Psychopathology part 1 exam 4

What is psychopathology?

-Not culturally accepted

-Statistically Uncommon

-Causes distress

-Causes dysfunction

The diagnostic and statistcial manual

DSM-5: published in 2013

-Lists 20 categories of disorders

-Covers more than 300 disorders

-Takes an atheoretical approach

-Continues to show improved reliability and validity over time

Note that having standards does not guarantee a correct diagnosis

Biological (Perspectives on the causes of disorders)

physical process, genetics etc.

Psychologist: (Perspectives on the causes of disorders)

attributed to internal or external factors (think back to personality theories)

ex: personality cognition, self-esteem, coping skills, etc

Sociocultural: (Perspectives on the causes of disorders)

social or cultural factors that may play a role (demographics, social conditions such as poverty/discrimination/etc)

ex: race, gender, sexual orientation, status, culture

Biopsychosocial: (Perspectives on the causes of disorders)

recognizes the interplay between biological/psychological/and social factors

ex: genetics, brain anatomy, autonomic nervous system

Experiencing psychology: Understanding normal and abnormal behavior

Behavior may be viewed on a continuum from normal to psychological disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder

-Excessive worry about a number of events, often with no identifiable cause

-Lasts for at least 6 months

-Experienced by about 3% of americans any given year.

-More common in women than men

-European - Americans at higher risk than African - Americans/Hispanic-Americans

Panic Disorder

-Characterized by recurrent abrupt experiences of unexpected intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms

-Up to 30% of adults in US experience occasional panic attacks

-Only 1.5-5% exhibit panic disorders

-Interfere with ability to function

(Typically develop in late )

(adolescence/early adulthood)

Charecteristics of specfific phibias and social anxiety disorder

-Persistent that is excessive and unreasonable

-Lasts for 6 months or more

-Specific phobias are common(9 % of American adults) and typically begin in childhood

Social Anxiety Disorder:

-social phobia)irrational persistent fear of being negatively evaluated in social situations.

-12% of Americans may experience at some point.

-Develops in preschool ot adolescence

OCD: Obssessive-compulsive disorder

-The presence of recurrent, persistent, intrusive thoughts or images (obsessions), and/or repettitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform (compulsions)

-Performing rituals only provides temporary relief

-Not performing them increases anxiety

-No gender differences in rates

-1-3% of population

What is a dissocitave disorder

Involve a loss of connection with some part of our consciousness, identity, or memory

Depersonalization (dissociative disorder)

feeling detatched from mental state/body

Dissociate amnesia (dissocitave disorder)

memory loss of personal information (without substance use/brain injury)

Dissociate identity disorder (dissociate disorder)

-(also called multiple personality disorder): existence of two or more seperate personalities in same individual

-Each personality has seperate thoughts, mannerisms, speech patterns, etc.

-Often experience blackouts/amnesia

-Often have a history of childhood pysical/sexual abuse

Depressive Disorders

May Involve:

-depressed mood

-loss of interest in one's usual activities;

-changes in sleep patters, appetite, and motor functioning;

- loss of energy

Major Depressive Disorder

At least 2 weeks, depressed mood+ 4 other symptoms

Bipolar disorders

-Involve shifts in mood between two states: depressed and manic

-Less common than depressive disorders

-No gender differences

-Often emerges in late adolescense/early adulthood

Genetics (mood disorder)

varies based on disorder

Neurotransmitters (mood disorder)

serotonin and norepinephrine

Stress Hormones (mood disorder)

inhibit neurotransmitters related to mood

Brain structures (mood disorder)

depression associated with abnormal function in prefrontal cortex and limbic system.

Psychological factors (mood disorder)

history of adversity

Sociocultural factors:(mood disorder)

stressful life events, lower social status

Why do women have higher rates of depression than men?

-Greater genertic risk

-Estrogen/progesterone may play a role

-Women may cope with stress

by thinking back over event

-May have more of an interpersonal orientation that puts them at risk

-Traditional gender roles

-lower social status