Chapter 8: Mental Disorder Organized Study Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, theories, models, historical figures, and cross-cultural concepts related to mental disorders from Chapter 8.

Mental Health Continuum

The concept that mental health exists on a continuum, where individuals experience varying levels of mental well-being rather than simply being mentally healthy or mentally ill.

Placebo Effect

An occurrence where a person experiences improvement because they believe a treatment will work, even if the treatment lacks an active medical ingredient.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

A type of depression linked to seasonal changes, commonly taking place during months that have less sunlight.

Antidepressants

Medications utilized to aid in the treatment of depression as well as specific other mental health conditions.

Organic Mental Disorders

Mental disorders that stem from physical or biological problems directly affecting the brain.

Functional Mental Disorders

Mental disorders that are not directly accounted for by an identifiable physical abnormality in the brain.

Psychosis

A condition characterized by a loss of contact with reality, frequently involving hallucinations or delusions.

Neurosis

A traditional diagnostic classification marked by emotional distress or anxiety without experiencing a complete loss of contact with reality.

Personality Disorder

An enduring, long-term pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving that deviates notably from social expectations and leads to difficulties in relationships or everyday functioning.

DSM-5-TR

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision; a manual that provides standard criteria for classifying and diagnosing mental disorders.

Multipath Model

A comprehensive approach explaining mental disorders through multiple contributing dimensions, including biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A mental health condition that can emerge after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, characterized by flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, emotional distress, and hypervigilance.

Hypervigilance

A heightened state of ongoing awareness wherein an individual continuously scans the environment for possible danger.

Culture-Bound Syndrome

A recurring pattern of symptoms, behaviors, or conditions that is tied to a specific cultural group.

Susto

A culture-related condition identified in parts of Latin America centered on the belief that an individual's soul has left their body as a result of a frightening experience.

Latah

A culture-related condition associated with Malaysia characterized by an exaggerated startle response.

Trephining

An ancient surgical practice involving cutting an opening into a person's skull, historically thought to release trapped evil spirits.

Philippe Pinel

A French physician who advocated for the reform of mental health care by unchaining patients and championing humane treatment.

Moral Treatment

A historical approach to mental illness that stresses humane care, personal respect, structured daily activities, and supportive environments.

Asylums

Institutions originally established to house and care for individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses, which often became controversial due to overcrowding and poor conditions.

Community Mental Health Centers

Local facilities created to deliver psychiatric and psychological care within the community instead of requiring inpatient institutionalization.

Involuntary Commitment

The formal legal procedure of admitting an individual to a mental health facility without their explicit consent when designated legal standards are met.

Insanity Defense

A legal defense maintaining that a defendant should not be held criminally accountable for an offense due to their impaired mental condition at the time the act was committed.

Mental Health Stigma

The negative stereotypes, prejudicial attitudes, and discriminatory practices directed toward individuals who have mental illnesses.

Medical Model

The viewpoint that conceptualizes mental disorders as physical or biological diseases that should be identified and treated using medical methods.

Psychosocial Model

The theoretical framework proposing that mental disorders arise from psychological experiences and interpersonal or social influences.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A psychological theory developed by Sigmund Freud that attributes human behavior and disorders to unconscious conflicts and formative childhood experiences.

Social Stress Theory

The perspective asserting that exposure to stressful social conditions, life circumstances, and structural disadvantages contributes to mental health disorders.

Thomas Szasz

A psychiatrist who argued that mental illness is a myth, asserting that behaviors diagnosed as illness are actually problems in living or social conflicts rather than genuine biological diseases.

Labeling Model

A sociological perspective indicating that applying the label of mentally ill alters how society treats an individual and influences how that individual conceives their own identity.

Residual Rule-Breaking

Thomas Scheff's concept defining mental illness as a societal label applied to behaviors that violate expected social norms but do not fall under conventional categories of deviance.

Chronic Patient Role

A pattern where an individual internalizes and identifies with the label of being mentally ill, leading to continuous treatment and socialization as a mental health patient.

R.D. Laing

A psychiatrist who argued that psychotic experiences can be sensible responses to an unhealthy social environment, introducing the idea of insanity as supersanity.