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Questions and Answers
What is a defining characteristic of conversion disorder?
What is a defining characteristic of conversion disorder?
Which statement accurately describes the relationship between psychological factors and diagnosed medical conditions?
Which statement accurately describes the relationship between psychological factors and diagnosed medical conditions?
Conversion disorder symptoms can manifest as which of the following?
Conversion disorder symptoms can manifest as which of the following?
Which of the following is a specifier for conversion disorder?
Which of the following is a specifier for conversion disorder?
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What is true about the prevalence of conversion disorder?
What is true about the prevalence of conversion disorder?
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Which of the following descriptions best defines Somatic Symptom Disorder?
Which of the following descriptions best defines Somatic Symptom Disorder?
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Which factor is NOT associated with a higher prevalence of Somatic Symptom Disorder?
Which factor is NOT associated with a higher prevalence of Somatic Symptom Disorder?
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What is the main characteristic of Illness Anxiety Disorder?
What is the main characteristic of Illness Anxiety Disorder?
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What distinguishes Conversion Disorder from other somatic disorders?
What distinguishes Conversion Disorder from other somatic disorders?
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Which of the following is a potential risk factor for developing Somatic Symptom Disorder?
Which of the following is a potential risk factor for developing Somatic Symptom Disorder?
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What type of treatment is generally considered effective for both Somatic Symptom and Illness Anxiety Disorders?
What type of treatment is generally considered effective for both Somatic Symptom and Illness Anxiety Disorders?
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Which of these conditions typically involves the conscious production of symptoms?
Which of these conditions typically involves the conscious production of symptoms?
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Which of the following best describes malingering?
Which of the following best describes malingering?
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Which of the following risk factors is associated with conversion disorder?
Which of the following risk factors is associated with conversion disorder?
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What is the main difference between factitious disorder and malingering?
What is the main difference between factitious disorder and malingering?
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What is a common symptom of dissociative identity disorder (DID)?
What is a common symptom of dissociative identity disorder (DID)?
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Which type of dissociative amnesia involves not recalling a specific event or period of time?
Which type of dissociative amnesia involves not recalling a specific event or period of time?
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Which of the following statements about depersonalization/derealization disorder is accurate?
Which of the following statements about depersonalization/derealization disorder is accurate?
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What is one characteristic feature of malingerers?
What is one characteristic feature of malingerers?
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What is a known specifier of factitious disorder?
What is a known specifier of factitious disorder?
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Which disorder is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states?
Which disorder is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states?
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Which feature is most commonly associated with the onset of dissociative disorders?
Which feature is most commonly associated with the onset of dissociative disorders?
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What distinguishes 'amok' syndrome from other dissociative disorders?
What distinguishes 'amok' syndrome from other dissociative disorders?
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Study Notes
Somatic and Dissociative Disorders
- Somatic and dissociative symptoms were once grouped under the general term "hysteria"
- Hysteria was linked to the "wandering uterus"
- Freud proposed "conversion hysteria," where unconscious emotions and conflicts manifest as physical symptoms.
Somatic Symptom Disorder
- One or more somatic symptoms that are distressing or impairing
- Excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to the somatic symptoms
- Persistent thoughts about the seriousness of symptoms
- Persistent high levels of anxiety about symptoms
- Excessive time and energy devoted to symptoms
- Symptoms do not have to be present continuously but must be persistent (usually more than 6 months)
- Specifiers include predominant pain, persistent (severe symptoms), (marked impairment), and long duration
- Severity can be mild, moderate, or severe.
Somatic Symptom Disorder (Prevalence)
- Typically more prevalent in females
- Older adults
- Individuals with less education
- Lower socioeconomic status (SES)
- History of abuse
- Comorbid anxiety or depression
- Additional physical or psychiatric disorders
- Social stress
- Reinforcing factors contribute to prevalence
Illness Anxiety Disorder
- Preoccupation with having or developing a serious illness
- Somatic symptoms are mild or absent
- Significant anxiety about health
- Excessive health-related behaviors (checking for signs of illness)
- Maladaptive avoidance (avoiding doctor appointments, medical care)
- Preoccupation lasts at least 6 months
- Similar rates in males and females
Illness Anxiety Disorder (Causes)
- An integrative model suggests that a trigger (information, event, illness, or image) leads to a perceived threat. This perceived threat leads to apprehension, increased focus on the body, increased physiological arousal, and checking behaviors or reassurance-seeking. Misinterpretation of bodily sensations or signs occurs as a response to the perceived threat. This further perpetuates the cycle.
