PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

MEDICAL MODEL APPLIED TO ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR Medical model proposes that it is useful to think of abnormal behavior as a disease Critics: Thomas Szasz— mind can’t be sick Diagnosis: distinguish one illness from another Etiology: causation and developmental history of an illness Prognosis: forecast about probable course of an illness

CRITERIA OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR Deviance: deviating from society’s norms Maladaptive behavior: struggling to adapt Personal distress: usually depression and/or anxiety disorders Evolutionary psychs believe mental disorders should be referred to as evolutionary dysfunctions

STEREOTYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS 1) Psych disorders are incurable 2) People w/psych disorders are often violent and dangerous 3) People w/psych disorders behave in bizarre ways and are very different from normal people

PSYCHODIAGNOSIS: CLASSIFICATION OF DISORDERS 1952: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) describes 100 disorders 1980: DSM-III---new classification system Axes I and II diagnose disorders Axes III-V are supplemental info

PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS Epidemiology: the study of the distribution of mental or physical disorders Prevalence: percentage of population that exhibits a disorder during a specific time period DSM criteria: 1/3 of pop. has some psych disorder

ANXIETY DISORDERS A class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER DEF: marked by a chronic, high level of anxiety that is not tied to any specific threat Called “free-floating anxiety” Worry about minor matters Physical symptoms: trembling, muscle tension, diarrhea, dizziness, faintness, sweating, heart palpitations

PHOBIC DISORDERS DEF: marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger Even imagining the object can trigger anxiety

PANIC DISORDER AND AGORAPHOBIA Panic disorder: characterized by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly Agoraphobia: fear of going out to public places Majority who suffer from one or both are female

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER OCD: marked by persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts and urges to engage in senseless rituals Obsessions are thoughts Compulsions are actions

ETIOLOGY OF ANXIETY DISORDERS

BIOLOGICAL FACTORS Concordance rate: indicates the percentage of twin pairs or other pairs of relatives that exhibit the same disorders Anxiety sensitivity Neurotransmitters

CONDITIONING AND LEARNING Anxiety responses are acquired by classical conditioning They are maintained by operant conditioning Phobias could be evolutionary Observational learning may also play a part

COGNITIVE FACTORS Some are more likely to have anxiety b/c they tend to: 1) misinterpret harmless situations as threatening 2) focus excessive attention on perceived threats 3) selectively recall info that seems threatening

PERSONALITY AND STRESS Certain personality traits appear to be related to likelihood of anxiety Neuroticism--- nervous, jittery, insecure, guilt-prone, gloomy

SOMATOFORM DISORDERS Physical ailments that cannot be fully explained by organic conditions and are largely due to psychological factors

SOMATIZATION DISORDER DEF: marked by a history of diverse physical complaints that appear to be psychological in origin Usually a very diverse array of symptoms

CONVERSION DISORDER DEF: characterized by a significant loss of physical function (w/no apparent organic basis), usually in a single organ system

HYPOCHONDRIASIS DEF: characterized by excessive preoccupation w/health concerns and incessant worry about developing physical illnesses Usually coupled w/ anxiety disorders and depression

ETIOLOGY OF SOMATOFORM DISORDERS

PERSONALITY FACTORS Histrionic personality most prevalent Self-centered, suggestible, excitable, highly emotional, overly dramatic Neuroticism also common

THE SICK ROLE Being sick is a way to avoid life’s challenges Creates an excuse for failure Gets attention from others

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS Class of disorders in which people lose contact w/portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of identity

DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA AND FUGUE Dissociative Amnesia: sudden loss of memory for important personal info that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting Dissociative Fugue: loss of memory for entire life along with sense of identity

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER DID: involves the coexistence in one person of 2 or more largely complete, and usually very different, personalities Personalities usually unaware of each other Alternate personalities exhibit traits unusual for original personality

ETIOLOGY OF DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS Nicholas Spanos: DID patients are merely role- playing to mask personal failure Trauma does seem to be the main cause of development of DID

MOOD DISORDERS Class of disorders marked by emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to disrupt physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes

MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER DEF: show persistent feelings of sadness and despair and a loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure Depression can occur at any point in life Dysthynic disorder: chronic depression that is insufficient in severity to justify diagnosis of a major depressive episode

BIPOLAR DISORDER DEF: characterized by the experience of one or more manic episodes usually accompanied by periods of depression Cyclothymic disorder: exhibit chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance

ETIOLOGY OF MOOD DISORDERS

GENETIC VULNERABILITY Heredity can create a predisposition Environmental factors may determine if it becomes an actual disorder

NEUROCHEMICAL FACTORS Norepinephrine and serotonin thought to be the main NT’s Recent studies are showing that other NT’s may be involved

COGNITIVE FACTORS Depression caused by Learned helplessness---a passive “giving up” People with pessimistic explanatory style are most susceptible to depression Hopelessness theory: pessimistic style, high stress, low self-esteem, etc… create depression Basically…negative thoughts and emotions lead to and maintain depression

INTERPERSONAL ROOTS Behaviorist approach Inadequate social skills lead to depression Depressed people are depressing