical diagnoses of mental disorders based on criteria which is consistent across countries.
Currently in its 5th edition.
DSM
What are its strengths?
- A-theoretical; doesn’t explain, just talks about how they tend to present.
- Provides strict criteria for classification.
- Biopsychosocial approach; considers other biological, physiological and social factors.
- Allows international consensus.
DSM
What are its weaknesses?
- The validity of some disorders are questionable.
- Comorbidity-does this mean there is really one underlying disorder? e.g. depression/anxiety.
- Categorical vs. dimensional model.
DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS
What are depressive disorders?
Characterised by disturbances to mood and emotion.
Mood: a general feeling, typically not directed at anything.
Emotion: a state of arousal that is typically directed at a person/object/experience
DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS
Explain the differences between depression and mania.
Depression is a negative, lowered mood state, whereas mania is an intense, but unwarranted, mood state of elation. They are on two opposite ends of the spectrum.
DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS
List some symptoms of depression.
- Sad, depressed mood, most of the day, nearly every day.
- Difficulties in sleeping (insomnia or hypersomnia)
- Poor appetite and weight loss or increased appetite and weight gain.
- Complaining or evidence of difficulty in concentrating.
- Recurrent thought of death or suicide.
DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS
Describe Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Requires the presence of 5 or more of the symptoms of depression for a period of at least 2 weeks.
Tends to recur 80% of those who experience a single episode will have another in a year.
DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS
Describe Dysthymic Disorder.
Less severe, but more chronic form of depression. Requiring the presence of the depressed mood for a period of at least 2 years.
Tends to start in adolescence and average a duration of 5 years but can persist as long as 20 years.
THEORIES OF CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Life Events/Environmental Factors.
Psychosocial stressors in the environment of children and adults are associated with the development of depressive symptoms.
Risk Factors:
- death of family member.
- loss of employment.
- lack of intimate relationship.
- disruptive, hostile and negative home environment.
THEORIES OF CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Explain the Interpersonal Model
Behaviours associated with depression lead to increased social isolation and increased depression (Coyne, 1976).
THEORIES OF CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Explain the behavioural model.
Lack of reinforcement when engaging in social/pleasurable activities leads to withdrawal, thus reducing likelihood of reward even more.
This model suggests depression can be reduced simply by re-engaging in social/pleasurable activities (Lewinsohn)
THEORIES OF CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Explain the Cognitive Model: Beck’s Theory of Depression.
Cognitive triad, leads to negative schemata or beliefs triggered by negative life events, leading to cognitive biases, which leads to depression.
It is the certain belief on selves, the world and the future.
THEORIES OF CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Explain Seligman’s Theory of Learned Helplessness.
Bad things that occurred that were unavoidable led to a sense of helplessness which may lead to depression.
THEORIES OF CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
What are the biological causes?
Genetic causes are suggested
People who have copies of a stress-sensitive gene are more vulnerable to developing depression following a stressful event (Caspi et al., 2003)
Reduction/Imbalance of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline.
SUICIDE
What is it?
It is a response to extreme stress which is strongly associated with Depressive and Bipolar disorders.
It accounts for 1.4% of deaths in Australia.
SUICIDE
What are the risk factors?
- Depression
- Hopelessness
- Substance Abuse
- Schizophrenia
- Chronic, painful or disfiguring illness.
- Recent loss of loved one, through divorce, death etc.
SUICIDE
What are common myths?
- Suicide is almost always completed with no warning.
- As severe depression lifts, people’s suicide risk decreases.
- Most peopler who threaten suicide are seeking attention.
- People who talk about suicide a lot, almost never commit it.
- Talking to depressed people about suicide makes them more likely to commit the act.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
What is anxiety?
A negative mood state characterised by bodily symptoms of physical tension and by apprehension about the future.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
How is anxiety different to fear?
Anxiety is the apprehension about future problems where is fear is the immediate reaction.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
What is the fight or flight response?
It is an inbuilt system associated with anxiety disorders that prepares us to fight off danger or fun away from it.
When these responses become maladaptive, we need to consider if there is an anxiety disorder.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
Explain panic attacks.
It is a symptom which peaks within 10 minutes and involves at least 4 of some of these symptoms.
e.g. sweating, trembling, dizziness, fear of imminent death, hot/cold flashes, derealisation, shortness of breath (to name a few)
Having a single (or repeated) panic attack does not mean you have a panic disorder.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
What is panic disorder?
Characterised by unexpected and repeated panic attacks.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
What is Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
Chronic, excessive anxiety that occurs for at least 6 months for more days than not.
Characterised by at least 3 of the following behaviours:
1. being easily fatigued
2. irritability
3. muscle tension
4. sleep disturbance
5. difficulty concentrating or mind going blank.
6. restlessness.