Psychological Disorders

10 Key excerpts on "Psychological Disorders"

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  eBook - PDF

  Discovering Psychology

  The Science of Mind

  • John Cacioppo, Laura Freberg(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 536 Learning Objectives 1. Analyze the general definition of psychological disorder and discuss its application in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). 2. Debate the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, considering ways to distinguish symptoms of these disorders from normal childhood behavior. 3. Summarize the symptoms of schizophrenia and their biological and environmental correlates. 4. Discuss the role of bipolar disorder as a bridge between schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. 5. Identify common and differentiating symptoms of the anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and dissociative and somatic symptom disorders. 6. Assess the psychological mechanisms that may support behavioral symptoms of antisocial and borderline personality disorders. We refer to “people with autism spectrum disorder” instead of “autistic person” because there is so much more to people than their disorders. What Does It Mean to Have a Psychological Disorder? Mental health experts define a psychological disorder as “a syndrome characterized by clini-cally significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or development processes underlying even farther out, we can investigate the effects of ASD on the social connectedness this child experiences as he ventures out into the world. In this chapter, you will discover a number of types of Psychological Disorders, each with a unique history and set of characteristics.

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  Psychology 2e

  • Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Openstax

    (Publisher)

  For example, it is perfectly natural (and expected) that a person would experience great sadness and might wish to be left alone following the death of a close family member. Because such reactions are in some ways culturally expected, the individual would not be assumed to signify a mental disorder. 15.1 • What Are Psychological Disorders? 541 Some believe that there is no essential criterion or set of criteria that can definitively distinguish all cases of disorder from nondisorder (Lilienfeld & Marino, 1999). In truth, no single approach to defining a psychological disorder is adequate by itself, nor is there universal agreement on where the boundary is between disordered and not disordered. From time to time we all experience anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and moments of sadness; our behavior at other times may not make much sense to ourselves or to others. These inner experiences and behaviors can vary in their intensity, but are only considered disordered when they are highly disturbing to us and/or others, suggest a dysfunction in normal mental functioning, and are associated with significant distress or disability in social or occupational activities. 15.2 Diagnosing and Classifying Psychological Disorders LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: • Explain why classification systems are necessary in the study of psychopathology • Describe the basic features of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) • Discuss changes in the DSM over time, including criticisms of the current edition • Identify which disorders are generally the most common A first step in the study of Psychological Disorders is carefully and systematically discerning significant signs and symptoms.

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  Psychology and the Challenges of Life

  Adjustment and Growth

  • Spencer A. Rathus, Jeffrey S. Nevid(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder; that is, it represents a break with reality. Schizophrenia touched every aspect of Jennifer’s life and made it extremely difficult for her to function in the real world. There are many other Psychological Disorders, which medical professionals refer to as mental disorders or mental illnesses. Most of them do not represent severe breaks with reality, and it is likely that nearly all of us will be affected by Psychological Disorders in one way or another. We may develop them ourselves, or friends and family may be diagnosed with them. Even if nobody we personally know is ever diagnosed with a psychological disorder, we will contact many people with these disorders, and they contribute to the costs of health care. Definition and Prevalence of Psychological Disorders Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. —Joseph Heller, Catch-22 Psychologists and other health professionals apply various standards or criteria in judging what kinds of behavior and mental processes are normal—or, as helping professionals some- times say, “within normal limits”—and those that are not. These standards include the fol- lowing. Behavior and mental processes may be considered to signify a psychological disorder when they are: • Unusual or inappropriate. Behaviors associated with Psychological Disorders may be unusual or inappropriate, but uncommon behavior or mental processes are not abnormal in themselves. Only one person holds the record for running or swimming the fastest mile. That person is different from you and me but is not abnormal. Only a few people qualify as geniuses in mathematics, but mathematical genius is not a sign of a psychological dis- order. Most people do not see or hear things that are not there, and “seeing things” and “hearing things” are considered abnormal.

