Download Systems of Psychological Disorders

Chapter 18 Section 1
Psychological Disorders
Obj: Describe the basis for classifying psychological disorders.
What are Psychological Disorders?
Psychological __________________ are behavior patterns or mental processes
that cause serious personal suffering or interfere with a person’s ability to cope
with everyday life.
Many people believe that psychological disorders are uncommon, affecting
relatively few individuals. It is true that the great majority of people are never
admitted to _________________ hospitals, and most people never seek the help
of psychologists or psychiatrists. And although many people have relatives they
consider _____________________, few people have family members they
consider to be truly abnormal.
Estimates suggest that one _______________ of the adults in the US have
experienced some type of psychological disorder. In addition to the many people
with ___________________ abuse problems, 23 percent of people in the US
experience some type of psychological disorder in their ___________________. In
any given month, the figure is approximately 13 percent.
Identifying Psychological Disorders
Deciding whether particular behaviors, thoughts, or feelings are “_____________”
or “___________________” can be difficult. What is normal is often equated with
what is average for the majority of people. Using this definition of normality,
deviation from the majority becomes the primary criterion for abnormality.
People with psychological disorders usually do not differ much from “normal”
people. In fact, the primary difference is the simple ________________________
of certain behaviors or mental processes.
Systems of Psychological Disorders
Several behavior patterns and mental processes may suggest that an individual
has a psychological disorder. The word ____________________ is important here
because diagnosing an individual with a psychological disorder is often difficult,
and diagnoses are not always simple or straightforward.
Psychologists generally use several __________________ to determine whether a
person’s behavior indicates the presence of a psychological disorder. These
criteria include how typical the behavior is of people in general, whether the
behavior is ______________________, whether the behavior causes the
individual emotional discomfort, and whether the behavior is socially unacceptable.
Typicality – the normality of a behavior or mental process is often determined by
the ______________ to which it is average, or ______________, of the behavior
or mental processes of the majority people. There are, however, problems with
defining normality in terms of what is typical of most people. The fact that a
behavior is not typical of most people does not mean it is ________________.
Scientific and artistic geniuses, such as Marie Curie and Pablo Picasso, certainly
are not typical of people in general. That does not mean, however, that such
people are abnormal.
Maladaptivity – Many psychologists believe that what makes a behavior abnormal
is the fact that it is ________________________. That is, the behavior impairs an
individual’s ability to _________________ adequately in everyday life. Behavior
that causes misery and distress rather than happiness and fulfillment may be
considered maladaptive. Alcohol abuse is one such behavior. Alcohol abuse often
has strong negative effects on the drinker’s health, work, and family life. Abuse of
alcohol may discourage the drinker from seeking healthier solutions to the problem
of anxiety as well as create additional problems of its own.
Behavior that is ___________________ to oneself or to others may also be
considered maladaptive. This type of maladaptive behavior may include
threatening or attempting suicide as well as threatening or attacking other people.
It is important to note that most people who commit _______________ crimes do
not have psychological disorders. This is because most criminals are fully aware of
what they are doing. That is, they know that their behavior is _________________
and that they can be held responsible for it. Equally important, the majority of
people with psychological disorders, even _________________ psychological
disorders, are not violent or dangerous.
Emotional Discomfort – Psychological disorders such as ________________
and ________________________ cause most people great emotional discomfort.
For example, people who are depressed often suffer feelings of helplessness,
hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, and extreme sadness. They may lose interest
in virtually everything they once enjoyed and believe that life is not longer worth
living. Such feelings are so stressful that they may lead the affected individual to
consider ___________________. Thus, severe emotional discomfort may be a
sign of a psychological disorder.
Socially Unacceptable Behavior – Behavior that violates a ________________
accepted norms may also be an indication of a psychological disorder. However
whether a behavior is socially unacceptable may depend on the particular society
or culture in which it occurs. What is considered normal behavior in one
_______________ may be considered abnormal in another. Therefore, the cultural
context of a behavior must be taken into _______________ before deciding that
the behavior indicates a psychological disorder.
The importance of culture is demonstrated by culture-bound ________________,
clusters of symptoms that define or describe an illness. Many behaviors
associated with culture-bound syndromes would be considered abnormal by
people who are unaware of the syndrome's cultural context. For example, many
people in Middle Eastern cultures believe that certain ___________________
behaviors, such as banging one’s head, are due to possession of the body by a
spirit. In the US, such a belief would likely be considered a sign of a serious
psychological disorder. However, in the cultural context of some areas in the
Middle East, spirit possession is considered to be a ________________
explanation of certain types of behavior, and the affected individual is not thought
to have a psychological disorder.
Classifying Psychological Disorders
Most psychologists believe that it is important to have a widely agreed upon
____________________________ of psychological disorders. Unless there is
agreement about how to classify psychological disorders, it is difficult to know how
many people have a given disorder or what other factors, such as socioeconomic
status, heredity, or gender differences, may be associated with it. It is also
important to classify psychological disorders so that individuals can be correctly
____________________ and ________________________.
The most widely used classification system for psychological disorders is the
___________, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published
by the American Psychiatric Association. The most recent version of the manual,
the DSM-IV-TR which was published in 1994, recognizes 18 different categories of
psychological disorders.
Until 1980, when the third edition of the DSM was published, psychological
disorders were classified on the basis of their presumed ______________. For
many decades, the most widely accepted causes were those suggested by
___________________ psychoanalytic theory.
Many psychologists criticized early versions of the DSM because very diverse
psychological disorders were grouped together under the labels
“___________________” and “____________________”. As a result, beginning
with the DSM-III in 1980, psychological disorders have been categorized on the
basis of _____________________ signs and symptoms rather than presumed
causes.
The DSM is subject to ongoing revision. New categories are added and old ones
deleted as knowledge of psychological disorders increases. For example, posttraumatic stress disorder was added to the DSM only after the Vietnam War, when
many soldiers were found to suffer from the disorder.
The remainder of this chapter focuses on _______ major types of psychological
disorders as classified by the DSM-IV: anxiety disorders, dissociated disorders,
somatoform disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders.
Many symptoms are simply ________________________ of normal thoughts,
feelings, or behaviors. These symptoms do not necessarily indicate a
psychological disorder. Psychological disorders can only be diagnosed by a skilled
professional after careful _________________________.