Psychological Assessment and Diagnosis Fundamentals Quiz

Factors Affecting Mental Health

• Genetics, head injuries, and neurotransmitter imbalance can affect mental health by altering neurotransmitter levels
• Behavioural factors such as lack of exercise, poor diet, and sleep deprivation can contribute to mental health problems
• Developmental factors such as childhood trauma, abuse, and neglect can increase the risk of developing mental health disorders later in life
• Emotional and cognitive factors such as low self-esteem, negative thought patterns, and poor coping mechanisms can make an individual more prone to anxiety and depression

Mental Disorders

• Biological factors such as genetic predisposition, brain chemistry, and hormonal imbalance can contribute to the development of mental disorders
• The principal of equifinality states that different factors can lead to the same mental health outcome
• Emotional and cognitive influences such as learned helplessness, cognitive distortions, and poor emotional regulation can contribute to the development of mental disorders

Assessment and Diagnosis

• The goal of a behavioral assessment is to identify and understand an individual's behavior and its underlying causes
• Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure, while validity refers to the accuracy of a measure
• The ABCs of observation in a behavioral assessment involve noting the Antecedent (events before the behavior), Behavior (the actual behavior), and Consequence (events after the behavior)
• The purpose of a mental status exam is to evaluate an individual's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning

DSM-5 and Diagnosis

• The DSM-III was heavily criticized for its poor reliability and loosely described categories based on psychoanalytic theory
• The idiographic approach to diagnosis focuses on the unique aspects of an individual's symptoms, while the nomothetic approach focuses on grouping individuals into categories based on shared symptoms
• The prototypical approach to diagnosis involves identifying the prototypical characteristics of a disorder
• The aim of the DSM-5 is to provide a standardized system for diagnosing and classifying mental health disorders

Specific Disorders

• Social Anxiety Disorder involves fear of social or performance situations
• The BEST treatment for Specific Phobia is exposure therapy
• Separation Anxiety Disorder affects 4-5% of children
• The most efficacious treatment for Selective Mutism is behavioral therapy
• The lifetime prevalence of panic disorder is 4.7%
• Symptoms of panic attacks include palpitations, sweating, and trembling
• The prevalence of specific phobias is 12.5%
• The cognitive avoidance model of worry states that individuals avoid anxiety-provoking thoughts and situations
• Anxiety involves excessive concern about the future, while fear involves a response to a perceived threat
• The key diagnostic criteria for Generalised Anxiety Disorder according to DSM-5 include excessive anxiety and worry about everyday things.