WK 11 - PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Question 1

Psychological disorder

Answer 1

Psychological disorders are: marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation and behaviour > disturbed or dysfunctional thoughts, emotions or behaviours are maladaptive

Question 2

Psychological disorder

Answer 2

A mental disorder reflects a dynsfunction in the psychological, biological or developmental processes underlying mental function. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress or disability in social, occupational or other important activities > an expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder
Socially deviant behaviour (e.g. political, religious, sexual) and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict results from a dysfunction in the individual

Question 3

Bio-psycho-social approach to psychological disorders

Answer 3

1) Biological > evolution, genes, brain structure and chemistry
2) Psychological > stress, trauma, learned helplessness, mood-related perceptions and memories
3) Social-cultural > roles, expectations, definitions of normality and disorder

Question 4

Diagnostic classification

Answer 4

Predicts the disorder’s future course > suggests appropriate treatment > prompts research into its causes

Question 5

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5)

Answer 5

Describes disorders and estimates their occurrence.
1) Changes > some label changes (e.g ASD), new or altered diagnoses, new categories
2) Criticism > some did poorly on field trials, contributes to pathologizing of every day life, system labels are society’s value judgement
3) Benefits > helps mental health professional communicate and is useful in research

Question 6

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer 6

Key symptoms > extreme inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity. These can be treated with medications and other therapies. Ongoing debates whether high energy is too often diagnosed as a disorder and whether there is a cost to the long-term use of stimulant drugs in treating ADHD

Question 7

Prevalence of psychological disorders

Answer 7

Australia > prevalence rates of any mental disorder = 45% in lifetime. Experiences with poverty contribute to development of psychological disorders - but some can drive people into poverty (schizophrenia)

Question 8

Mental disorders: vulnerability

Answer 8

Risk factors > academic failure, child abuse, chronic pain, medical illness, disabilities, trauma experience, substance abuse
Protective factors > exercise, feelings of security, self-esteem, social skills, economic independence

Question 9

Anxiety disorders (AD)

Answer 9

Marked by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviours that reduce anxiety

Question 10

AD: generalised anxiety disorder

Answer 10

Person is continually tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

Question 11

AD: panic disorder

Answer 11

Person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread and often lives in fear of when the next attack might strike

Question 12

AD: phobias

Answer 12

Person experiences a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity or situation

Question 13

AS: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Answer 13

Characterised by persistent and repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions) or both, occurs when obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours interfere with everyday life and cause distress - is more common among teens and young adults than older people

Question 14

AD: post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Answer 14

Characterised by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness or feeling, and/or insomnia lingering for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience - often involves battle-scarred veterans, survivors of accidents, disasters, and violent and sexual assaults > has higher risk for women

Question 15

Understanding ADs: conditioning

Answer 15

1) Classical conditioning > research helps explain how panic-prone people associate anxiety with certain cues
2) Stimulus generalisation > research demonstrates how a fearful event can later become a fear of similar events
3) Reinforcement (operant conditioning) > can help maintain a developed and generalised phobia

Question 16

Understanding ADs: cognition

Answer 16

1) Observing others > can contribute to development of some fears (Olsson and colleagues - wild monkey research findings)
2) Interpretation and expectations > shape reactions - hyper-vigilance

Question 17

Understanding ADs: biology

Answer 17

1) Genes > genetic predisposition to anxiety, OCD and PTSD
2) The brain > trauma linked to new fear pathways, hyperactive danger detection, impulse control and habitual behaviour areas of brain
3) Natural selection > biological preparedness to fear threats - easily conditioned and difficult to extinguish

Question 18

Major depressive disorder

Answer 18

Person experiences two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest of pleasure

Question 19

Bipolar disorder

Answer 19

Person experiences not only depression but also mania - impulsive disorder

Question 20

Persistent depressive disorder

Answer 20

Person experiences mildly depressed mood more often than not for at least two years, along with at least two other symptoms

Question 21

Understanding DD/BP: theories

Answer 21

Any theory of depression must explain > behaviours and thoughts change with depression, it is widespread, most major depressive episodes end on their own, stressful events often precede depression and with each new generation, it is striking earlier in life and affecting more people

Question 22

Understanding DD/BP: the depressed brain

Answer 22

Brain activity slows during depression, left frontal lobe less active and scarcity of norepinephrine and serotonin

Question 23

Understanding DD/BP: heritability

Answer 23

Risk increase if family member has disorder, twin studies data estimated heritability of major depression at 37 percent, linkage analysis points to “chromosome neighbourhood” > many genes work together and produce interacting small effects that increase risk for depression

