Psychological disorders

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Psychological disorders
chapter 11
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I. Defining and diagnosingdisorders
chapter 11
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Mental disorderpp370-371
chapter 11

• Any behavior or
• emotional state that
• causes a person to suffer
• is self-destructive
• seriously impairs the persons ability
• to work or get along with others
• endangers others or the community

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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual DSM p371
chapter 11

• Axis I Primary clinical problem
• Axis II Personality disorders
• Axis III General medical conditions
• Axis IV Social and environmental stressors
• Axis V Current and past levels of overall
  functioning

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Explosion of mental disorders p371
chapter 11

• Supporters of new categories answer that it is
  important to distinguish disorders precisely.
• Critics point to economics diagnoses are needed
  for insurance reasons for therapists to be
  compensated.

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Projective tests p374
chapter 11

• Projective tests
• Psychological tests used to infer a persons
  motives, conflicts, and unconscious dynamics on
  the basis of the persons interpretation of
  ambiguous stimuli
• Rorschach inkblot test
• A projective personality test that asks
  respondents to interpret abstract, symmetrical
  inkblots

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Objective testsp375
chapter 11

• Inventories
• Standardized objective questionnaires requiring
  written responses
• Typically include scales on which people are
  asked to rate themselves
• Evaluating Whether You Are Depressed

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II. Mood disorders
chapter 11
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Symptoms of depression
chapter 11

• Major depressionp380
• A mood disorder involving disturbances in
• emotion (depressed mood, excessive sadness)
• behavior (reduced interest in ones usual
  activities)
• cognition (thoughts of hopelessness, feelings of
  worthlessness or guilt, reduced ability to
  concentrate, recurrent thoughts of death)
• body function (fatigue, loss of appetite,
  significant weight loss or gain, sleeping too
  much or too little)

DSM IV requires 5 of these within the past 2 weeks
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Bipolar disorder p381
chapter 11

• A mood disorder in which episodes of depression
  and mania (excessive euphoria) occur.
• AKA manic-depressive disorder

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Genetic factors in depression p382
chapter 11

• Studies of adopted children support genetic
  explanations of depression.
• 5-HTT is a gene that is present in either a long
  or short form.
• 17 of individuals with the long form become
  severely depressed.
• 43 of individuals with 2 copies of the short
  form become depressed.
• Genetics may also influence levels of serotonin
  and other neurotransmitters.
• Biomedical therapy is common for depression.
• Major depression Antidepressant medication
• Bipolar disorder Lithium (also
  antidepressants, antipsychotics)

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Life experiences and circumstances p382
chapter 11

• Social explanations emphasize the stressful
  circumstances in peoples lives.
• Loss of or problems with important relationships
• Women are less satisfied with work and family
  and more likely to live in poverty.
• A health psychologist might emphasize stress
  reduction

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Cognitive habits pp382-383
chapter 11

• Cognitive explanations emphasize habits of
  thinking and ways of interpreting events.
• Depressed people believe their situation is
  permanent, uncontrollable.
• Rumination
• Brooding about negative aspects of ones life
• Cognitive therapy is often effective in treating
  depression

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III. Anxiety disorders
chapter 11
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Generalized anxiety disorder p376
chapter 11

• Continuous state of anxiety marked by feelings of
  worry and dread, apprehension, difficulties in
  concentration, and signs of motor tension

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Posttraumatic stress disorder pp376-377
chapter 11

• An anxiety disorder in which a person who has
  experienced a traumatic or life-threatening event
  has symptoms such as psychic numbing, reliving
  the trauma, and increased physiological arousal
• Diagnosed only if symptoms persist for six months
  or longer
• May immediately follow event or occur later

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Panic disorderpp377-378
chapter 11

• An anxiety disorder in which a person experiences
  recurring panic attacks
• Panic attack a feeling of impending doom or
  death, accompanied by physiological symptoms such
  as rapid breathing and dizziness

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Fears and phobias
chapter 11

• Phobia p378
• An exaggerated, unrealistic fear of a specific
  situation, activity, or object

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Agoraphobiapp378-379
chapter 11

• A set of phobias, often set off by a panic
  attack, involving the basic fear of being away
  from a safe place or person.

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder pp379-380
chapter 11

• An anxiety disorder in which a person feels
  trapped in repetitive, persistent thoughts
  (obsessions) and repetitive, ritualized behaviors
  (compulsions) designed to reduce anxiety

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Treatment of anxiety disorders
chapter 11

• Biomedical therapy (antidepressant and
  antianxiety medication)
• Cognitive therapy
• Behavior therapy

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IV. Dissociative disorders
chapter 11
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Dissociative amnesia
chapter 11

• Involves memory loss caused by extensive
  psychological stress

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Dissociative identity disorder p392
chapter 11

• A controversial disorder marked by the appearance
  within one person of two or more distinct
  personalities, each with its own name and traits
• Commonly known as Multiple Personality Disorder

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The MPD controversypp392-393
chapter 11

• First view
• MPD is common but often unrecognized as such.
• Starts in childhood as a means of coping
• Trauma produced a mental splitting.
• Second view
• Created through pressure and
• suggestion by clinicians
• Handfuls to 10,000 since 1980

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Sociocognitive explanationp393
chapter 11

• MPD is an extreme form of our ability to present
  many aspects of our personalities to others.
• MPD is a socially acceptable way for some
  troubled people to make sense of their problems.
• Therapists looking for MPD may reward patients
  with attention and praise for revealing more and
  more personalities.

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V. Personality disorders
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Problem personalities
chapter 11

• Personality disorder
• Rigid, maladaptive patterns that cause personal
  distress or an inability to get along with others
  p384
• Narcissistic personality disorder
• Characterized by an exaggerated sense of
  self-importance and self-absorption p384

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Criminals and psychopaths
chapter 11

• Antisocial personality disorder p385
• Characterized by a lifelong pattern of
  irresponsible, antisocial behavior such as
  lawbreaking, violence, and other impulsive,
  restless acts

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VI. Schizophrenia
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Schizophreniap394
chapter 11

• A psychotic disorder marked by
• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Disorganized, incoherent speech
• Inappropriate behavior
• Impaired cognitive abilities
• Typical onset adolescence to early adulthood

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Delusions and hallucinations
chapter 11

• Delusions p394
• False beliefs that often accompany schizophrenia
  and other psychotic disorders
• Hallucinations p394
• Sensory experiences that occur in the absence of
  actual stimulation

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Genetic vulnerability p396
chapter 11

• The risk of developing schizophrenia increases as
  the genetic relatedness with a diagnosed
  schizophrenic increases.

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Structural brain abnormalities p396
chapter 11

• Several abnormalities exist
• Decreased brain weight
• Decreased volume in temporal lobe or hippocampus
• Enlargement of ventricles
• About 25 do not have these observable brain
  deficiencies.

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Neurotransmitter abnormalities p396
chapter 11

• Many schizophrenics have high levels of brain
  activity in areas served by dopamine, and greater
  numbers of dopamine receptors.
• Abnormalities may also involve serotonin,
  glutamate
• Biomedical therapy antipsychotic medication

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Prenatal or birth complications p397
chapter 11

• Damage to the fetal brain increases chances of
  schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
• Damage may occur as a function of
• maternal malnutrition
• maternal illness
• brain injury
• oxygen deprivation at birth