Abnormal Behavior

1. 14 Abnormal Behavior

2. Abnormal Behavior Abnormal Behavior • Definition • Actions, thoughts, and feelings harmful to a person or others; experiencing discomfort enough to not function • Continuity hypothesis • Insanity and mental illness terms should not be used • Discontinuity hypothesis • Only strong terms can accurately portray true nature of abnormal behavior

3. Abnormal Behavior Historical Views • Supernatural theories • Resulted in more harmful treatments like exorcism, drinking foul concoctions, witches put to death (mostly women) • Biological theories • Ancient Greece: four humors of body • 1800s: bacteria, syphilis, and penicillin • Made effective drug therapies possible

4. Abnormal Behavior Historical Views • Psychological theories • Pythagoras: psychological factors like stress caused problems • Freud revived the theory; able to compete with supernatural and biological approaches • Model of unconscious conflicts

5. Abnormal Behavior Contemporary Views • The DSM-IV • American Psychiatric Association’s manual • Multi-axial system of classifications • Axis I: Clinical disorders • Axis II: Personality disorders and mental retardation • Axis III: General medical conditions • Axis IV: Psychosocial and environmental problems • Axis V: Global assessment of functioning

6. Abnormal Behavior The Problem of Stigma • Abnormal behavior stigmatized – negative perceptions associated with it (frightening, uncomfortable, or viewed as dangerous) • Can make mental health problems worse • Can prevent afflicted persons from seeking treatment • Why stigmatize? Unwillingness to let others see one’s flaws and weaknesses?

7. Abnormal Behavior Concept of Insanity • Not guilty by reason of insanity • Hinckley trial in 1982 • Insane: at time of conduct, person had disease or defect, lacked substantial capacity to know act was wrong or broke a law • Competence to stand trial • Insanity: cannot understand trial proceedings • Involuntary commitment • Person poses danger to self or others

8. Abnormal Behavior Disorders • Anxiety Disorders • Excessive levels of kinds of negative emotions • Uncomfortable and disruptive levels of anxiety • Affects women more than men • Phobias • Intense, unrealistic or irrational fear • Specific phobia (least disruptive), social phobia, agoraphobia (most impairing)

9. Abnormal Behavior Disorders • Generalized anxiety disorder • Free-floating anxiety (usually relatively mild) • No periods of calm experienced • Vague, uneasy sense of tension • Panic anxiety disorder • Intensely uncomfortable attacks of anxiety • Extremely sensitive to small bodily changes • Attack causes exaggerated bodily reactions

10. Heart Rate 24 22 20 Number/10 sec 18 16 14 Sweating (GSR) 20 18 16 14 mhos 12 10 8 6 Muscle tension (EMG) 30 20 V 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minutes Changes in three measures of sympathetic autonomic arousal when subject experienced panic attack

11. Abnormal Behavior Disorders • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) • Affects soldiers from Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, and Iraqi wars; also Nazi death camp and prison camp survivors) • Suffering severe reactions years after traumatic event (some recover, some get worse over time) • Experiences include: • Dreams with horror • Intense emotional bodily reactions • Difficulty concentrating or sleeping

12. Abnormal Behavior Stressors Causing PTSD • Combat-related events • Sudden death of loved one • Involved in or witnessing accidents • Physical assault, rape, sexual molestation experienced by women • Terrorism experiences

13. Abnormal Behavior Who Develops PTSD? • Four factors involved • Severity of stress • Risk increased when physical injury occurs • Person’s characteristics before event • Affects those with higher anxiety levels, lower intelligence, previous mental health problems • Social support • More support lessens risk • Sex of the victim • Women more at risk

14. Abnormal Behavior Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders • Definitions • Obsessions – continuous anxiety-provoking thoughts • Compulsions – irresistible urges to engage in behaviors • Two separate disorders; often found together in same person

15. Abnormal Behavior Somatoform Disorders • Experiencing symptoms of physical health problems with psychological causes • Four types • Somatization disorders – intensely and chronically uncomfortable conditions • Hypochondriasis – preoccupation with health • Conversion disorders – symptomsnot medically possible • Somatoform pain disorders – primary symptom is pain with no physical cause