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  Psychology Around Us

  • Ronald Comer, Nancy Ogden, Michael Boyes, Elizabeth Gould(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  abnormal psychology .

  Abnormal psychological functioning is a wide-ranging problem, as indicated in

  Figure 15.1

  . It has been estimated that in a given year, at least 20 percent of adults in Canada experience serious psychological disturbances (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2014b). The numbers and rates in other countries are similar (Andreas et al., 2017; Steel et al., 2014; Polanczyk et al., 2015).

  FIGURE 15.1 How many people are diagnosed with mental disorders each year? Nearly one-quarter of the adults in Canada each year experience symptoms that qualify for a diagnosis of at least one mental disorder.

  Source: Health Canada. A Report on Mental Illnesses in Canada. Ottawa, Canada 2002 © Health Canada Editorial Board Mental Illnesses in Canada Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data ISBN H39-643/2002E Cat. No. 0-662-32817-5.

  Furthermore, many people go through periods of great tension, upset, or other forms of psychological discomfort in their lives. At such times, they experience at least some of the distress found in Psychological Disorders.

  What are your thoughts regarding the causes of mental illness? Throughout history, humans have speculated about the causes of the abnormal behaviours that seem to be a part of the human condition. In ancient times, there is evidence that “madness” was seen as a sign of demonic possession or of witch or warlock status. In many cases the “cures” were not particularly helpful to the individuals involved, given that they were intended to cast out evil spirits by burning or drowning. Many people did not survive their “cures.” In more recent times, things were not much better for the mentally ill. A lack of understanding of the causes of mental illness led to a general belief that afflicted individuals were of inferior character, even less than human (Schwab, 2013). In the 1700s in the United Kingdom, those families that could afford it often hid their mentally ill relatives away and cared for them in isolation. Those that could not afford this had few options. Many “mad” people were left at places like Bethlehem Hospital in London, where care was minimal and the use of restraints typical. Tours through the hospital to see the mad people were a major source of revenue for the hospital (Northwood, 2014; Andrews, 1991).

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  Mental Health and Crime

  • Jill Peay(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Routledge-Cavendish

    (Publisher)

  In the latter sections of this book more emphasis will be placed on legal classifications of disorder. These are not coterminous with psychiatric classifications, for example, psychopathic disorder (the legal classification under the (unamended) MHA 1983) was not a generally recognised psychiatric diagnosis: nonetheless, psychiatrists would give evidence as to its presence or absence based in large part, presumably, on their experience with various forms of personality disorder. For the moment, the analysis will focus on psychiatric definitions of disorder. Moreover, when thinking about the relationship between symptoms and criminal behaviour, it is important to separate out that body of literature concerned with the legal attribution of responsibility in those with mental disorders. This will also be touched on in later chapters of the book: the issues involved, such as establishing fitness to plead, diminished responsibility and automatism, raise different questions to those around causality. Such assessments of legal responsibility will govern, or partly govern, the issue of disposal. What concerns us here is the relationship between symptoms and behaviour, not how that behaviour is ultimately evaluated and judged.

  Whilst this is necessarily crude, for our purposes psychiatric diagnoses can be divided into three types: those relating to mental illness, to learning disability or mental handicap, and to personality disorder. Whilst the nature of the concept of learning disability was less troubling to students, understanding the difference between mental illness and the personality disorders was more problematic. Eastman helpfully described the difference between these two categories by analogy to a raspberry ripple ice cream with a cherry on the top. If one conceived as the cherry being a mental illness, something added on to the person, which might be excised through treatment, then personality disorder was more akin to the ripples; it ran throughout the person and was integral to them, rather than being an optional extra. In this sense, the personality disordered person’s current mental state cannot be defined as abnormal in relation to his or her own previous state, but rather only with reference to the population as a whole; and that deviation needs to be perceived as dysfunctional. The problems involved in both obtaining agreement on the diagnosis, where judgments have to be made both about an individual’s personality and its impact on his or her life and the lives of others, and the likely effectiveness of treatment, are immediately apparent. Achieving change, beyond mere maturation, is also problematic: demonstrating that change has been achieved, equally problematic.

