Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities

Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities
In determining whether a behavior is abnormal, clinicians rely on the following criteria: Is it deviant, or does it violate societal norms, 2. Is it maladaptive, that is, does it impair a person’s everyday behavior, and 3. Does it cause them personal distress? All three criteria do not have to be met for a person to be diagnosed with a psychological disorder. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Abnormal Normal Deviance Personal Distress Maladaptive Behavior
Antonyms such as normal vs. abnormal imply that people can be divided into two distinct groups, when in reality, it is hard to know when to draw the line. Diagnoses of psychological disorders require value judgments about where in the continuum a behavior falls. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Axis III General Medical Conditions
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 (GAF) Scale A taxonomy of mental disorders was first published in 1952 by the American Psychiatric Association - the DSM. This classification scheme is now in its 4th revision, which uses a multi-axial system for classifying mental disorders. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Axis I Axis I Axis II Clinical Syndromes Clinical Syndromes
Personality Disorders or Mental Retardation Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence Organic mental disorders Substance-related disorders Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders Mood disorders Anxiety disorders Somatoform disorders Dissociative disorders Sexual and gender identity disorders Eating Disorders These disorders are characterized by physiological signs of anxiety (for example, palpitations) and subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, or fear. Anxiety may be acute and focused (panic disorder) or continual and diffuse (generalized anxiety disorder). This category includes disorders that arise before adolescence, such as attention deficit disorders, autism, enuresis, and stuttering. These disorders are temporary or permanent dysfunctions of brain tissue caused by diseases or chemicals. Examples are delirium, dementia, and amnesia. These disorders are dominated by somatic symptoms that resemble physical illnesses. These symptoms cannot be fully accounted for by organic damage. This category includes somatization and conversion disorders and bypochondriasis. This category refers to the maladaptive use of drugs and alcohol. This category requires an abnormal pattern of use, as with alcohol abuse and cocaine dependence. These disorders all feature a sudden, temporary alteration or dysfunction of memory, consciousness, and identity, as in dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder. The schizophrenias are characterized by psychotic symptoms (for example, grossly disorganized behavior, delusions, and hallucinations) and by over six months of behavioral deterioration. This category also includes delusional disorder and schizoaffective disorder. The diagnoses of disorders are made on Axes I and II, with most falling on Axis I. [Click to view Axis I] The remaining axes are used to record supplemental information. A person’s physical disorders are listed on Axis III, and the types of stress they have experienced in the past year on Axis IV. Axis V estimates the individual’s current level of adaptive functioning. The goal of this multi-axial system is to impart information beyond a traditional diagnostic label. There are three basic types of disorders in this category: gender identity disorders (discomfort with identity as male or female), paraphilias (preference for unusual acts to achieve sexual arousal), and sexual dysfunctions (impairments in sexual functioning). The cardinal feature is emotional disturbance. These disorders include major depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymic disorder, and cyclothymic disorder. Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behavior characterized by preoccupation with weight concerns and unhealthy efforts to control weight. Examples include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Portion of population meeting criteria for disorder (%)
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Any Disorder Substance Use Disorders (Including Alcoholism) Category Anxiety Disorders Anxiety disorders are a class of disorders marked by chronic, troublesome feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety. Studies suggest that anxiety disorders are quite common, occurring in roughly 19% of the population. There are four principal types of anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, phobic disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Chronic, High Level of Anxiety Dizziness Sweating The generalized anxiety disorder is marked by a chronic, high level of anxiety that is not tied to any specific threat. People with this disorder worry constantly about minor matters. Their anxiety is frequently accompanied by physical symptoms, such as dizziness, sweating, and heart palpitations. Heart palpitations Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Portion of population reporting each phobia (%)
Type of Phobias Simple Phobias Social Phobias Agoraphobias 25 20 15 Portion of population reporting each phobia (%) 10 5 A phobic disorder is marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger. Although mild phobias are common, people are said to have a phobic disorder when their fears seriously interfere with everyday functioning. Certain types of phobias are particularly common, including acrophobia, which is a fear of heights claustrophobia, which is a fear of small, enclosed places; brontophobia, which is a fear of storms; and hydrophobia, which is a fear of water. Bugs, mice, snakes, bats Going out by oneself Heights Water Storms Closed places Animals Speaking to new acquaintances Crowds Being alone Speaking in public Tunnels or bridges Eating in public Public transport Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

ABC Video: Panic Disorder
A panic disorder is characterized by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly. After a number of attacks, victims’ concern about exhibiting panic in public may escalate to the point where they are afraid to leave home. This creates agoraphobia—a fear of going out to public places. Click on the buttons to view the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder and to read a case history. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

