Understanding Abnormal Psychology

• Abnormal psychology seeks to understand mental disorders' nature, causes, and treatments.
• Media depictions of mental health issues are common.
• Clinicians and researchers need skills to scientifically address mental disorders.
• Psychologists research to understand and improve treatments for mental disorders.
• Research advancements lead to better understanding and treatments

Defining Abnormality

• No universal definition exists for abnormality or disorder
• A fully satisfactory definition remains elusive.
• No single behavior defines abnormality.
• Multiple difficulties increase the likelihood of a mental disorder.

Indicators of Abnormality

• Subjective distress: Psychological pain or suffering, insufficient on its own.
• Maladaptiveness: Behavior hindering well-being and functioning.
• Statistical deviancy: Behavior that is statistically rare, depending on value judgments.
• Violation of societal standards: Failure to adhere to social and moral norms.
• Social discomfort: Causing unease in others.
• Irrationality and unpredictability: Erratic or incomprehensible behavior.
• Dangerousness: Risk to oneself or others, not always indicative of mental illness.
• Social judgments and societal values influence decisions about abnormal behavior.

DSM-5 and Mental Disorder

• The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is the U.S. standard for defining mental disorders.
• The current version, DSM-5, contains 541 diagnostic categories.
• Revisions are essential to incorporate scientific developments.
• DSM-5 defines a mental disorder as a syndrome involving significant disturbances in behavior, emotion regulation, or cognitive function.
• These disturbances reflect dysfunction in biological, psychological, or developmental processes needed for mental functioning
• It is associated with distress or disability in areas such as social, occupational, or other activities
• It excludes predictable responses to stressors, and conflicts with society.
• Any definition of abnormality is somewhat arbitrary.
• ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) is a system used outside the U.S.

Advantages of Classification

• Provides a nomenclature (naming system) for a common language.
• Organizes information and related diagnoses together.
• Facilitates research, understanding causes, and improving treatments.
• Defines the scope of problems addressed by mental health professionals.
• Influences insurance reimbursement for psychological difficulties.

Disadvantages of Classification

• Leads to loss of individual information.
• Causes stigma associated with psychiatric diagnosis.
• Results in stereotyping
• Can lead to labeling, affecting a person's self-concept.
• Stigma deters treatment seeking.
• Mental health professionals use person-first language.

Culture and Abnormality

• Culture influences the definition and presentation of abnormality.
• Beliefs and behaviors within a culture are widely accepted practices.
• There are variations in how different cultures describe psychological distress.
• Most psychiatric literature originates from Euro-American countries.

Culture-Specific Disorders

• Taijin kyofusho: An anxiety disorder in Japan; fear of offending or embarrassing others.
• Ataque de nervios: Distress expression in Latino cultures; involves crying, trembling, and uncontrollable screaming.
• Certain behaviors, like hearing voices or defecating in public, are universally considered abnormal.

Epidemiology

• Epidemiology studies the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population.
• Information on distribution is essential for planning mental health services.
• Frequency of mental disorders provides clues about causes

Prevalence and Incidence

• Prevalence refers to active cases in a population during a given period.
• Point prevalence: Proportion of active cases at a specific point in time.
• 1-year prevalence: Anyone who experienced depression at any point in time throughout the year.
• Lifetime prevalence: Number of people who have had a disorder at any time in their lives.
• Incidence refers to new cases that occur over a given period.

Prevalence Estimates for Mental Disorders

• The National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) provides prevalence estimates for mental disorders in the U.S.
• Nearly half of Americans have been affected by mental illness at some point.
• Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent category.
• Major depressive disorder, alcohol abuse, and specific phobias are the most common individual disorders.
• Serious mental illness affects approximately 4.1 percent of adults.
• Comorbidity is the presence of two or more disorders in the same person.

Treatment Context

• Many treatments exist, including medications and psychotherapy.
• Not all people with psychological disorders receive treatment.
• Stigma makes people reluctant to seek help.
• When help is sought, it is often from family physicians, rather than mental health specialists.

Global Burden of Disease

• Mental and substance use disorders account for over 7 percent of the global burden of disease.
• Depression results in the biggest global burden.
• Mental disorders cause significant economic losses due to decreased productivity.

Deinstitutionalization

• There has been a trend away from traditional hospitalization.
• There have been decreases in inpatient beds.
• There has been an increase in prison inmates being treated for severe mental illness.
• Movement away from long-stay inpatient hospitalization has had many unintended consequences, especially for the most disadvantaged members of society.

Mental Health Professionals and Roles

• Psychiatrists prescribe medications.
• Clinical psychologists provide individual therapy.
• Clinical social workers help with family problems.
• Psychiatric nurses provide support.

Why Conduct Research?

• To understand the characteristics of disorders.
• To learn about the etiology (causes) of disorders.
• To provide the best care for patients.
• Research prevents biases in perception and inference.
• Research can be conducted in various settings, such as clinics, hospitals, schools, prisons, etc.
• Research methodology is constantly evolving.

Sources of Information

• Psychological knowledge stems from observation.

Case Studies

• Detailed accounts of patients.
• They can illustrate clinical material.
• Have low generalizability
• They may be biased.

Self-Report Data

• Questionnaires and interviews.
• People may not be good reporters of their own subjective states.
• Data can be misleading due to lying, misinterpretation, or desire to present favorably.

Observational Approaches

• Collecting information without asking people directly.
• Direct observation of behavior.
• Collection of biological variables (e.g., heart rate, stress hormones).
• Brain-imaging techniques (e.g., fMRI) to study brain function.
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to stimulate brain tissue.
• Clinical research involves a mix of self-report and observational methods.

The Role of Hypotheses

• Hypothesis: An effort to explain, predict, or explore something.
• Scientists attempt to test their hypotheses through research studies.
• Sources of hypotheses are anecdotal accounts and unexpected research findings.
• Hypotheses determine the therapeutic approaches used to treat a particular clinical problem.

Sampling and Generalization

• It is necessary to study a larger group of individuals to discover which observations or hypotheses possess scientific credibility.
• Study groups of individuals who have similar abnormalities of behavior.
• Sampling: Select people who are representative of a much larger group.
• Random sampling: Every person in the population would have an equal chance of being included.
• Sometimes researchers use "samples of convenience".

Internal and External Validity

• External validity: The extent to which we can generalize our findings beyond the study itself.
• Internal validity: How confident we can be in the results of a particular given study.

Criterion and Comparison Groups

• Comparison group (control group): A group of people who do not exhibit the disorder being studied.
• Criterion group: Group of interest, people with the disorder being studied.
• Researchers compare the two groups on the variables of interest to see if there are significant differences.

Studying Associations

• Study the world as it is.
• Does not involve manipulation of variables.
• Capitalizes on natural groupings of people (e.g., people who have recently been exposed to a great deal of stress, or people who lost a parent when they were growing up).
• Useful for identifying factors associated with disorders.

Measuring Correlation

• Determines associations among observed phenomena.
• Positive correlation: Measures vary together in a direct, corresponding manner.
• Negative correlation: There is an inverse correlation between the variables of interest.
• The strength of a correlation is measured by a correlation coefficient (𝑟r).
• Ranges from 0 to 1.
• Indicates the direction of the association between the variables.