Chapter 14 - Psychological Disorders

What is the 3 criteria of abnormal behaviour?

What is the 3 criteria of abnormal behaviour?

• Deviant (violate social norms)

• Maladaptive (impair everyday behaviour)

• Causing personal distress

Epidemiology

Distribution of mental or physical disorders in the population

Prevalence

% of population that exhibits a disorder during a specified time period

Lifetime prevalence

% of people who have been diagnosed with a specific disorder at anytime in their lives

What is the medical model?

Conceptualizes abnormal behaviour as a disease

Diagnosis (dx)

Distinguishing one illness from another

Etiology

The apparent causation and developmental history of an illness

Prognosis

Forecast about the probable course of an illness

Reify

Make something more concrete or real

What is the diagnostic system for psychological disorders called?

DSM-5 (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition)

What categorizes and labels clusters of symptoms into ‘disorders’?

DSM-5

What are some problems with the DSM-5? (2)

• Many distressed people don’t meet full criteria for a disorder.

• Most people qualify for 2+ diagnoses

What is the Diathesis-Stress Model?

Suggests that a mental disorder develops when an individual has genetic vulnerability and environmental stressors early in life combined with exposure to stressful life events

Simply put: stress experienced over the course of our lives is a contributor to developing a psychological disorder

Triadic reciprocity

The mutual influence between three sets of factors

(they work together and influence eachother)

What are the three factors of anxiety disorders?

• Emotional & physical distress

• Distorted thoughts

• Avoidance behaviours

What type of anxiety disorder has “free-floating anxiety” about big things and small things?

Generalized anxiety disorder

What type of anxiety disorder has a specific focus of fear?

Phobic disorder

What type of anxiety disorder is characterized by a sudden wave of fear or discomfort or a sense of losing control even when there is no clear danger or trigger?

Panic disorder

What type of anxiety disorder is characterized by intense fear / anxiety of social situations?

Social anxiety

What is the two-factor theory of fear development?

We develop fear through classical conditioning (pairing reponse with stimulus unconsciously)

Fear persists via opperant conditioning (negative reinforcement from relieving anxiety by avoiding fear)

What is the etiology of anxiety disorders?

Both genetic and environmental causes (vulnerability model)

What is the vulnerability model?

Genetic predisposition and environmental trigger theory of behaviour

What is the biggest component of anxiety disorders?

Avoidance

What are the genetic / biological factors that influence anxiety disorders? (4)

• Neurotransmitters

• Temperament (neuroticism)

• Hyperactive amygdala

• Anxiety sensitivity (how sensitive we are to the physical symptoms of anxiety)

What are obsessions?

Repetitive and persistent thoughts, images, or urges

What are compulsions?

Repetitive behaviours / mental acts the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession

What are the three types of beliefs with OCD?

• Perfectionism and intolerance of uncertainty.

• Over importance of thoughts and need to control them.

• Inflated responsibility and overestimation of threat.

What is the etiology of OCD?

Both genetic and environmental causes, but more towards genetic

Mood disorders are ________ in nature

episodic

What are mood disorders generally characterized by?

Emotional disturbances (ex. feeling up or down)

What are the four reciprocal components of major depression?

• Emotions

• Thoughts

• Physical

• Behaviour

What are the three components of the cognitive triad of depression? (also known as Beck’s negative triad)

• Negative views of self

• Negative views of world

• Negative views of future

What is the cognitive triad of depression? (also known as Beck’s negative triad)

Three forms of negative thinking typical from people with depression.

• Depressed people consistantly distort how they interpret experiences in their lives to fit the triad.

• Thus the triad becomes ingrained, and every experience is seen through this negative filter.

At what age does major depressive disorder peak?

20s

What are some risk factors that contribute to the onset of major depressive disorder? (5)

• Neuroticism

• Sociotropy

• Need for excessive autonomy

• Perfectionism

• Adverse childhood experiences

What is the heratibility of major depressive disorder?

40% (2-4x risk if immediate family has MDD)

What is the etiology of major depressive disorder?

Both genetic and environmental causes, but leans more towards environmental.

What is a manic episode?

A sustained period of abnormally elevated mood, intense energy, racing thoughts, and other extreme and exaggerated behaviors

What is a depressive episode?

A sustained period of abnormally low and gloomy mood, low energy, loss of interest in normal activities, and other behaviours.

What is Bipolar disorder?

A psychological disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood (mania) that each last from days to weeks

What is the etiology of bipolar disorder?

Mostly genetic

Suicide is the _____ leading cause of death in people 15-34 years old.

third

What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

Positive symptoms are the presence of problematic behaviours.

What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Negative symptoms are the absence of healthy behaviours.

Are hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thoughts/speech positive or negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Positive

Are flat affect, reduced social interaction, and less motivation positive or negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Negative

Anhedonia

No feeling of enjoyment

Avolition

Less motivation, initiative, and focus

Alogia

Speaking less

Catatonia

Moving less

What is schizophrenia?

A psychological disorder characterized by episodes of psychosis. Includes symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, social withdrawal, and decreased emotional expression.

When is the typical onset of schizophrenia?

18-30

What percent of people with schizophrenia will have their disorder manifest before age 30?

75%

Medication is better at treating the ______ symptoms of schizophrenia.

positive

What is the etiology of schizophrenia?

Mostly genetic

What is the heritability of schizophrenia?

10x risk if immediate family member has schizophrenia.

What is the heratibility of bipolar disorder?

10x risk if immediate family member has bipolar disorder.

What is the dopamine hypothesis?

Overactivity at dopamine synapses in the brain play an important role in the development of schizophrenia

What are the structural abnormalities present in individuals with schizophrenia? (2)

• Enlarged brain ventricles

• Decreased brain volume

What two things give the best prognosis for Schizophrenia?

Later and sudden onset

What did Thomas Szasz say about abnormal behaviour?

Szasz said that abnormal behaviour usually involves a deviation from social norms rather than an illness, and that deviations are “problems in living” rather than medical problems.