Psychopathology Chapter 1 Lecture Notes Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering the introductory concepts, epidemiological stats, and research methodologies of psychopathology as presented in the lecture notes.

Psychopathology

The field concerned with understanding the nature, causes, and treatment of mental disorders.

Family aggregation

Whether a specific disorder runs in families.

Subjective distress

An indicator of abnormality involving personal suffering, though it is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for a mental disorder.

Necessary condition

A feature that all people with a mental disorder must show to consider something as pathological.

Sufficient condition

A condition that is all that is needed on its own to consider something as pathological.

Maladaptiveness

Behavior that interferes with well-being and the ability to enjoy work or relationships, often an indicator of psychopathology.

Statistical deviancy

A criterion where statistically rare and undesirable behaviors are more likely to be considered indicative of psychopathology.

Violation of the standards of society

Failure to follow conventional social or moral rules, most likely viewed as deviant if the behavior is also statistically rare.

Social discomfort

The unease experienced by those around a person who violates an implicit or unwritten social norm.

Irrationality and unpredictability

Hallmarks of conditions like the manic phase of bipolar disorder, where the most important factor is the evaluation of whether the person can control their behavior.

Dangerousness

The risk of harm to oneself or others; while considered an indicator, in people with psychopathology, it is more the exception than the rule.

DSM-5-TR

The updated version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used to define mental disorders in the United States.

Mental disorder (DSM-5-TR definition)

A syndrome involving clinically significant disturbance in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive functioning reflecting biological, psychological, or developmental dysfunction.

ICD-11

The International Classification of Diseases produced by the WHO and used in many countries outside the United States.

Nomenclature

A naming system that provides a common language and shorthand terms for complex conditions.

Classification

The process of structuring information by placing related diagnoses together and facilitating research.

Labeling

The process where a person's self-concept is directly affected by being given a diagnosis.

Stigma

The negative social attitude or deterrent to seeking treatment associated with having a psychiatric diagnosis.

Stereotypes

Preconceived generalizations about behaviors associated with psychiatric disorders.

Jamaican stigma study

Research showing that highly prejudicial attitudes and fear toward those with mental disorders are not restricted to industrialized countries.

Pescosolido vignette study

A study showing that most people expressed an unwillingness to work with or socialize with individuals displaying symptoms, even without diagnostic labels.

Epidemiology

The study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population.

Prevalence

The number of active cases in a population during any given time period, typically expressed as a percentage.

Point prevalence

The estimated proportion of actual, active cases of a disorder in a given population at a specific point in time.

1-year prevalence

A count of everyone who experienced a disorder at any point throughout an entire year.

Lifetime prevalence

The number of people who have had a particular disorder at any time in their lives, even if they have recovered.

Incidence

The number of new cases that occur over a given period of time, typically $1$ year.

NCS-R

The Comorbidity Survey Replication, the most comprehensive source of prevalence estimates for adults in the US.

Lifetime prevalence of any DSM-IV disorder

$46.4\%$ of the American population sampled in the NCS-R study.

12-month rate of serious mental illness (Adults)

Estimated to be $5.8\%$.

12-month rate of serious mental illness (Adolescents)

Estimated to be $8\%$.

NSDUH

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted every year to provide recent general information about mental health.

NSDUH past year mental disorder report

$23\%$ of adults in the US reported having some form of recognized mental disorder over the past year.

NSDUH severe mental illness report

$5.6\%$ of adults reported the presence of a severe mental illness.

Comorbidity

The presence of two or more disorders in the same person.

Severe disorder comorbidity rate

$50\%$ of people who have severe forms of mental disorders have two or more disorders.

Mild disorder comorbidity rate

Only $7\%$ of people with a mild form of a disorder also have two or more other diagnosable conditions.

Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY)

A measure where one unit equals the loss of $1$ year of otherwise healthy life.

Global burden of mental disorders

Mental disorders have accounted for more than $125$ million disability adjusted years of life.

Deepest global burden causes

Depression results in the biggest global burden, followed closely by anxiety.

COVID-19 impact

Caused an increase of close to $30\%$ in the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders.

Delay in treatment: Depression

Half of individuals with depression delay seeking treatment for more than $6$ to $8$ years.

Delay in treatment: Anxiety

Individuals delay seeking treatment for $9$ to $23$ years.

Outpatient treatment

Care where a patient visits a facility or practitioner but does not stay overnight.

Inpatient care

Treatment administered within a mental hospital or the psychiatric unit of a general hospital.

Psychiatrist

A mental health professional who may prescribe medications and monitor patients for side effects.

Clinical psychologist

A professional who provides individual therapy and clinical interventions.

