Models of Abnormal Behavior (Social and Sociocultural Models)

consider a variety of interpersonal relationships, including those involving intimate partners, nuclear or extended family, or connections within the community. Explanations of mental distress make several important assumptions

Social-relational models

True or False

Healthy relationships are important for optimal human development and functioning.

Social support, love, compassion, trust, & sense of belonging are examples of social relationships that do not relate to any health benefits.

When relationships prove dysfunctional or are absent, the individual may form mechanisms that make them resistant to mental distress.

True

False (relate to many health benefits)

False (makes them vulnerable)

assumes that the behavior of one family member directly affects the entire family system. According to this model, we behave in ways that reflect both healthy and unhealthy family influences.

Family systems model

True or False: According to the family systems approach, mental illness in an individual is often a reflection of unhealthy family dynamics, such as poor communication among family members.

True

True or False: The family systems approach suggests that focusing therapy on the individual is usually sufficient for treating mental disorders.

False (Family system therapy)

True or False: The family systems approach posits that an individual's personality development is influenced primarily by their interactions with peers.

False (influenced primarily by family)

stresses the importance of clear and direct communication and teaches message-sending and message-receiving skills to family members.

Conjoint-Family Therapeutic Approach

Conjoint-Family Therapeutic Approach is created by

Virginia Satir

attempt to reorganize family relationships based on the assumption that family dysfunction occurs when family members have too much or too little involvement with one another. All of these approaches focus on communication, equalizing power within the family, and restructuring the troubled family system.

Structural Family Approaches

consider power struggles within the family and focus on developing a more healthy power distribution.

Strategic Family Approaches

targets marital relationships and intimate relationships between unmarried partners. Treatment helps couples to understand and clarify their communications, role relationships, unfulfilled needs, and unrealistic or unmet expectations. Popular treatment for those who find that the quality of their relationship needs improvement

Couples Therapy

are often initially strangers. However, group members may share certain characteristics such as experiencing a similar life stressor (e.g., chronic illness, divorce, or death of a family member) or having similar mental disorders or similar therapeutic goals. Most group therapies focus on a specific topic or interactions among members. Despite their wide diversity, successful group therapies share several features that promote change in clients

Group Therapy

• True or False: Social-relational research studies are generally known for their rigorous design and solid outcome measures.

• True or False: Evidence suggests that couples, marital, and family therapies adequately address cultural diversity.

• True or False: Critics have raised concerns that family systems models may sometimes place undue blame on parents for their children's disorders.

• True or False: Family therapists are often praised for their ability to effectively address factors beyond parental behaviors in treating children with certain disorders.

False

False

True

False

emphasize the importance of considering race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious preference, socioeconomic status, and other such factors in explaining mental disorders.

Sociocultural Perspectives

Four major sociocultural influences to illustrate their importance in understanding psychopathology:

Gender, socioeconomic status, acculturative stress, race and ethnicity

True or False: Women experience a higher prevalence of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders compared to men

True

True or False: Stereotyped beauty standards in media have no impact on the mental health of girls and women.

False

True or False: Women often face more stress due to fulfilling multiple social roles and responsibilities, both in and outside the home.

True or False: Women generally earn more than men in full-time jobs, reducing the risk of depression and domestic violence. (percentage of the gender pay gap is?)

True or False: Exposure to sexual harassment commonly begins during the middle school years and can affect psychological well-being and learning.

True

False (women earn 77% of the average salary of Men

True

associated with low wages, unemployment or underemployment, lack of savings, and lack of food reserves. Meeting even the most basic needs of food and shelter becomes a major challenge. In such circumstances, people are likely to experience feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, dependence, and inferiority.

Life in poverty/socioeconomic class

the psychological, physical, and social pressures associated with a move to a new country. Not only do immigrants face the challenge of adjusting and adapting to new cultural customs, they sometimes receive a hostile reception from both the government and the public.

Acculturative Stress

______ often experience a loss of status and develop a sense of powerlessness. This result in cases of spousal abuse.

Male Immigrants

The children may experience difficulty fitting in with their peers, yet may be considered “______” by their parents

Too Americanized

___ and ___ can further enhance acculturative Stress

Racism and Discriminations

contended that racial and ethnic minorities are inferior in some respect to the majority population. For example, this model suggests that low academic achievement and higher unemployment rates among African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos are due to biological differences such as low intelligence. 

Inferiority Model

explained differences as the result of “cultural deprivation.” It implied that minority groups lacked the “right” culture.

Deprivation or Deficit Model

This approach emphasizes that being culturally different does not mean that someone is deviant, pathological, or inferior; instead, it is important to recognize that each culture has strengths and limitations.

Multicultural Model (1980s-1990s)

points out that all theories of human development and psychopathology arise from a particular cultural context (Ivey, D’Andrea, Ivey, & Simek-Morgan, 2007). Thus, many traditional models of psychopathology operate from a European American worldview not experienced or shared by other cultural groups.

Multicultural Model

True or False: The multicultural model suggests that behavior should be evaluated from a cultural perspective.

True

True or False: According to critics of the multicultural model, hallucinations are always considered a disorder regardless of cultural context.

True

True or False: Some cultural groups view hallucinations during bereavement as negative and indicative of a mental disorder.

False

True or False: The multicultural model is heavily criticized for relying on formal research rather than case studies and ethnographic research.

False

How do certain American Indian and Hispanic/Latino groups view hallucinations during religious ceremonies?

• A) As signs of mental illness

• B) As positive spiritual events

• C) As irrelevant to their beliefs

• D) As a form of punishment

B.

What is a primary criticism of the multicultural model?

• A) It ignores cultural factors entirely

• B) It relies too much on formal research

• C) It is based on case studies and lacks formal validation

• D) It denies the existence of mental disorders

C.

How do multicultural psychologists respond to criticisms about the model’s reliance on a Western worldview?

• A) By agreeing that Western views are superior

• B) By asserting that there are multiple valid ways to understand human experiences

• C) By abandoning the multicultural model entirely

• D) By focusing solely on empirical research

B.