Psychological Disorders - Lecture 14

What is ‘disordered’?

• there is no single definition of psychological “abnormality” or “normality”

• just because something is atypical, does not mean it is disordered

“Harmful Dysfunction” (Wakefield 1992)

• defines psycholoigal disorders as this

• Dysfunction occurs when an internal mechanism (cognition, perception, learning) does not operate as it should

  • impairs our day-to-day lives

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

• Diagnosis - identifying and labeling a set of defined symptoms

  • requires a classification system that organizes symptoms

• Published by the American Psychiatric Association’

• first published in 1952 and has since undergone numerous revisions

• DSM-5 is the classification system used by most professionals

• “Comorbidy” → the co-occurence of two or more disorders

Diathesis-Stress-Model

integrates biological and psychological factors to predict the likelihood of a disorder

• Diathesis + Stress → Development of a disorder

People with an underlying predisposition for a disorder (diathesis_ are more likely to develop a disorder when faced with adverse events (stress)

• stress gives way to vulnerability

• Diathesis - vulnerability to mental disorder**

Anxiety Disorders

characterized by excessive and persistent fear an anxiety (ie, out of proportion to the situation, negatively impacts daily life) plus related symptoms

• affects approximately 25% - 30% of the US population

• most frequent of mental disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

a relatively continuous state of excessive, uncontrollable worry and apprehension about “anything and everything”

• can be attached to virtually anything, or seem to be for no reason at all

• Diagnosis criteria:

  • symptoms occur more days than not for at least 6 months

  • the symptoms include: restlessness, difficulty with concentration, being easily fatigued, muscle tension, irritability, and sleep difficulties

Social Anxiety Disorder

characterized by extreme and persistent anxiety around and avoidance of social situations in which the person could potentially be evaluated negatively by others

• associated with lower educational attainment, lower earning, poor work performance, unemployment

Safety behaviors

mental or behavioral acts that reduce anxiety (in the short term) in social situations by reducing the chance of negative social outcomes

• avoiding eye contact, avoiding contributing to conversation

• complete avoidance of social situations when possible is also very common