ABC Video: Hoarding An obsessive-compulsive disorder is marked by persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts, which are called obsessions, and urges to engage in senseless rituals, which are called compulsions. Compulsions involve stereotyped rituals, such as constant handwashing, or endless rechecking of locks, faucets, etc. This video shows the life of a woman whose compulsion is to hoard. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

ABC Video: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Rape Victim (14:01)
PTSD involves enduring psychological disturbance attributed to the experience of a major traumatic event - seen after war, rape, major disasters, etc. Symptoms include re-experiencing the traumatic event in the form of nightmares and flashbacks, emotional numbing, alienation, problems in social relations, and elevated arousal, anxiety, and guilt. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Concordance Rate (%) (Lifetime Risk)
Genetic Relatedness Relationship 10 20 30 40 Identical Twins 100% Like most psychological disorders, anxiety disorders develop out of complicated interactions among many factors, including heredity. In studies that assess the impact of heredity, investigators look at concordance rates. A concordance rate indicates the percentage of twin pairs or other pairs of relatives that exhibit the same disorder. If identical twins, who share more genetic similarity, show higher concordance rates than fraternal twins, who share less genetic overlap, this finding supports the genetic hypothesis. Fraternal Twins 50% Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

CS Elevator CR UCS Elevator Fall 2 Feet Fear UCR
Many anxiety responses, especially phobias, may be acquired through classical conditioning. If a neutral stimulus, such as an elevator, is paired with a frightening event, such as the elevator unexpectedly dropping a couple of feet, it may become a conditioned stimulus eliciting fear Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

GABA Synapse Evidence suggests that a link may exist between anxiety disorders and neurotransmitter activity in the brain. Therapeutic drugs that reduce excessive anxiety, such as Valium, appear to increase inhibitory activity at GABA synapses. This finding suggests that disturbances in the neural circuits using GABA may play a role in some types of anxiety disorders. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Response Take stairs to avoid elevator
Conditioned Fear Response Take stairs to avoid elevator Aversive Stimulus Removed Conditioned fear brought to end Anxiety responses may be maintained through operant conditioning. After a fear is acquired, people often start avoiding the anxiety-producing stimulus, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator. This avoidance response consistently leads to negative reinforcement, because it alleviates the person’s conditioned fear, strengthening the avoidance response. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Anxious Subjects Non-anxious Subjects
10 20 30 40 50 60 Anxious Subjects Non-anxious Subjects Cognitive theories hold that certain styles of thinking, over-interpreting harmless situations as threatening, for example, make some people more vulnerable to anxiety disorders. The personality trait of neuroticism has been linked to anxiety disorders, and stress appears to precipitate the onset of anxiety disorders. Threatening Interpretations Endorsed (%) Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Psychosomatic Diseases
Somatoform Disorders Physical ailments that cannot be explained by organic conditions Psychosomatic Diseases Real physical ailments caused in part by psychological factors Somatoform disorders are physical ailments that cannot be explained by organic conditions. They are not the same as psychosomatic diseases, which are real physical ailments caused in part by psychological factors. Individuals with somatoform disorders are not simply faking an illness, which would be termed malingering. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Somatization Disorder
Diverse Physical Complaints Occur Mostly in Women Co-exist with Depression/Anxiety Somatization disorder is marked by a history of diverse physical complaints that appear to be psychological in origin. They occur mostly in women and often coexist with depression and anxiety disorders. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Nerve Distribution of Arm Loss of Feeling Complaint
Conversion disorder is characterized by a significant loss of physical function with no apparent organic basis, usually in a single organ system. Symptoms may include loss of vision, partial paralysis, mutism, and others. “Glove anesthesia” is when a patient feels numbness in one hand only, which is neurologically impossible. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

I think I have heart disease
Am I having a stroke? Do I have a brain tumor? I think I have heart disease Hypochondriasis is characterized by excessive preoccupation with health concerns and incessant worry about developing physical illnesses. Somatoform disorders often emerge in people with highly suggestible, histrionic personalities and in people who focus excess attention on their physiological processes. They may be learned avoidance strategies, reinforced by attention and sympathy. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Dissociative Amnesia Dissociative Fugue
Dissociative disorders are a class of disorders in which people lose contact with portions of their consciousness or memory, resulting in disruptions in their sense of identity. Dissociative amnesia is a sudden loss of memory for important personal information that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting. Dissociative fugue is when people lose their memory for their entire lives along with their sense of personal identity…they forget their name, family, where they live, etc., but still know how to do math and drive a car. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

