Chapter 13: Psychological Disorders

Abnormal Behavior The medical model What is abnormal behavior? –Deviant –Dysfuntional/Maladaptive –Distressing

Psychodiagnosis: The Classification of Disorders American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 4th ed.rev. (DSM – IV-TR)

Psychological Disorders Not uncommon –26% in a given year, 46% in a lifetime. Cultural –What is accepted in one culture, may not be in another Not Dangerous –Most people who suffer from a disorder are not dangerous.

Five Axes Axis I – Clinical Syndromes Axis II – Personality Disorders or Mental Retardation Axis III – General Medical Conditions Axis IV – Psychosocial and Environmental Problems Axis V – Global Assessment of Functioning

Important Terms Diagnosis –Identification of a disorder Prognosis –Indication of the outcome of a disorder Etiology –Apparent cause or developmental history of a disorder.

Anxiety Disorders Generalized anxiety disorder –“free-floating anxiety” Phobic disorder –Specific focus of fear Panic disorder and agoraphobia Obsessive compulsive disorder –Obsessions –Compulsions Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Etiology of Anxiety Disorders Biological factors –Genetic predisposition –GABA circuits in the brain Conditioning and learning –Acquired through classical conditioning –Maintained through operant conditioning Cognitive factors –Judgments of perceived threat Stress/Adverse experiences—a precipitator

Figure 13.3 Twin studies of anxiety disorders

Figure 13.4 Conditioning as an explanation for phobias

Figure 13.5 Cognitive factors in anxiety disorders

Somatoform Disorders Somatization Disorder Conversion Disorder Hypochondriasis Etiology of somatoform disorders –Cognitive factors –Personality factors –The sick role

Figure 13.6 Glove anesthesia

Dissociative Disorders Dissociative amnesia and fugue Dissociative identity disorder –Etiology severe emotional trauma during childhood –Controversy Media creation?

Mood Disorders Major depressive disorder –Dysthymia Bipolar disorder –Cyclothymia Etiology –Genetic vulnerability –Neurochemical factors –Cognitive factors –Interpersonal roots –Precipitating stress

Figure 13.7 Episodic patterns in mood disorders

Figure 13.9 Twin studies of mood disorders

Figure Interpreting the correlation between negative thinking and depression

Figure Interpersonal factors in depression

Schizophrenia General symptoms –Delusions and irrational thought –Deterioration of adaptive behavior –Distorted perception –Disturbed emotion

Subtyping of Schizophrenia Four subtypes –Paranoid type –Catatonic type –Disorganized type –Undifferentiated type New model for classification –Positive vs. negative symptoms

Etiology of Schizophrenia Genetic vulnerability Neurochemical factors Structural abnormalities of the brain The neurodevelopmental hypothesis Expressed emotion Precipitating stress

Figure The dopamine hypothesis as an explanation for schizophrenia

Figure The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia