Psychological Disorders

Psychological Disorders Introductory Psychology Chapter 14 Dr. Greg Cook

What is Abnormal? • Is the behavior considered strange in the person’s own culture? • Does the behavior cause personal distress? • How maladaptive is the person’s behavior? • Is the person a danger to self or others? • Is the person legally responsible for his/her acts? From p. 490

DSM-IV-TR • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, 4th edition, Text Revision (2000). • American Psychiatric Association • ~ 300 psychological disorders • Organized into categories • With specific diagnostic criteria (“symptoms”)

Major DSM-IV-TR Categories • Schizophrenia & psychotic disorders • Mood disorders • Anxiety disorders • Somatoform disorders • Dissociative disorders • Personality disorders • Substance-related disorders • Disorders diagnosed in infancy, child., adol. • Eating disorders See Table 14.1, p. 491

General Categories of Causes • Biological perspective • Biopsychosocial perspective • Psychodynamic perspective • Learning perspective • Cognitive perspective The presumed cause implies a treatment. Can be multiple causes and treatments. See Review & Reflect, p. 493.

Prevalence, in the U.S. • Each year, 26% of adults are diagnosed with a mental disorder (p. 493). • Lifetime prevalence: it is estimated that 46% of people will suffer from a mental disorder at some point in life. • For comparison, the lifetime prevalence for cancer is 30%. See Figure 14.1, p. 494 for prevalence rates.

Anxiety Disorders • The most common type of disorder • Lifetime prevalence = 29% Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) • Chronic, excessive worry for 6+ months Panic Disorder • Recurring, unpredictable • Episodes of overwhelming anxiety, fear, terror • Most people experience a few “panic attacks”, not a disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder • Obsession: recurrent, involuntary thought, image, impulse; distressing • Compulsion: urge to repeat an act or ritual • Related to genetics, early brain infections, other causes

Anxiety Disorders: Phobias Phobia: irrational fear, out of proportion to the real threat. Social Phobia • Irrational fear of social situations or public performances Specific Phobia • Irrational fear of a specific object, situation, event • Claustrophobia (closed spaces) • Acrophobia (heights)

Mood Disorders Major Depressive Disorder • Overwhelming sadness, despair, hopelessness, worthlessness • Changes in appetite, weight, sleep patterns • Loss of energy • Loss of mental focus • Psychomotor difficulties (e.g., slow speech) • Not “grief” or normal reactions to bad events • Twice as likely in women, compared to men Bipolar Disorder • Manic episodes • Depressive episodes

Causes of Mood Disorders • Heredity • Concordance rates, identical twins = 50% • Concordance rates, fraternal twins = 7% • Brain abnormalities? • Neurotransmitter abnormalities • Dopamine, GABA, norepinephrine systems • Life Stressors

Schizophrenia • Onset usually in late teens, twenties • Very severe disorder • Loss of contact with reality • “Positive Symptoms” (behaviors present) • Hallucinations (usually voices) • Delusions (of grandeur, of persecution) • Bizarre behavior • “Negative Symptoms” (behaviors lacking) • Social withdrawal • Apathy • Poor hygiene • Flat affect

Types of Schizophrenia • Paranoid Schizophrenia • Disorganized Schizophrenia • Catatonic Schizophrenia • Undifferentiated Schizophrenia

Somatoform Disorders • Physical symptoms due to psychological causes rather than to any known physical/medical reason. Examples: Hypochondriasis Conversion Disorder ex: Freud’s patient with hysterical paralysis

Dissociative Disorders Dissociative Amnesia • cannot recall personal information or experiences Dissociative Fugue • Loss of memory of entire identity, may take on new identity Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) • Multiple personalities • Not schizophrenia! • Controversial diagnosis

Psychological Disorders