PYB306 Psychopathology Questions And Answers Graded A+

Psychopathology - The manifestations of (and study of causes of) mental disorders. Generally used as another term to describe abnormal behaviour Abnormal Psychology - The application of psychological science to the study of mental disorders. Includes investigation of the causes and treatment of psychopathological conditions Psychosis - A term that refers to several types of severe mental disorder in which the person is out of contact with reality. Hallucinations and delusions are examples of psychotic symptoms Syndrome - A group of symptoms that appear together and are assumed to represent a specific type of disorder Ways to define Abnormal Behaviour... - 1. Individual experience (however not everyone has insight into their own behaviour). 2. Statistical norms (common vs rare within population) unusually high levels of anxiety would be considered abnormal, doesn't distinguish between what behaviours would be harmful or not. 3. Harmful dysfunction (see next card). Harmful Dysfunction (First & Wakefield, 2010) - A concept used in one approach to the definition of mental disorder. A condition can be considered a mental disorder if it causes some harm to the person and if the condition results from the inability of some mental mechanism to perform its natural function DSM-5 Criteria for Defining Abnormal Behaviour - A group of persistent maladaptive behaviours that result in personal distress or impaired functioning, specifically: 1. A syndrome characterised by disturbance of a persons cognition, emotion regulation or behaviour. 2. The consequences of which are clinically significant distress or disability in social, occupational or other important activities. 3. The syndrome reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological or developmental processes. 4. Must not be merely an expectable response to common stressors.5. Not primarily a result of social deviance or conflicts with society. Epidemiology - The scientific study of the frequency and distribution of disorders within a population Incidence - The number of new cases of a disorder that appear in a population during a specific period of time Prevalence - An epidemiological term that refers to the total number of cases that are present within a given population during a particular period of time National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) - Studies lifetime prevalence rates of disorders (remember lifetime prevalence will always be higher than 12 month prevalence rates). Study found the top three conditions were: 1. Major depression. 2. Alcohol abuse. 3. Drug abuse. Least three: 1. Anorexia. 2. Bulimia. 3. Schizophrenia. Comorbidity - The simultaneous manifestation of more than one disorder What is Mental Health? - Typically described by "healthy people" or people that are "flourishing" (positive and calm behaviours)