Somatic Symptom and Illness Anxiety
- Risk factors include stressful life events, high rates of medical issues in family members, and social and interpersonal influences
- Treatments involve cognitive behavioral therapy and explanatory therapy
Psychological Factors Affecting Medical Conditions
- A diagnosed medical condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes) exists
- Psychological or behavioral factors have an adverse impact on the medical condition
- Examples include denial about necessary medical care, such as blood sugar checks in a patient with diabetes, which is not explained by adjustment disorder.
Conversion Disorder
- Also known as Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder
- One or more symptoms or deficits affecting voluntary motor or sensory function
- Symptoms are NOT intentionally produced
- Symptoms are incompatible with recognized neurological or medical conditions
- Specifiers include weakness or paralysis, abnormal movement, swallowing symptoms, speech symptoms, seizures, anesthesia or sensory loss, special sensory symptoms, or mixed symptoms
Conversion Disorder (Specifics)
- Conversion disorder occurs two to three times more frequently in women
- A potential cause is a traumatic event in which a threat is presented
- The desire to avoid that threat can present as becoming sick and detached from conscious awareness
- Conversion symptoms serve as an escape from the original difficulties, continuing until the underlying issues are resolved
- Secondary gain/ attention, and empathy may play a role.
Conversion Disorder (Risk Factors and Treatment)
- Risk Factors: prior medical complications, lower education level, family medical problems, stress
- Treatment: identification of trauma or stressors, and reducing reinforcement.
Factitious Disorder
- Intentional feigning or physical or psychological symptoms, or creation of injury or disease
- Types: Imposed on self, Imposed on another (by proxy)
- Absence of external incentives
- Specifiers: single or recurrent episodes
Malingering
- Intentional production of false or exaggerated physical or psychological symptoms
- Motivated by external incentives.
Comparison of Somatic Disorders, Factitious Disorder, and Malingering
- Different patterns of symptom production, motivations, and gains
Dissociative Disorders
- A disturbance or alteration in the integration of identity, memory, perception, consciousness, emotion, behavior, body representation, and motor control.
- Often occur after traumatic experiences
- Often more prevalent in women
Dissociative Disorders (Types)
- Dissociative Identity Disorder: Presence of two or more distinct personality states; Recurrent episodes of amnesia; Gaps in remote or procedural memory; When personalities are not observed, symptoms manifest as recurrent, inexplicable intrusions; Alterations in sense of self; Odd changes in perception; intermittent neurological symptoms
- Dissociative Amnesia: Inability to recall autobiographical information that is inconsistent with normal forgetting. Localized, selective, or generalized types, and include wandering or fugue states.
- Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder: Intact reality, but persistent or recurrent symptoms of depersonalization (detachment from oneself) and/or derealization (detachment from surroundings).
Dissociative Amnesia (Specific Information)
- Typically onset in adulthood, but before the age of 50
- Chronic course; Fugue states often end abruptly with recall of events
- Common dissociative disorder.
- "Amok syndrome" is a particular type, characterized by violent acts and a lack of memory during the trance-like state.
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder (Specific Symptoms)
- Symptoms: perceptual alterations, warped sense of time or space, unreal/unstable sense of self, absent or absent self, emotional or physical numbing
- Symptoms: surrounding feeling lifeless or static, blurry or distorted vision, dreamlike or foggy feelings, watching one's life as if in a movie.
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder (Prevalence)
- Mean age of onset is roughly 16 years
- Often symptoms are better explained by acute or other disorders
- Course tends to be chronic; High rates of comorbid disorders (anxiety, mood, or personality disorders)
- Differences in perception, emotion regulation, and dysregulation of the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis could be involved.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (Additional Information)
- In children, not better explained by imaginary friends or play
- Recurring episodes of amnesia, evidenced by: Gaps in remote episodic memory; gaps in procedural memory
- Symptoms manifest in different personalities
- Stress can exacerbate symptoms, as can a possession-form identity (a spirit or other outside entity takes control)
- Could not be better explained by cultural or spiritual practices and occurs involuntarily; causing distress
- Average number of identities = approximately 15
- Onset is often in childhood and related to trauma. People with DID may be more suggestible.
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Description
This quiz explores somatic and dissociative disorders, including the historical context of hysteria and Freud's concept of conversion hysteria. It delves into the specifics of somatic symptom disorder, its symptoms, prevalence, and the associated emotional and behavioral factors. Test your understanding of these complex psychological conditions.
