Characteristics of Abnormal Behavior
Myths and Misconceptions about Abnormal Behavior
Myths and Misconceptions Myth: Abnormal behavior is always bizarre: Fact: The behavior of many people who are diagnosed as having a mental disorder often cannot be distinguished from that of normal people.
Myths and Misconceptions Myth: Normal and abnormal behavior are different in kind Fact: Few types of abnormal behavior displayed by people with a mental disorder are unique to them
Myths and Misconceptions Myth: Once people have a mental disorder, they will always have it. Fact: Most people can be successfully treated for a mental disorder
Defining abnormal behavior
Definition Insanity—
a legal term, not a psychological term— as the inability to appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness of one’s acts According to APA, abnormal behavior is a mental illness that affects or is manifested in a person’s brain
Definition Abnormal
behavior is behavior that
is: Deviant – different from what is
considered to be normal or morally correct Maladaptive- inadequate or faulty adaptation Personal Distress- the low moods or discomfort that results when empathetic people become too deeply involved in others' pain
Theoretical approaches to psychological disorders
Biological Approach This
attributes psychological disorders to organic, internal causes. It is evident in the medical model, which describes psychological disorders as medical diseases with a biological origin
Biological Approach Biological
views on psychological
disorders: Structural views- abnormalities in the
brain structure cause mental disorders Biochemical views- imbalances in neurotransmitters or hormones cause mental disorders Genetic views- disordered genes cause mental disorders
Psychological Approach Psychodynamic
perspectivePsychological disorders arise from unconscious conflicts that produce anxiety and results in maladaptive behavior Behavioral and social cognitive perspective- The focus is on the rewards and punishments in the environment that determine abnormal behavior
Psychological Approach Humanistic
perspective- This emphasizes a capacity for growth, freedom to choose one’s own destiny, and positive personal qualities
Sociocultural Approach The
sociocultural approach places more emphasis on the larger social contexts in which a person lives Any number of psychological problems can develop because of power struggles in a family Individuals from low-income, minority neighborhoods have the highest rates of mental disorders
Sociocultural Approach Women
are likelier than men to suffer from anxiety disorders and depression Men are socialized to direct their energy toward the external world, and they more often have externalized disorders that involve aggression and substance abuse Some disorders are culture related
Sociocultural Approach Disorder
Culture
Description/Charact eristics
Amok
Malaysia, Philippines, Africa
This disorder involves sudden uncontrolled outbursts of anger in which the person may injure or kill someone
Anorexia Nervosa
Western cultures (esp. United States)
This eating disorder involves a relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation and can eventually lead to death
Classifying abnormal behavior
DSM-V Classification System The Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is the 2013 update to the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) classification and diagnostic tool.
DSM-V Classification System Section
I: describes DSM-5 chapter organization, its change from the multiaxial system, and Section III's dimensional assessments Section II: diagnostic criteria and codes Section III: emerging measures and models
DSM-5: Section II 1. Neurodevelopmental disorders - are impairments of the growth and development of the brain or central nervous system. A narrower use of the term refers to a disorder of brain function that affects emotion, learning ability, selfcontrol and memory and that unfolds as the individual grows
DSM-5: Section II Includes: ▪ Intellectual disability (ID) ▪ Communication disorders ▪ Autism spectrum disorders ▪ Motor disorders
DSM-5: Section II 2. Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders - are defined by abnormalities in one or more of the following five domains: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), grossly disorganized or abnormal motor behavior (including catatonia), and negative symptoms
DSM-5: Section II • Includes:
▪ Schizophrenia ▪ Schizoaffective disorder ▪ Delusional disorder ▪ Catatonia
DSM-5: Section II 3. Bipolar and related disorders – includes: ▪ Bipolar I disorder ▪ Bipolar II disorder ▪ Cyclothymic disorder ▪ Other specified bipolar and related disorder
DSM-5: Section II 4. Depressive disorders- are characterized by sadness severe enough or persistent enough to interfere with function and often by decreased interest or pleasure in activities.