16. Abnormal Behavior Dissociative Disorders • Broad category of loosely related conditions • Four kinds • Depersonalization – distorted, unreal feelings • Dissociative amnesia – psychological cause • Dissociative fugue – complete loss of memory • Dissociative identity disorder – once known as multiple personality disorder; very controversial issue

17. Abnormal Behavior Mood Disorders • Two forms • Depression • Major depression - episodic disorder, quite common, often mild but takes its toll • Rare to have psychotic distortion of reality • Bipolar disorder (depression and mania) • Caused by high levels of anxiety; genetic influences • Cognitive factors – negative views of self

18. Abnormal Behavior Mood Disorders • Two forms • Depression • Major depression - episodic disorder, quite common, often mild but takes its toll • Rare to have psychotic distortion of reality • Caused by high levels of anxiety; genetic influences • Cognitive factors – negative views of self

19. .025 Females Males .020 .015 Hazard rates .010 .005 .000 0 7 17 27 37 47 57 67 77 87 Years Probability of developing major depression for the first time in a given year

20. Abnormal Behavior Human Diversity • Ethnic and gender differences in depression and suicide • Women more at risk for depression • Depressed persons more at risk for suicide • American Indians have highest rate of suicide • African Americans have lowest rate and Hispanic groups have second lowest rate (rates vary among Hispanic subgroups) • White women have highest rate of females

21. African American Non-Hispanic white Asian/Pacific Islanders American Indian 3 2.5 2 % deaths due to suicide 1.5 1 0.5 0 Percent of deaths due to suicide among different race-ethnic groups in the U.S.

22. Abnormal Behavior Bipolar Disorder • Alternating irregular periods of severe depression and mania • Mania – mood disturbance in which person experiences a high, intense euphoria • High self-esteem, unrealistic optimism • Psychotic distortion during episodes; damaging or extreme behavior • Occurs in multiple episodes; cause unknown

23. Abnormal Behavior Schizophrenia • Uncommon disorder affecting more men than women • Can appear gradually or with sudden break • Characterized by 3 types of serious problems • Delusions and hallucinations • Disorganized thinking, emotions, behavior • Reduced enjoyment and interests • Causes: genetic and environment

24. Abnormal Behavior Schizophrenia • Subtypes • Paranoid schizophrenia • False beliefs, delusions (grandeur, paranoia, persecution), hallucinations • Disorganized schizophrenia • Delusions, hallucinations, cognitive processes highly disorganized or fragmented • Extreme social withdrawal

25. Abnormal Behavior Schizophrenia • Subtypes • Catatonic schizophrenia • May have delusions and hallucinations; most abnormalities in social interaction, body posture and movement (waxy flexibility in stupors)

26. Abnormal Behavior Delusional Disorder • Characterized by paranoid delusions of grandeur and persecution • Dangerous because of believability of delusions • Reverand Jim Jones and Jonestown deaths • David Koresh and Waco (TX) deaths

27. Abnormal Behavior Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) • Does not listen • Dislikes/avoids focused tasks • Often forgetful • Disorganized • Inattention symptoms • Cannot focus • Fails to see details • Careless mistakes • Highly distractible • Incomplete tasks • Often loses items

28. Abnormal Behavior Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) • Often on-the-go; driven like a motor • Talks excessively • Blurts out answers before question is finished • Can’t wait for turn • Hyperactivity-impulsivity • Often fidgets or squirms when seated • Often leaves seat when should remain seated • Runs/climbs excessively • Difficulty engaging in play/leisure quietly • Often interrupts/intrudes

29. Abnormal Behavior Personality Disorders • Schizoid personality disorder • Blunted emotions, social withdrawal, but no serious cognitive disturbances • Antisocial personality disorder • Feel little guilt, exploit others, frequent violation of social rules and laws • Difficulty with personal relationships • Low tolerance for frustration, lie easily/skillfully

30. Abnormal Behavior Other Personality Disorders Schizotypal personality disorder Paranoid personality disorder Histrionic personality disorder Narcissistic personality disorder Borderline personality disorder Avoidant personality disorder Dependent personality disorder Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

31. Abnormal Behavior 14 The End