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  Psychology Around Us

  • Nancy Ogden, Michael Boyes, Evelyn Field, Ronald Comer, Elizabeth Gould(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  In short, such labels may stick for a long time. Given these problems, some clinicians have argued for doing away with assessment and diagnosis. Others, however, believe that classification and diagnosis are essential to understanding and treating people with psychological difficulties. They suggest that we must simply work to increase what is known about psychologi- cal disorders and improve assessment and diagnostic techniques (Corrigan, 2007; Ben-Zeev, Young, & Corrigan, 2010). On a positive note, a review of interventions aimed at reducing the stigma asso- ciated with mental illness in workplace settings suggests that such interventions can improve employee attitudes toward those with a history of mental illness (Hanisch et al., 2016). 626 CHAPTER 15 Psychological Disorders most influential clinical models—the neuroscience, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, humanistic-existential, socio-cultural, and developmental psychopathology models (see Table 15.2). In the next chapter, we will see how these models inform treatment. The Neuroscience Model Neuroscientists view abnormal behaviour as an illness brought about by a malfunc- tioning brain (Pliszka, 2003). As we have seen throughout the textbook, researchers have discovered connections between certain psychological or neurological dis- orders and problems in specific structures of the brain. Neuroscientists have also linked some mental disorders to deficient or excessive activity of different neuro- transmitters. Depression, for example, seems to be associated with insufficient activity of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin (Beck & Alford, 2009; Blier, 2016). In addition to focusing on neurotransmitters, neuroscience researchers have learned that mental disorders are sometimes related to abnormal hormonal activity in the body’s endocrine system. Abnormal secretions of the hormone cortisol, for example, also have been tied to depression (Qin et al., 2016; Vrshek- Schallhorn et al., 2013).

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  Psychology, 6th Australian and New Zealand Edition

  • Lorelle J. Burton, Drew Westen, Robin M. Kowalski(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Disorders related to a reduction or defcit in cognitive functioning • Includes delirium, major and mild neurocognitive disorders, major or mild neurocognitive disorder (e.g., due to Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Parkinson’s) Personality disorders • Disorders characterised by longstanding patterns of maladaptive behaviour that deviate from cultural expectations and are pervasive and infexible • Includes Cluster A (paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders), Cluster B (antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders) and Cluster C (avoidant, dependent and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder) Paraphilic disorders • Sexual interests that differ from what is normal in society and causes impairment in social functioning • Includes voyeuristic disorder, exhibitionistic disorder, frotteuristic disorder, sexual masochism disorder, sexual sadism disorder, paedophilic disorder, fetishistic disorder and transvestic disorder Other mental disorders • Disorders in which full criteria for another mental disorder are not met Other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention • Focuses on psychosocial issues that may impact on mental health and wellbeing Source: Adapted from American Psychiatric Association (2013). Descriptive diagnosis allows researchers and clinicians in many different settings to diagnose patients in a similar manner, regardless of their theoretical orientation (Regier et al., 2002). In reality, however, not even a descriptive approach can be entirely atheoretical, and psychologists continue to search for alternatives to the DSM approach (see Barron, 1998; Beutler & Malik, 2002; Raskin & Gayle, 2016). The descriptive approach embodied in DSM-IV tended to be most compatible with a disease model of psychopathology, which presumes that Psychological Disorders fall into discrete categories, much like Pdf_Folio:932 932 Psychology

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  Introduction to Psychological Science

  Integrating Behavioral, Neuroscience and Evolutionary Perspectives

  • William J. Ray(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  As you read the self-report from Stephen Westwood above, you probably had a number of reactions. You might have thought of others you know who react in similar ways. You might have thought about how you would react and what upsets you. You might have wondered why some people seem to be so dramatic in everything they do. Some people will tell you that they cut themselves or burn themselves when they experience psychological pain. Steven Westwood tells you that all he thinks about is suicide. However, he also tells you that he can have a relationship with a girlfriend. People who have these types of relationships with themselves and others are described in terms of personality disorders.