DSM-5: Section II Includes: • Major depressive disorder (often called major • • • • •
depression) Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) Other specified or unspecified depressive disorder Premenstrual dysphoric disorder Depressive disorder due to another medical condition Substance/medication-induced depressive disorder
DSM-5: Section II 5. Anxiety disorders - characterized by feelings of anxiety and fear, where anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current events
DSM-5: Section II Includes: • Generalized anxiety disorder • Phobias • Panic disorder • Separation anxiety • Social anxiety • Selective mutism
DSM-5: Section II 6. Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders- includes: ▪ obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) ▪ body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) ▪ hoarding disorder ▪ trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) ▪ excoriation (skin-picking) disorder
DSM-5: Section II 7. Trauma- and stressor-related disorders- disorders in which exposure to a traumatic or stressful event is listed explicitly as a diagnostic criterion
DSM-5: Section II • includes:
▪ attachment disorder ▪ disinhibited social engagement disorder ▪ posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ▪ acute stress disorder ▪ adjustment disorder
DSM-5: Section II 8. Dissociative disorders- involve a sudden loss of memory or change of identity. • Includes: ▪ Dissociative amnesia ▪ Dissociative identity disorder ▪ Depersonalization/derealization disorder
DSM-5: Section II 9. Somatic symptom and related disorders- They occur when psychological symptoms take a physical form even though no physical causes can be found • Includes: ▪ somatic symptom disorder ▪ illness anxiety disorder ▪ conversion disorder (functional neurological symptom disorder) ▪ factitious disorder
DSM-5: Section II 10. Feeding and eating disorderscharacterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eatingrelated behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning
DSM-5: Section II Includes: • pica • rumination disorder • avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder • anorexia nervosa • bulimia nervosa • binge-eating disorder
DSM-5: Section II 11. Sleep-wake disordersIndividuals with these disorders typically present with sleep-wake complaints of dissatisfaction regarding the quality, timing, and amount of sleep. Resulting daytime distress and impairment are core features shared by all of these sleepwake disorders.
DSM-5: Section II Includes: • insomnia disorder • hypersomnolence disorder • Narcolepsy • circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders • nightmare disorder
DSM-5: Section II 12. Sexual dysfunction- difficulty experienced by an individual or a couple during any stage of a normal sexual activity, including physical pleasure, desire,preference, arousal or orgasm
DSM-5: Section II 13. Gender dysphoria- describes people who experience significant dysphoria (distress) with the sex and gender they were assigned at birth
DSM-5: Section II 14. Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders- include conditions involving problems in the self-control of emotions and behaviors. • Includes: ▪ Conduct disorder ▪ Impulse-control disorder ▪ Pyromania ▪ Kleptomania ▪ Intermittent explosive disorder
DSM-5: Section II 15. Substance-related and addictive disorders- encom 10 separate classes of drugs: alcohol; caffeine; cannabis; hallucinogens (with separate categories
for phencyclidine [or similarly acting arylcyclohexylamines] and other hallucinogens); inhalants;
DSM-5: Section II opioids; sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiolytics; stimulants (amphetamine-type
substances, cocaine, and other stimulants); tobacco; and other (or unknown) substances
DSM-5: Section II 16. Neurocognitive disordersthose in which impaired cognition has not been present since birth or very early life, and thus represents a decline from a previously attained level of functioning Includes: • Major or mild NCD
DSM-5: Section II 17. Paraphilic disorders- requires both the presence of a paraphilic urges and the existence of distress, dysfunction, and/or acting on the urges (as described in more detail later in this introduction).
DSM-5: Section II Includes: • voyeuristic, • exhibitionistic, • frotteuristic, • sexual masochism, • sexual sadism, • pedophilic, • fetishistic, and • transvestic disorders
DSM-5: Section II 18. Personality disorders- are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating markedly from those accepted by the individual's culture
DSM-5: Section II Includes: • Paranoid personality disorder • Schizoid personality disorder • Schizotypal personality disorder • Antisocial personality disorder • Borderline personality disorder • Histrionic personality disorder • Narcissistic personality disorder • Avoidant personality disorder • Dependent personality disorder • Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder