Learning Objectives forTopic I-7Key Terms:•Psychopathology : the symptoms and signs of mental disorders, including such phenomena as depressed mood, panic attacks and bizarre behavior. •Abnormal Psychology : the application of psychological science to the study of mental dis-orders •Psychosis : a general term that refers to several types of severe mental disorders in which the person is considered to be out of contact with reality (schizophrenia) •Syndrome : a group of symptoms that appear together and are assumed to represent a spe-cific type of disorder•Culture : values, beliefs, practices that are shared by a specific community or group of peo-ple •Epidemiology : the scientific study of the frequency and distribution of disorders within a population •Incidence : the number of new cases of a disorder that appear in a population during a spe-cific period of time•Prevalence : the total number of active cases, both old and new that are present in a popula-tion during a specific period of time (lifetime: total proportion of people in a given popula-tion affected by the disorder in some point in their lives)•Comorbidity : the presence of more than one condition during the same period of time •Psychiatry : the branch of medicine concerned with the study and treatment of mental disor-ders •Clinical Psychology: concerned with application of psychological science to the assessmentand treatment of disorders •Social work: helping achieve an effective level of psychosocial functioning •Case study : in depth look at the symptoms and circumstances surrounding one person’s mental disturbance•Harmful dysfunction : a condition can be considered a mental disorder if it causes harm to the person and if the condition results from the inability of some mechanism to perform its natural functionWhat Criteria are used to define a mental disorder?•group of symptoms •persistent maladaptive behaviors •impairment in the ability to perform social and occupational roles •defined in terms of experiences most people do not have •needs to meet two criteria: results in the inability of some internal mechanism to perform natural function and the condition causes harm to the person as judged by the standards of the persons culture When is someones behavior abnormal? What are the pros and cons of this definition?•Individual experience of personal distress: some distress is to another person not them-selves•Statistical norms: how common or rare is it in the general populationLearning Objectives forTopic I-7•doesn’t specify how unusual behavior must be •does not distinguish between deviations that are harmful and those that are not •DSM IV definition/harmful dysfunction •in actual practice it is defined in terms of an official diagnostic system What does culture have to do with these concepts? •the impact of particular behavior on a person’s adjustment depends on the culture •to the extend that our behavior is determined by cultural values and beliefs, we should ex-pect that it will continue to evolve over time•example: homosexuality, orgasmic disorderHow common are mental disorders, which disorders are most common, and what percent of cases are mild, moderate, or severe?•46 percent of people surveyed received at least one lifetime diagnosis •major depression most common (17%)•then alcohol abuse, drug abuse, ptsd, panic disorder, bipolar, OCD, schizophrenia, bulimia and anorexia •40% of cases are mild, 37% as moderate and only 22% severe What is “disease burden?” How does the disease burden of mental disorders compare to that of medical conditions? How do mental disorders compare to each other in disease burden?•combine two factors: mortality and disability, lost years of healthy life •mental disorders make up 1% they produce 47% of all disability in economically developedcountries and 28% world wide •top 3: cardiovascular conditions, mental disorders (including suicide) and malignant dis-ease (cancer) Are there cross cultural differences? •some disorders like schizophrenia are consistent across cultures •others are more specifically associated with cultural factors as revealed by comparisons of prevalence •all mental disorders are shaped to some extent by cultural factors•no mental disorders are entirely due to cultural/societal factors•psychotic disorders are less influenced by culture than non psychotic disorders•symptoms of certain disorders are more likely to vary across cultures than are the disorders themselves Not all problems in living for which people might benefit from professional help are considered to be “disorders.” How does the mental health profes-sion conceptualize these other issues and problems? How do these types of problems differ from “mental disorders?” •The DSMIV has adjustment disorders: the development of a clinically significant symp-toms in response to stress that are not severe enough to be a mental disorderLearning Objectives forTopic I-7•list of other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention •Life-cycle transitions: crisis of the healthy personality, psychological pain •can be a reaction to a stressor of any severity not just traumatic stress•DSM IV has list of other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention (V codes) •Criteria for an adjustment disorder: •development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to identifiable stressor occurring within 3 months of the stressor•symptoms: marked distress that is in excess of what would be expected of an exposure to the stressor, significant impairment in social or occupational functioning •disturbance does not meet criteria for another specific axis one disorder and is not merely an exacerbation of a preexisting axis one or two disorder•the symptoms do not represent bereavement •once the stressor has terminator the symptoms do not persist for more than an addi-tional 6 months What are the major mental health professions? Compare them in terms of their education and primary activities. •Psychiatry: medicine, medical school for four years, specialized residency four years fo-cused on abnormal behavior, can prescribe medication•Clinical psychology: assessment and treatment, five years of graduate school and a one year internship •PhD doctor of philosophy- research emphasis •PsyD- doctor of psychology- practical skills of assessment•Social work: