Abnormal Psychology: Explanations for Disorders

• Abnormal Psychology

Explanations for Disorders: Biological

• The diathesis-stress model proposes that serotonin levels are related to depression, but are not necessarily the definitive cause.
• Serotonin research is only correlational.
• Study participants are not all guaranteed to have developed depression.
• SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are effective, however they may not work for everyone.
• Twin studies are frequently used but only represent a small portion of the population.
• Results may not be generalizable

Explanations for Disorders: Cognitive

• Beck's Theory of Depression does not explain whether negative thoughts are a symptom or a cause (bidirectional ambiguity).
• The theory fails to address why some people develop negative thoughts in the first place.
• Fails to explain why not all negative thinkers develop depression.
• Longitudinal research tracks participants over time, though findings are correlational.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which provides long-term therapy, hints that depression may have cognitive roots.

Explanations for Disorders: Sociocultural

• Vulnerability models consider the effects of biological and environmental factors; holistic approach
• Models help identify factors but do not always explain their correlation to depression; descriptive in nature
• Vulnerability models help inform prevention through identification of risk factors
• Studies are correlational; utilizes surveys with questionnaires
• Measurement of "stressful life events" is subjective; validity is questionable.
• A more depressed person views daily events as more stressful.

Prevalence Rates

• Data is self-reported, and susceptible to individual interpretation
• Prevalence rates are subject to change over time and due to cultural shifts.
• Prevalence rates are the statistical percentage of individuals within a population affected by a specific disorder at a given time.
• Period prevalence is the proportion of people in a given population who had the disorder within a specific time period.
• Point prevalence is the proportion of people in a given population currently diagnosed with the disorder.
• Prevalence rates may be problematic because diagnosis is not always reliable across cultures, and symptoms may also change in different cultures.
• Variations in rates could be attributed to:
  • Real differences in depression rates as a result of socioeconomic conditions, environment, or war.
  • Differences in how often depression is reported + stigmatization.
  • Differences could be influenced by varying risk & protective factors, biases in diagnosis (under/over diagnosis), globalization, cultural stigma, changes in environment like increased stress + availability of alcohol

Research Methods

• Interviews, Questionnaires, Correlational Studies, Natural Experiments, and Case Studies

Ethical Considerations

• Avoiding undue stress or harm for participants
• Informed consent
• Right to withdraw

Weisman et al. Study

• Study objective was to investigate depression prevalence across various countries.
• Study conducted across 10 countries (USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, France, West Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Taiwan, Korea, and New Zealand) utilizing telephone registries for random participant selection.
• Interviewers evaluated participants on their mental health history.
• Total of 38,000 participants
• Results showed that depression rates varied a lot by country, but revealed common patterns; depression rates in women were 2-3x higher than men.
• Divorced or separated people had much higher rates of depression than currently married people.
• Depression is a universal disorder; several risk factors are common across the world.
• Reasons for different rates of depression in different countries are uncertain.
• Evaluation:
  • Large participant group and random sampling allow for generalized findings.
  • Translations can produce imprecision
  • Differing levels of depression across countries requires alternate explantions

Parker et al. Study

• Study objective was to compare extent to which depressed Chinese patients in Malaysia and Caucasian patients in Australia identified cognitive and somatic symptoms as signs of depression.
• Sample consisted of 50 Malaysian participants of Chinese heritage and 50 Australian participants of Caucasian heritage.
• Participants were outpatients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder but no other diagnoses.
• Questionnaire was based on two sets of symptoms: mood and cognitive items common in Western diagnostic tools + a list of somatic symptoms commonly observed by Singaporean psychiatrists.
• Patients had to judge the extent to which they experienced each of the 39 symptoms.
  • Scales: all the time, most of the time, some of the time and not at all.
• Patients were asked to rank the symptoms based on distress level.
• Psychiatrists also noted the primary symptom that led patients to seek help.
• 60% of Chinese participants that sought help identified somatic symptoms, versus 13% of the Australian sample.
• There was no significant difference in the # of somatic symptoms indicated by each group
• Chinese participants were less likely to identify cognitive or emotional symptoms as their problem.
• They were less likely to rate feeling helpless, depressed, or having thoughts of death than Australian participants.
• In Western culture, discussing one's emotions related to depression is more acceptable; it is linked to a lack of emotional well-being.
• In Chinese culture, it is less appropriate to speak about a lack of emotional health.

Etiology

• Factors or causes responsible for or related to disorder development.
• Could be biological, cognitive, or sociocultural factors.

Biological Explanation

• Genes increase depression risk based on environmental factors, diathesis stress model.
• 5HTT gene plays a role in serotonin reuptake.

