Ch. 15 Psychological Disorders

Psychological disorder

difficult to define, complex and diverse, what is considered abnormal isn’t stable and varies across time and culture, family-resemblance view

Family-resemblance view

members of a category share some features, not necessarily all features

Some criteria for psychological disorders

statistical rarity, subjective distress, impairment, societal disapproval, biological dysfunction 

Statistical rarity 

are uncommon in the population 

Subjective distress

cause the person distress

Impairment

interfere with daily functioning

Societal disapproval

socially unacceptable

Biological dysfunction

involves brain impairments

Defining and diagnosing people

DSM-5

DSM-5 

diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

manual outlining a standard system for labeling and diagnosing mental disorders

biopsychosocial approach

Biopsychosocial approach

recognizes the interplay of biological, psychological and social factors

they all determine/support mental health 

Classifying individuals  

can be harmful, we do not classify individuals by their diagnosis aka say person with schizophrenia not a schizophrenic 

Comorbidity

co-occurrence of 2 or more diagnoses like panic disorder and agoraphobia

Cultural variations

what we consider a mental disorder is culturally determined (homosexuality)

some mental disorders are culture specific (anorexia, koro, taijin kyofusho)

rates of disorders vary across cultures (ADHD)

Anxiety disorders

disorders in which the most common symptom is fear or anxiety 

29% of people will meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives 

Panic disorder

panic and panic attack

characteristics: anxiety related to having panic attacks

diagnosis: experienced at least 2 panic attacks, each followed by at least 1 month of anxiety over the occurrence of another attack, 2-5% of US population meet criteria, 20-25% of college students report at least 1 panic attack 

Panic

feelings of helpless terror

Panic attack

brief intense episodes of extreme fear and feelings of impending death or insanity

may feel heart racing, shortness of breath, dizziness

no specific trigger: can occur at any time without warning

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

characteristics: constant and undifferentiated worry, worry about common things but much much more, muscle tension, difficulty sleeping

diagnosis: at least 6 months of self-disrupting worry that’s independent of any other disorder, 3-6% of US population meet criteria