Basic Concepts of Psychological Disorders
● Psychological Disorders
○ Syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s
cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior
○ Dysfunctional or maladaptive
○ Often accompanied by distress
Understanding psychological disorders
● Medical model
○ Hospitals replaced by asylums
○ Mental illness are diagnosed on the basis of symptoms, treated through therapy,
and cured
○ Genetically influenced brain structure and biochemical abnormalities contribute to
mental illness
Biopsychosocial approach
- Psychology studies how biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors
interact to produce specific psychological disorders
- Vulnerability-stress model
Classifying disorders and labeling people
● Classification aims to predict a disorder’s future course, suggest appropriate treatment,
and prompt research
● American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders
● World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases
DSM-5 criticisms
● Wider net pathologized everyday life; too broad
● Subjective diagnostic labels
● Biasing power of labels
Basic Concepts of Psychological Disorders
● Understanding suicide
○ Suicide risk increases increases with anxiety and depression
● Group differences in suicide rates
, ○ National differences
○ Racial differences
○ Gender differences
○ Trait differences
○ Age differences and trends
○ Other group differences
○ Day-of-the-week & seasonal differences
○ Gun ownership vs. no gun ownership
Helping someone who is talking about suicide
● Listen and empathize
● Connect the person with resources
● Protect someone at immediate risk by seeking help
Nonsuicidal self-injury
● More common in adolescence and among females
● May cut or burn the skin, hit oneself, insert objects under the nails or skin, or administer
self-tattoos
● Tend to experience bullying, harassment, and/or a range of other problems
Why do people hurt themselves?
● Find relief from intense negative thoughts through pain distraction
● Attract attention and possibly get help
● Relieve guilt by punishing themselves
● Get others to change their negative behavior (bullying, criticism)
● Fit in with a peer group
Reported rates of psychological disorders: WHO study
- Lowest rate = Nigeria
- Highest rate = U.S.
- Immigrant paradox
*1 in 5 adults has an emotional/psychiatric disorder
What increases vulnerability to mental disorders?
- Predictors of mental health cross ethnic and gender lines
- First symptoms are experienced by age 24 for majority of those studied
Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD
● Anxiety disorders
○ Generalized anxiety disorder
■ Person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic
nervous system arousal
● Panic disorder
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller anyiamgeorge19. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $13.39. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
