failure to function adequately

• inability to cope with everyday living

  • a person may cross the line between normal and abnormal at the point that they cannot deal with the demands of everyday life (they fail to function adequately)
  • eg = not being able to maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene, hold down a job or maintain relationships
• Rosenhan and Seligman:

  • they proposed further signs of failure to cope:
  • they no longer conform to interpersonal rules (eg maintaining personal space)
  • they experience severe personal distress
  • they behave in a way that is irrational or dangerous
• example = intellectual disability disorder

  • having a very low IQ is a statistical infrequency BUT diagnosis would not be made on this basis alone
  • there would have to be clear signs that the person was not able to cope with the demands of everyday living
  • so intellectual disability disorder is an example of failure to function adequately
• strength = it is a threshold for professional help

  • in any given year, 25% of us experience symptoms of mental disorder to some degree
  • most of the time we press on, but when we cease to function adequately, people seek or are referred for professional help
  • means that the failure to function criterion provides a way to target treatment and services to those who need them most
• limitation = definition can lead to discrimination/social control

  • it is hard to distinguish between failure to function and a conscious decision to deviate from social norms
  • eg = people may choose to live off-grid as part of an alternative lifestyle choice or take part in high-risk leisure activities
  • this means that people who make unusual choices can be labelled abnormal and their freedom of choice restricted
• extra evaluation = failure to function can be normal

  • in some cases most of us can't cope (eg bereavement) - it is unfair to give someone a label for reacting normally to difficult circumstances
  • HOWEVER = failure to function is real regardless of the circumstances - a person may need professional help to adjust to bereavement
  • means it is hard to know when to base a judgment of abnormality on failure to function