Failure to function adequately

• how does is define abnormality

  • when someone can no longer cope with the demands of everyday life
  • if someone cannot maintain basic standards of nutrition and hygiene the they cannot function adequately
  • also if someone cannot hold down a job/relationship then they cannot function adequately
  • when someone's behaviour is dangerous to others/themselves and when someone no longer conforms to interpersonal rules
• example where this has been successful

  • intellectual disability disorder - one criteria was to have a low IQ
  • however a diagnosis wouldn't be made on this basis - an individual would have to be failing to function adequately before a diagnosis would be given
• limitation

  • it can be hard to say when someone is really failing to function or when they are just deviating from social norms
  • if we treat certain behaviours as failures of adequate functioning then we risk limiting personal freedom and discriminating against minority groups
• limitation

  • failure to function may not be abnormal - judging if someone is distressed/distressing is subjective
  • there are methods to make it as objective as possible eg: checklists like the Global Assessment of functioning scale
  • the principle remains that someone (psychiatrist) has the right to make this judgement
• limitation

  • culture - it was developed with the western culture in mind
  • the word 'adequate' may have a different meaning in different cultures
  • definition doesn't cover whole world but just the western world - different expectations