Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders

Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders

1. Abnormal Behavior: Myths, Realities, and Controversies

   • misconception about abnormal behavior is common
   • The Medical Model Applied to Abnormal Behavior
     • Medical model= proposes useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease Diagnosis= distinguishing one illness from another Etiology= causation and developmental history of a illness  Prognosis= forecast about probable course of an illness
   • Criteria of Abnormal Behavior
     • 1. Deviance= 2. Maladaptive behaviour= 3. Personal distress=
   • Stereotypes of Psychological Disorders
     • 1. Psychological disorders are incurable  2. People with psychological disorders 3. People with psychological behave in bizarre ways and are very different from normal people 4. 
   • Psychodiagnosis: The Classification of Disorders
     • DSM diagnostic system Axis 1 Clinical Syndromes= Substance-related disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, sexual and gender-identify disorders, eating disorders Axis 11 Personality Disorders=long standing pattterns of extreme, inflexible personality traits deviant, or maladaptive and lead to imparied functioning or distress Axis 111 General Medical Conditions= Examples include diabetes, arthritis Axis 1V Psychosocial and Environmental Problems may affect the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of mental disorders (Axes 1 and 11). may be negative life event, environmental difficulty or deficiency. Axis V Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale Code 100 Superior Functioning in a wide range of Activities, to 0 at 10 Persistent danger of severely hurting self or others
   • The Prevalence of Psychological Disorders
     • Epidemiology= study of how many mental or physical disorders in a population  Prevalence= During a specific time period the total percentage of people that exhibit that disorder

2. Anxiety Disorders

   • Anxiety disorders= Feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety refers to a class of disorders
   • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
     • Generalized Anxiety Disorder= chronic, high level anxiety not tied to any specific threat
   • Phobic Disorder
     • Phobic disorder= persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger
   • Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
     • Panic disorder= recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety usually occur suddenly unexpectedly Agoraphobia= fear going out in public places
   • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
     • Obessive-compulsive disorder= (OCD) persistent, uncontrollable intrusions unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and urges to engage in senseless rituals (compulsions) 
   • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
     • Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina result in enormous economic and personal devastation. The impact is both physical and psychological, and increased levels of PTSD are commonly found among the survivors. 
   • Etiology of Anxiety Disorders
     • Anxiety disorders develop out of complicated interactions among a variety of biological and psychological factors

3. Dissociative Disorders

   • Dissociative disorders= People lose contact with portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of identity. 
   • Dissociative Amnesia and Fugue
     • Dissociative amnesia= sudden lose of memory for important personal information that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting  Dissociative fugue= people lose their memory for their entire lives along with their sense of personal identity 
   • Dissociative Identity Disorder
     • Dissociative identity disorder (DID)= coexistence in one or more people who are largely complete, usually very different personalities Name used to be called multiple personality disorder
   • Etiology of Dissociative Disorders
     • Some theorists say that certain personality traits, fantasy proneness and a tendency to become absorbed in personal experiences may make some people more susceptible to dissociative disorder States most cases of dissociative identity disorder are rooted in severe emotional trauma that occurred during childhood. A large number of people with this disorder report a childhood history of rejection from parents and and physical and sexual abuse.

4. Mood Disorders

   • Mood Disorders= class of disorders marked by emotional disturbances that spill over disrupting physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes.
   • Major Depressive Disorder
     • Major depressive disorder= Persistent feelings of sadness and despair, loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure Anhedonia= diminished ability to experience pleaure Dysthymic disorder= chronic depression insufficient in diagnosis a major depressive episode
   • Bipolar Disorder
     • Bipolar disorder= formerly known as manic depressive disorder One or more manic episodes and periods of depression Cyclothymic disorder= chronic mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance
   • Diversity in Mood Disorders
     • Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) type of depression follows a seasonal pattern, postpartum depression, depression sometimes occurs after childbirth
   • Mood Disorders and Suicide
     • According to World Health Organization more people around the world die from suicide than are killed in armed conflicts. One of three leading causes of death of people between the ages of 15 and 34  Anyone can commit suicide but some groups are at a higher risk then others. Evidence suggests women attempt suicide three times more often then men. 90% of people who complete suicide suffer from some type of psychological disorder, although sometimes the disorder might not be apparent beforehand.
   • Etiology of Mood Disorders
     • Appear to be a number of routes into these disorders, involving interactions between psychological and biological factors.

5. Schizophrenic Disorders

   • Schizophrenic disorders= class of disorders marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and deterioration of adaptive behavior.
   • General Symptoms
     • Delusions= false beliefs maintained even though they are clearly out of touch with reality
   • Subtypes, Course, and Outcome
     • Paranoid Type= Paranoid Schizophrenia= dominated by delusions of persecution, delusions of grandeur Catatonic Type= Striking motor disturbances, muscular rigidity random motor activity  Disorganized Type= severe deterioration adaptive behavior is seen Undifferentiated Type= marked by idiosyncratic mixtures of schizophrenic symptoms Positive versus Negative Symptoms= Negative symptoms= behavioral deficits, flattened emotions, social withdrawal, apathy, impaired attention, poverty of speech Positive symptoms= behavioral excesses or peculiarities, such as hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behavior, and wild flights of ideas
   • Etiology of Schizophrenia
     • Genetic Vulnerability= Evidence is plentiful that hereditary factors play a role in development of schizophrenic disorders  Neurochemical Factors= Appear to be accompanied by changes in activity of one or more neurotransmitters in the brain  Excess dopamine activity has been implicated as a possible cause of schizophrenia Structural Abnormalities in the Brain= Studies have suggested that individuals with schizophrenia sow a variety of deficits in attention, perception, and information processing. Impairments in working (short term) memory are especially prominent. These cognitive deficits suggest that schizophrenic disorders may be caused by neurological defects. 

6. Personality Disorders

   • Personality disorders= class of disorders marked by extreme, inflexible, personality traits that cause distress or impaired social and occupational functioning
   • Diagnostic Problems
     • Categorical approach describing personality disorders, people can be reliably be placed in discontinuous diagnostic categories
   • Antisocial Personality Disorder
     • Antisocial personality disorder= impulsive, callous, manipulative, aggressive, and irresponsible behavior reflects a failure to accept social norms

7. Disorders of Childhood

   • Autism (or autistic disorder)  developmental disorder characterized by social and emotional deficits, along with repetitive and stereotypic behaviors, interests and activities
   • Autism
     • Autism= children suffering from autism exhibit three types of deficits impairment in social interaction, impairment in communication, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors/ interests/activities  Children with Autism show significant impairmentin social interaction with others Autistic children really do not develop relationships with others that are typical of children their age. show inappropriate reactions to others, tending not to make eye contact or smile when expected, they may turn their backs on playmates and sometimes seem not to see or be aware of others. They rarely initiate contact with others and may appear to be in a world of their own. In children with autism, development and use of language to communicate with others shows deficits from very beginning stages of language development. This impacts their social play.  Children with this disorder often exhibit a pattern called echolia, they mimic what they have heard from others and repeat back sentences others have just communicated to them. Children suffering from autistic disorder show obsessive compulsive behavior, endless rocking and spinning and being comfortable only with order and familiarity 

8. Psychological Disorders and the Law

   • Insanity= an individual in canada can be judged not "criminally responsible on account of mental disorder" criminal acts must be intentional 

9. Culture and Pathology

   • Are Equivalent Disorders Found around the World?
     • Culture-bound disorder= abnormal syndromes found only in a few cultural groups For example: Fairly recently the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, largely seen only in affluent Western cultures