DID is related to severe emotional trauma that occurred in childhood.
Dissociative identity disorder (formerly multiple personality disorder) involves the coexistence in one person of two or more largely complete, and usually very different, personalities. DID is related to severe emotional trauma that occurred in childhood. Some theorists believe that people with DID are engaging in intentional role playing to use an exotic mental illness as a face-saving excuse for their personal failings and that therapists may play a role in their development of this pattern of behavior, others argue to the contrary. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Mood disorders are a class of disorders marked by emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Major depressive disorder is marked by profound sadness, slowed thought processes, low self-esteem, and loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure. Major depression is also called unipolar depression. Research suggests that the lifetime prevalence rate of unipolar depression is between 7 and 18%. Evidence suggests that the prevalence of depression is increasing, particularly in more recent age cohorts, and that it is two times higher in women than men. Dysthymic disorder consists of chronic depression that is insufficient in severity to justify diagnosis of major depression. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Manic Normal Depressed Time (years)
Bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic-depressive disorder) is characterized by the experience of one or more manic episodes usually accompanied by periods of depression. In a manic episode, a person’s mood becomes elevated to the point of euphoria. Bipolar disorder affects a little over 1%-2% of the population and is equally common in males and females. People are given the diagnosis of cyclothymic disorder when they exhibit chronic but relatively mild symptoms of bipolar disturbance. Depressed Time (years) Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Portion of population meeting criteria for disorder (%)
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Any Disorder Substance Use Disorders (Including Alcoholism) Category Anxiety Disorders This chart shows the estimated percentage of people who have, at any time in their life, suffered from one of four major types of psychological disorders. As you can see, mood disorders are quite common, occurring in roughly 15% of the population. The vast majority of these cases involve depressive disorders. Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Norepinephrine Synapse Serotonin Synapse
A link may exist between mood disorders and neurotransmitter activity in the brain. Research has demonstrated that alterations in the release of norepinephrine are not as important as changes in the sensitivity of the synaptic receptors to which norepinephrine binds. The hypothesis linking decreased norepinephrine activity to depression is supported by evidence that traditional antidepressant drugs increase norepinephrine levels, either by inhibiting reuptake or by slowing inactivation of norepinephrine. Antidepressant drugs such as Prozac inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and thus increase activity at serotonin synapses. This evidence suggests that abnormally low serotonin levels contribute to some depressive disorders. Inactive Reuptake Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Attribution to Personal Flaws
Learned Helplessness Negative Events Attribution to Personal Flaws Sense of Hopelessness Depression A variety of theories emphasize how cognitive factors contribute to depression. One example is Martin Seligman’s learned helplessness model, which postulates that the roots of depression sometimes lie in inferences that people draw about the causes of events, others’ behavior, and their own behavior. In addition, depressed people who ruminate about their depression remain depressed longer than those who try to distract themselves - excessive rumination tends to extend and amplify individuals’ episodes of depression. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Acquire Fewer Reinforcers Such as Good Friends, Top Jobs
Poor Social Skills Court Rejection Because of Irritability, Pessimism Increased Vulnerability to Depression Gravitate to People Who Confirm Negative Self-views Behavioral approaches to understanding depression emphasize the interpersonal roots of depression. According to this notion, some people lack the social finesse needed to acquire important reinforcers, such as good friends, top jobs, and desirable spouses. This scarcity of reinforcers is thought to lead to negative emotions and depression. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Schizophrenic disorders involve severe disturbances in thought that spill over to affect perceptual, social, and emotional processes. Schizophrenic syndromes all share some general symptoms. A central feature is irrational, disjointed thought processes, including delusions—false beliefs that are clearly out of touch with reality. Schizophrenia also tends to bring deterioration in the quality of a person’s work, social relations, and personal care. A variety of perceptual distortions may occur, with auditory hallucinations being the most common. Schizophrenics frequently hear voices of nonexistent or absent people talking to them. This video shows a woman suffering from schizophrenia. [Video is 15 minutes long] Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Paranoid Schizophrenia Catatonic Schizophrenia
Disorganized Schizophrenia Undifferentiated Schizophrenia Four types of schizophrenic disorders are recognized: paranoid schizophrenia, catatonic schizophrenia, disorganized schizophrenia, and undifferentiated schizophrenia. Paranoid schizophrenia is dominated by delusions of persecution, along with delusions of grandeur. Catatonic schizophrenia is marked by striking motor disturbances ranging from immobility to frenzied motor activity. Disorganized schizophrenia involves a particularly severe deterioration of adaptive behavior, frequent incoherence, and virtually complete social withdrawal. Undifferentiated schizophrenia is the diagnosis given to people who are clearly schizophrenic but who cannot be placed into any of the three other categories. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Portion of Population Meeting Criteria for Disorder (%)
