Deviance, adaptation difficulties, and personal distress are concepts used to describe
Chapter 1: Defining & Classifying Abnormal Behaviour Show
Alexis Bridley & Lee W. Daffin Jr.; Carrie Cuttler; Jessica Campoli; and Jorden A. Cummings
What is the Cost of Mental Illness to Society?Mental illness has significant social and economic costs in Canada. People with mental illness are more likely to experience social and economic marginalization, including social isolation, inability to work, and lower educational attainment and income, compared to Canadians who do not have a mental illness (Burczycka, 2018). People with mental illness also have a higher risk of being victimized. One in ten people with mental health-related disabilities in Canada report experiencing violence over the past year, a rate that is double that found in the general population (Burczycka, 2018). Moreover, mental illness can significantly impact people’s ability to work. It is estimated that 2 out of 9 workers suffer from a mental illness that affects their work performance, and this amounts to an annual wage loss of over $6.3 billion (Smetanin et al., 2011). Each year, the economic burnout of mental illness in Canada is estimated at $51 billion (Smetanin et al., 2011). Mental illness significantly impacts the health care system directly and indirectly. Directly, there are costs of about $21.3 billion due to hospitalizations, medical visits, and support staff (Smetanin et al., 2011). There are also indirect costs to the justice system, social service and education systems, and other costs due to losses in quality of life. The personal and economic costs of mental illness will further increase due to greater numbers of Canadians expected to be impacted by mental health problems, combined with our aging population and growth of the Canadian population over the next 30 years (Smetanin et al., 2011). By 2041, annual costs of mental illness are expected to be $307 billion (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2010). In terms of worldwide impact, the World Economic Forum used 2010 data to estimate $2.5 trillion in global costs of mental illness in 2010 and projected costs of $6 trillion by 2030. The costs for mental illness are greater than the combined costs of cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disorders (Whiteford et al., 2013). Though there is no one behavior that we can use to classify people as abnormal, most clinical practitioners agree that any behavior that strays from what is considered the norm or is unexpected within the confines of one’s culture, that causes dysfunction in cognition, emotion, and/or behavior, and that causes distress and/or impairment in functioning, is abnormal behavior. Armed with this understanding, let’s discuss what mental disorders are. Definition of Abnormal Psychology and PsychopathologyThe term abnormal psychology refers to the scientific study of people who are atypical or unusual, with the intent to be able to reliably predict, explain, diagnose, identify the causes of, and treat maladaptive behavior. A more sensitive and less stigmatizing term that is used to refer to the scientific study of psychological disorders is psychopathology. These definitions beg the questions of, what is considered abnormal and what is a psychological or mental disorder? Defining Psychological DisordersIt may be surprising to you, but the concept of mental or psychological disorders has proven very difficult to define and even the American Psychiatric Association (APA), in its publication, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5 for short), states that though “no definition can capture all aspects of all disorders in the range contained in the DSM-5” certain aspects are required. While the concept of mental or psychological disorders is difficult to define, and no definition will ever be perfect, it is recognized as an extremely important concept and therefore psychological disorders (aka mental disorders) have been defined as a psychological dysfunction which causes distress or impaired functioning and deviates from typical or expected behavior according to societal or cultural standards. This definition includes three components (3 Ds). Let’s break these down now:
Though not part of the DSM 5’s conceptualization of what abnormal behavior is, many clinicians add a 4th D – dangerousness to this list. Dangerousness refers to when behavior represents a threat to the safety of the person or others. Individuals expressing suicidal intent, those experiencing acute paranoid ideation combined with aggressive impulses (e.g., wanting to harm people who are perceived as “being out to get them”), and many individuals with antisocial personality disorder may be considered dangerous. Mental health professionals (and many other professionals including researchers) have a duty to report to law enforcement when an individual expresses an intent to harm themselves or others. Nevertheless, individuals with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are typically no more a threat to others than individuals without these disorders. As such, it is important to note that having a mental disorder does not automatically deem one to be dangerous and most dangerous individuals are not mentally ill. Indeed, a review of the literature (Matthias & Angermeyer, 2002) found that only a small proportion of crimes are committed by individuals with severe mental disorders, that strangers are at a lower risk of being attacked by a person with a severe mental disorder than by someone who is mentally healthy, and that elevated risks to behave violently are limited to a small number of symptom constellations. Similarly, Hiday and Burns (2010) showed that dangerousness is more the exception than the rule. ReferencesAmerican Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. Bridley, A., & Daffin, L. W. Jr. (2018). Understanding Abnormal Behavior. In C. Cuttler (Ed), Essentials of Abnormal Psychology. Washington State University. Retrieved from https://opentext.wsu.edu/abnormalpsychology/. Burczycka, M. (2018). Violent victimization of Canadians with mental health-related disabilities, 2014. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2018001/article/54977-eng.htm. Hiday, V. A., & Burns, P. J. (2010). Mental illness and the criminal justice system. In T. L. Scheid & T. N. Brown (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories, and systems (pp. 478–498). Cambridge University Press. Matthias, C., & Angermeyer, C. (2002). Schizophrenia and violence. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 102, 63-37. Mental Health Commission of Canada (2010). Making the case for investing in mental health in Canada. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2016-06/Investing_in_Mental_Health_FINAL_Version_ENG.pdf. Smetanin, P., Stiff, D., Briante, C., Adair, C. E., Ahmad, S. & Khan, M. (2011). The Life and Economic Impact of Major Mental Illnesses in Canada: 2011 to 2041. RiskAnalytica, on behalf of the Mental Health Commission of Canada 2011. Whiteford, H. A., Degenhardt, L., Rehm, J., Baxter, A. J., Ferrari, A. J., Erskine, H. E., …Vos, T. (2013). Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet, 382(9904), 1575-1586. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61611-6. Which criterion is considered when determining whether a behavior is normal or abnormal?An important thing to consider when determining whether a behavior is abnormal is whether it causes personal distress either to the person performing the behavior or to those around them.
What is the study of abnormal behavior called?Abnormal psychology is the scientific study of abnormal behavior, with the intent to be able to predict reliably, explain, diagnose, identify the causes of, and treat maladaptive behavior. The study of psychological disorders is called psychopathology.
What are some of the factors that contribute to abnormal behavior?Factors that contribute to abnormal behavior may be much more complex, but generally include things like genetics, psychological influences, and environmental as well as social factors.
Which criterion is considered when determining whether a behavior is normal or abnormal quizlet?There are 4 general criteria that are used to identify abnormal behavior: Violation of social norms, statistical rarity, personal distress, and maladaptive. Behavior that goes against what is considered normal by society is abnormal.
|