Serotonin Hypothesis

• Attributes depression to low levels of serotonin.
• Serotonin (neurotransmitter) is produced in specific brain neurons.
• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) block serotonin reuptake which increases serotonin in the gap.
• Evaluation:
  • Important understanding of depression beyond.
  • Represented neurobiological model of mood disorders
  • Forms basis of drug development (SSRIs).
  • Effectiveness is supportive of hypothesis.
  • Caspi found a correlation between 5HTT gene variations + depression in combination with stressful life.
• Limitations:
  • Lack of evidence that depression is caused by low serotonin
  • Oversimplifies etiology of depression through one neurotransmitter imbalance
  • Genetic studies have excluded an association with genotypes of serotonin system, and depression
  • Antidepressant efficiency doesn't prove the serotonin hypothesis, as other means may have an impact on brain function.
  • Acceptance of chemical imbalance may overly prescribe antidepressants + pessimism
  • Serotonin remains unmeasurable in the brain.

Caspi et al. Study

• Evaluation of biological explanation:
  • Grounded in neuroscience research on brain chemistry, genetics, and neuroanatomy.
  • Biological model has lead to effective antidepressant treatments.
  • Provides patients a concrete reason for symptoms that can be reassuring.
  • Genetic components have family links.
  • Abnormalities in brain structures like hippocampus has been seen in depressed patients.
• Limitations:
  • Oversimplification of depression w/ single neurotransmitter imbalances
  • Inconsistent evidence
  • Reductionist approach: Focuses solely on biological factors only.
  • Causality issues unclear if biological differences cause depression/results from it.
  • Incomplete models fail to account for the complexity + manifestation.
  • Antidepressants don't work for everyone and may need to be combined with psych treatments.
  • Paradigm shifts may render theories like the serotonin hypothesis as less favorable.
• Other factors include high cortisol levels, hormonal changes, and genetic predisposition.

Cognitive Approach

• Depression is due to distorted & irrational processes; concerned with depressive and anxious thinking and maladapted schemas.
• Includes perception, judgment, beliefs, attitudes, and interpretations. Negative cognitive schemas are called negative depressogenic schemas.
• Cognitive Vulnerability Model states that people who have certain characteristics are more likely to develop depression because they are vulnerable.
• Depression caused by responses as negative thinking about one's self and world.

Beck's Theory of Depression

• Negative cognitive biases mean depressed people focus on the negative while ignoring positives and misinterpreting/distorting (overgeneralizing).
• Negative self-schemas mean people with this are likely to interpret information about themselves in a negative way which could lead to cognitive biases
• Negative triads include the self, their future, and the world; automatically occur, and symptomatic of depressed people

Types of Faulty Thinking

• Arbitrary inference is drawing conclusions based on little/no evidence
• Dichotomous thinking is an all-or-nothing approach
• Exaggeration (magnification) is overestimating negative
• Overgeneralization is applying single incidents to all others
• Personalization is assuming behavior is done w intent to hurt
• Selective abstraction is drawing conclusions by focusing on a single part
• The cognitive triad includes negative views of the self, future, and the world.
• Joiner et al. states that dysfunctional thinking should be associated with the presence, not absence, of life events.

Joiner et al. Study

• People with negative patterns exposed to real life stressors = higher likely of depression.
• Study performed on college students and their midterms.
• Midterrms where a natural and occuring thing.
• This was a natural experiment.
• Assessments conducted.
  • DAS: measures thought patterns as vulnerability, need for approval/perfectionism/impress taken midterm
  • CCL: linked to depression/anxiety taken both at midterm
  • BDI: assess. Symptoms linked to depression both
• Those who had higher scores on Das + failed an exam = BDI.
• Those in das group who did well had no spike in score.
• Das group scored higher and depression.
• No anxieity correlation
• Analysis
  • Decriptivly good but unable to explain the true nature is cause related of disordered thinking

Cognitive Evaluation for Depression

• Confirming negative patterns cause depression.
• Some Support.
• Etiology fallacy: if a treatments good then its cause related of disorder
• Longitudinal prospective used to support role of cognitive
• Practice leads to increase treatement success
• There is evidence in CBT by correcting illogical negative
• Explains diff in gender
• Not clear why thoughts negative
• If bio then genetic root is cause
• Its not clear cause symptom/ dis
• An alterantative could be affect emotion =lead factors affect negative

Socio- Cultural apprach

• Cultural for factors = development of disorder
• Influence, social, cultural norms
• Increase if people cant handly + down

Vulnerablity models

-Decrease factors depr/ help change= bond

• increase factor depression
• trigger on set

Brown harri

• investigate factors sterssfull expirence

• factors depresson

• show that 8

• 90 stress

socioCultural

• studies show strong social= trigger

• dont exlpain how

• this studies importtant because real life

• modern research= indicate

• only females

  • simialar is etnic

• bio is cognitive

Cultural social explain

• strength of roles
• is on understading focosing on prevention limitations
  • are stressful.
• culuterl explanation
• cross culture ethnic