  What Is a Personality Disorder?

  The basic definition of a personality disorder is that it represents an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture (APA, 2013, p. 645). Further, the pattern is inflexible, stable, and generally begins in adolescence, and leads to distress or impairment. The characteristics of these disorders are especially apparent when these individuals find themselves in situations that are beyond their ability to cope. DSM-5 identifies ten personality disorders that form separate categories. These ten disorders can be organized into three clusters, which are presented in

  Table 14-4

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  Visualizing Psychology

  • Siri Carpenter, Karen Huffman(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  If you were a therapist, how would you treat this disor-der? Does it fit neatly into any of the categories of psycho-logical disorders that you have learned about? We began this chapter discussing the complexities and problems with defining, identifying, and classifying abnormal be-havior. Before we close, we need to add two additional con-founding factors: gender and culture. In this section, we explore a few of the many ways in which men and women differ in how they experience abnormal behavior. We also look at cultural variations in abnormal behavior. Gender Differences When you picture someone suffering from depression, anxiety, alcoholism, or antisocial personality disorder, what is the gender of each person? Most people tend to visualize a woman for the first two and a man for the last two. There is some truth to these stereotypes. Research has found considerable gender differences in the prevalence rates of various mental disorders. Let’s start with the well-established fact that around the world, the rate of severe depression for women is about double that of men (Dawson et al., 2010; Dillard et al., 2012; Luppa et al., 2012; World Health Organization, 2011). Why is there such a striking gender difference? Certain risk factors for depression (e.g., genetic pre-disposition, marital problems, pain and medical illnesses) are common to both men and women. However, poverty is a well-known contributor to many psychological disor-ders, and women are far more likely to fall into the low-est socioeconomic groups. Women also experience more sexual trauma, partner abuse, and chronic stress in their daily lives, which are all well-known contributing factors in depression (Betancourt et al., 2011; Harkness et al., 2010; Mendelson, Turner, & Tandon, 2010; Mota et al., 2012; Neri et al., 2012; Nolen-Hoeksema, Larson, & Grayson, 2000; Whiffen & Demidenko, 2006).

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  Visualizing Psychology

  • Karen R. Huffman, Alastair Younger, Claire Vanston(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Indeed, approximately 1 in 10 Canadian adults with an anxiety disorder or a mood disorder shows evidence of substance dependence (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006b). Regardless of the causes, however, it is critical that pa- tients, family members, and clinicians recognize and deal with comorbidity if treatment is to be effective. Dissociative Disorders: When the Personality Splits Apart The most dramatic and controversial psychological disor- ders are dissociative disorders. There are several types of dissociative disorders, but all involve a splitting apart (a disas- sociation) of significant aspects of experience from memory or consciousness. Individuals disso- ciate from the core of their per- sonality by failing to remember dissociative disorders Amnesia, fugue, or multiple personalities resulting from avoidance of painful memories or situations. 372 CHAPTER 13 Psychological Disorders Other Disorders 373 DID is a controversial diagnosis. Some experts sug- gest that many cases are faked or result from false mem- ories and an unconscious need to please the therapist (Kihlstrom, 2005; Lawrence, 2008; Pope et al., 2007; Staf- ford & Lynn, 2002). On the other side of the debate are psychologists who accept the validity of multiple personal- ity and provide treatment guidelines (Brown, 2011; Chu, 2011; Dalenberg et al., 2007; Lipsanen et al., 2004; Spiegel & Maldonado, 1999). Personality Disorders: Antisocial and Borderline What would happen if the characteristics of a personality were so inflexible and maladaptive that they significantly impaired someone’s ability to func- tion? This is what happens with per- sonality disorders. Several types of personality disorders are included in this category in the DSM-IV-TR, but here we will focus on antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder.

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