Clinical social worker

A professional who helps patients resolve family problems and social issues.

Psychiatric nurse

A professional who checks in with patients daily to provide support and help them cope in the hospital environment.

Etiology

The study of the causes of disorders.

Case study method

An in-depth examination of an individual or family drawing from data sources like interviews and psychological testing.

Generalizability

The extent to which findings from a study can be used to draw conclusions about other cases.

Self-report data

Data collected through participants filling out questionnaires or through interviews; it can be misleading due to lying or misinterpretation.

Direct observation

A method of collecting research data that involves careful scrutiny of the conduct and manner of specific individuals.

Hypothesis

An effort to explain, predict, or explore something through research.

Sampling

The technique of selecting people who are representative of a much larger group for a study.

Representative sample

A group of individuals that accurately reflects the underlying population being studied.

Random selection

A process where every person in the target population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

Convenience sample

A sample of participants that is used because they are easily accessible to the researcher.

MTurk

An online worker pool often used for convenience samples, though it tends to overrepresent European and Asian Americans.

External validity

The extent to which research findings can be generalized beyond the study itself.

Internal validity

How confident a researcher is in the results of a study based on how methodologically sound and error-free it is.

Criterion group

The group of people in a study who have the disorder being investigated.

Comparison group

A control group of people who do not exhibit the disorder but are comparable in other major respects like age and education.

Correlational research

A design that examines whether and how variables co-vary without manipulating any variables.

Positive correlation

A relationship where variables vary together in a direct corresponding manner.

Negative correlation

A relationship where variables vary differently, with one being high while the other is low.

Correlation coefficient ($r$)

A measure of the strength of association between two variables, ranging from $0$ to $1$.

Statistical significance

A measure of the probability that a research finding occurred by chance, often denoted as p < .05.

Effect size

A metric reflecting the size of association between two variables independent of the sample size.

Meta-analysis

A statistical approach for summarizing research findings by calculating and combining effect sizes from multiple studies.

Third variable problem

The risk in correlational studies where the correlation between two variables is due to a shared association with an unmeasured factor.

Retrospective research

Research that attempts to retrace earlier events in the life of a subject to identify factors associated with later disorders.

Prospective research

Research focusing on individuals with high likelihood of becoming disordered before abnormal behavior is observed.

Experimental method

Research involving the manipulation of a given factor with everything else held constant to determine causality.

Random assignment

An experimental procedure where every participant has an equal chance of being placed in treatment or control conditions.

Standard treatment comparison study

A study where two or more treatments are compared in differing yet comparable groups.

Single-case experimental design

A scientific framework used to test therapy techniques on the same individual over time.

ABAB design

A single-case design where a baseline period ($A$) is followed by treatment ($B$), then withdrawal and reinstatement of the treatment.

Analogue studies

Research that studies an approximation of the item of interest, such as inducing sadness in healthy people to study depression.

Suicide rate increase ($2000-2021$)

Suicide rates increased approximately $36\%$ during this period.

Suicide frequency in 2021

Over $48,000$ deaths, occurring at a rate of $1$ death every $11$ minutes.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

A common treatment for anxiety and depression focusing on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Youth major depressive episode access gap

$1$ in $5$ youth had an episode in the past year, but over half did not receive treatment.

Substance use disorder prevalence (Adults)

$18\%$ of adults in the US had a substance use disorder in the past year.

Mental health provider ratio

There is one provider for every $340$ people in the US.

Distress (The Three D's)

A subjective feeling that is an indicator of abnormality but is neither necessary nor sufficient.

Deviance (The Three D's)

Abnormality defined by considering context, culture, and individual characteristics.

Dysfunction (The Three D's)

Behavior that is maladaptive or causes problems for self, others, or society.

Hypnagogic hallucinations

Hallucinations that occur while falling asleep, experienced by $33-37\%$ of the population.

Diathesis-Stress Model

The theory that biological vulnerabilities and environmental factors interact to form psychiatric disorders.

Diathesis

A biological vulnerability for illness (nature).

Stress (in Diathesis-Stress)

Environmental factors or negative life events (nurture).

Heritability of Depression

The extent to which genes account for differences in the disorder, estimated at $35\%$.

Heritability of Schizophrenia

The extent to which genes account for differences in the disorder, estimated at $60\%$.

Trauma and childhood-onset disorders

$45\%$ of childhood-onset disorders are related to trauma or neglect.

Trauma and adult-onset disorders

$25\%$ of adult-onset disorders are related to childhood trauma.

Observational study

A study used to examine etiology or maintenance without manipulating variables at one point or across time.

Cross-sectional study

An observational study conducted at one specific time point.

Longitudinal study

An observational study that follows the same subjects across time.