CHAPTER 16: PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS Section 1: What Are Psychological Disorders?

Defining and Identifying Psychological Disorders  Very difficult to distinguish normal from abnormal  Does abnormal mean mental illness?  Deviation from Normality  Deviance approach- being different than the majority Serious limitations- majority can be wrong  Adjustment  Normal people are able to get along in the world (physically, emotionally, socially) By this definition, abnormal people are those that fail to adjust

Continued…  Psychological Health  Terms mental illness and mental health imply psychological disturbances are like physical sickness  Self-actualization-to be normal or healthy involves full acceptance and expression of one’s own individuality and humanness Difficult to determine if person is doing a good job of actualizing him/herself

Continued…  Definitions of abnormality are arbitrary  Labeling a person mentally ill because they are odd is cruel and irresponsible  Difficult to define, but abnormality does exist  Mild psychological disorders are common If severe enough to disrupt everyday life, then it is considered an abnormality or illness

The Problem of Classification  Difficult to classify emotional disorders  Rarely as obvious or clear cut as physical illnesses  DSM-IV The 5 th version of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

DSM-IV  Descriptions within each diagnostic category of DSM-IV 1. essential features- characteristics that define disorder 2. associated features- additional features usually present 3. differential diagnosis- info on how to distinguish from other disorders 4. diagnostic criteria- list of symptoms that must be present for a particular diagnostic label Helps doctors be consistent with diagnosis, from one doctor to another OFTEN A PERSON MAY EXHIBIT MORE THAN ONE DISORDER!

DSM-IV continued…  Often a person may exhibit more than one disorder  Early classification systems didn’t account for this  DSM-IV overcame this by using 5 major dimensions, or axes, to describe mental functioning Axis I- classifies current symptoms into categories Axis II- used to describe developmental disorders (ex. autism) and long-standing personality disorders or maladaptive traits (ex. compulsiveness, aggressiveness) Possible for person to have disorder on Axis I & II Axis III- used to describe physical disorders that could be relevent (ex. Brain damage)

Continued… Axis IV- measurement of current stress level Ex. Stress from loss of spouse has huge affect on mental health Axis V- used to describe highest level of adaptive functioning in last year 3 main areas Social relations- quality of relations with family and friends Occupational functioning- functioning as worker, student, etc Use of leisure time- degree of involvement and pleasure in recreational activities  DSM-IV  Labels people- may be extremely helpful or harmful  Many people develop a disorder at some point, many are temporary