Question 24

Understanding DD/BP: social influence

Answer 24

Depressed people view self and world negatively > learned helplessness may exist with self-defeating beliefs, self-focused rumination and self-blaming and pessimistic explanatory style

Question 25

Understanding DD/BP: social-cognitive perspective

Answer 25

Explores how people’s assumptions and expectations influence their perceptions, self-defeating beliefs and negative explanatory style contribute to cycle of depression > views depression as an ongoing cycle of stressful experiences (interpreted through negative beliefs, attributions, and memories) leading to negative moods and actions and fuelling stressful experiences

Question 26

Depression cycle

Answer 26

Negative, stressful events interpreted through > a ruminating, pessimistic explanatory style create > a hopeless depressed state that > hampers the way the person thinks and feels > and fuels…

Question 27

Suicide

Answer 27

Involves one million people worldwide > higher risk with diagnosis of depression but may occur with rebound (most likely to occur when people feel disconnected from or burden to others)

Question 28

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)

Answer 28

Includes cutting, burning, hitting oneself, pulling out hair, inserting objects under nails or skin, self-administered tattooing

Question 29

Suicide rates: differences

Answer 29

National, racial, gender, age, trends, other group, day of the week

Question 30

NSSI: engagement

Answer 30

People engage in NSSI to > gain relief from intense negative thoughts through distraction of pain, ask for help and gain attention, relieve guilt by self-punishment, get others to change their (-) behaviours (bullying), fit in with peer group

Question 31

Schizophrenia

Answer 31

Psychological disorder characterised by delusions, hallucinations, disorganised speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression > symptoms: disturbed perceptions, disorganised thinking/speech, diminished and inappropriate emotions/actions

Question 32

Schizophrenia: onset and development

Answer 32

1) Chronic schizophrenia (process schizophrenia) > form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood
2) Acute schizophrenia (reactive schizophrenia) > form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to an emotionally traumatic event and has extended recovery periods

Question 33

Understanding schizophrenia: brain abnormalities

Answer 33

Brain chemistry > excess number of dopamine receptors - abnormal brain activity and anatomy > problems with several brain regions and their interconnections, low activity in frontal lobes and more rapid brain tissue loss

Question 34

Understanding schizophrenia: genetics and risk

Answer 34

Odds of being diagnosed are nearly 1 in 100 > 1 in 10 for those with diagnosed family member. Adopted children risk is related to biological parent - influenced by many genes (epigenetic factors influence gene expression)

Question 35

Understanding schizophrenia: prenatal environment and risk

Answer 35

Low birth weight, lack of oxygen during delivery, maternal prenatal nutrition, mid pregnancy viral infection (e.g. flu, dense population, season of birth)

Question 37

Understanding schizophrenia: warning signs

Answer 37

Social withdrawal or other abnormal behaviour, mother with severe/long-lasting schizophrenia, birth complications, separation from parents, short attention span, poor muscle coordination, disruptive/withdrawn behaviour, emotional unpredictability, poor peer relations, solo play, childhood abuse (physical, sexual, emotional)

Question 38

Dissociative disorders

Answer 38

1) Dissociative disorder > conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts and feelings
2) Dissociative identity disorder (DID) > rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities

Question 39

Personality disorders

Answer 39

1) Personality disorder > disruptive, inflexible and enduring behaviour patterns that impair social functioning. This disorder forms three clusters, characterised by anxiety, eccentric or odd behaviours and dramatic or impulsive disorders
2) Antisocial personality disorder > lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; impulsive, fearless, irresponsible; some genetic tendencies, including low arousal - genetic predispositions may interact with the environment to produce altered brain activity associated with antisocial personality disorder

Question 40

Eating disorders (EDs)

Answer 40

1) Anorexia nervosa > person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight
2) Bulimia nervosa > person alternates binge eating with purging, fasting or excessive exercise
3) Binge-eating disorder > significant binge eating followed by distress, disgust or guilt, but without purging, fasting or excessive exercise that marks bulimia nervosa

Question 40

Understanding EDs

Answer 40

Psychological factors can overwhelm the body’s tendency to maintain a normal diet:
1) People with anorexia nervosa continue to diet and exercise excessively because they view themselves as fat
2) People with bulimia nervosa secretly binge and then compensate by purging, fasting or excessive exercise
3) People with binge-eating disorder binge but do not follow with purging, fasting and exercise
Cultural pressures, low self-esteem and negative emotions interact with stressful life experiences and genetics to produce eating disorders