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Any Disorder Substance Use Disorders (Including Alcoholism) Category Anxiety Disorders Schizophrenic disorders are far less common than anxiety or mood disorders, occurring in roughly 1% of the population; however, in the United States alone there may be several million people troubled by schizophrenic disturbances. Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Neurotransmitter Activity at the Dopamine Synapse
Norepinephrine Synapse Like mood disorders, schizophrenic disorders appear to be accompanied by changes in neurotransmitter activity. Excess dopamine activity has been implicated as a possible cause of schizophrenia, however the evidence is complex and open to debate. Neurotransmitter Activity at the Dopamine Synapse Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Right Ventricle Left Ventricle Third Ventricle Fourth Ventricle
Neurological defects may also contribute to some cases of schizophrenia. Research suggests that there is an association between schizophrenia and enlargement of the ventricles of the brain, which are its hollow, fluid-filled cavities. Fourth Ventricle Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Minor Physical Anomalies
Prenatal Viral Infection Prenatal Malnutrition Obstetrical Complications Other Brain Insults Disruption of Normal Maturational Process Before or at Birth Increased Vulnerability Schizophrenia Subtle Neurological Damage Minor Physical Anomalies The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia asserts that schizophrenia is caused in part by disruptions in the normal maturational processes of the brain before or at birth. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Parental Communication Deviance
Poor Sense of Reality Sense of Hopelessness Schizophrenic Thinking Withdrawal Into Personal World Evidence suggests that schizophrenia is more likely to develop when people grow up in homes characterized by communication deviance, which consists of vague, muddled, fragmented communication from parents and others. Theorists believe that communication deviance undermines young peoples’ sense of reality and encourages them to withdraw into their own private world, setting the stage for schizophrenic thinking later in life. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Expressed Emotion in Patient’s Family
20 40 60 80 High Low Expressed emotion is the degree to which a relative of a schizophrenic patient displays highly critical or emotionally over involved attitudes toward the patient. A family’s expressed emotion is a good predictor of the course of a schizophrenic patient’s illness. As these data show, schizophrenic patients from families high in expressed emotion show a relapse rate about three times that of patients from families low in expressed emotion. Two-year Relapse Rate (%) Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Environmental Factors in Present
Psychological Factors in Personal History Biological Factors Stress Vulnerability Intersection of High Stress and High Vulnerability Onset of Schizophrenic Disorder Most theories of schizophrenia are stress-vulnerability models. These models assume that stress interacts with vulnerability in triggering schizophrenic disorders. Various biological and psychological factors influence individuals’ vulnerability to schizophrenia. High stress may then serve to precipitate a schizophrenic disorder in someone who has become highly vulnerable. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Culture-bound Disorders
Koro Windigo The principal categories of psychological disturbance are identifiable in all cultures, but milder disorders may go unrecognized in some societies. Culture-bound disorders illustrate the diversity of abnormal behavior around the world, as well as cultural influence - for example: Koro is an obsessive fear that one’s penis will withdraw into one’s abdomen, seen only in Malaya and other regions of southern Asia, and: Windigo involves intense craving for human flesh and fear that one will turn into a cannibal, seen only among Algonquin Indian cultures. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Anorexia nervosa involves intense fear of gaining weight, disturbed body image, refusal to maintain normal weight, and use of dangerous measures to lose weight. Bulimia nervosa involves habitually engaging in out-of-control overeating followed by unhealthy compensatory efforts, such as self-induced vomiting, fasting, abuse of laxatives and diuretics, and excessive exercise. Binge-eating disorder involves distress-inducing eating binges that are not accompanied by the purging, fasting, and excessive exercise seen in bulimia. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Age of Onset Cases (%) 25 5 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45+ Although recorded cases of anorexia date back centuries, it has not become common until the middle of the 20th century. Bulimia appears to be an entirely new syndrome, emerging around the same time anorexia became common. Ninety to ninety-five percent of eating disorder sufferers are female, and appears to be the result of Western cultural pressures based on attractiveness standards. Studies suggest about 1% of young women develop anorexia nervosa, and 2-3% develop bulimia nervosa, however recent studies show that the rates may be growing. [Click to see graphic] The typical age of onset for anorexia is 14-18, and bulimia is 15 to 21. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

Cultural Factors Thinness Attractiveness
What causes eating disorders? There appears to be a number of factors that can contribute to the onset of eating disorders. First, there appears to be a genetic vulnerability to eating disorders. Certain personality traits, such as obsessiveness and rigidness, can also increase the vulnerability to eating disorders. Another important factor is cultural pressures on young women to be thin - in the media, actresses and models are thin, re-affirming the belief that attractiveness is directly related to being as thin as these role models, even if it’s not attainable for all body types. Families can also endorse the idea that you can never be too thin, which works in conjunction with media pressures to enforce the emphasis of slimness as beauty. Rigid, disturbed thinking can also contribute to the development of these disorders. Abnormal Behavior: Myths and Realities Anxiety Disorders Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Schizophrenic Disorders Eating Disorders

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