Psychological problems

• mental health continuum is a model that describes mental health on a spectrum. It begins with mental health moving to mental health problems and then mental disorder.
• Prevelance of mental health

  • 1/4 adults report being diagnosed with a mental health disorder
• Incidence of mental health

  • societys attitudes have changed since the mental health Act in 1959 which has removed stigma
  • patients are treated with the same rights and respect as patients with physical illnesses
  • surveys show people have a better understanding of mental health problems.
• effects of stigma

  • before diagnosis: bizzare and socially unacceptable behaviours and are stigmatised because they are not conforming what society expects
  • after diagnosis: gives a 'label' people will judge them by. may be associated with negative ideas which could mean individuals are stigmatised further
• effects of discrimination

  • Before diagnosis: not given the same rights or opportunities on the basis that their behaviour causes concern
  • After diagnosis: people are concerned about their disorder
• effects on society

  • time and resources needs to be found to treat and support individuals
  • treatment is expensive
  • absence from work due to mental health problems costs the economy
  • rise of mental health problems because more people are aware and educated about it and therefore seek help.
• symptoms of Sz include

  • thought disturbances
  • hallucinations
  • catatonic behaviours
  • delusions
• Statistics of Sz

  • 1% of the population
  • diagnosed in adults, men 20s, women 30s
  • equal in male and females
  • caribbean/african origin > white
  • 15% hospilitised
  • 25% recover
• Biological explanation of Sz: overactive dopamine system causes high dopamine levels (associated with mood, perception and movement) because they fire too easily or too quickly, explains the schizophrenic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.
• Brain statistics on Sz

  • volume of brain is 5% smaller
  • frontal lobe is less active due to decreased blood flow therefore thought disturbances and reduced high order function
  • temperal lobes lack grey matter therefore disturbance to speech
  • hippocampus is smaller than average therefore blunt/flat effect
• Biological explaination of Sz CRITICISMS

  • Nature, labels the symptoms as 'schizophrenia'
  • problem establishing cause and effect
  • reductionist
  • deterministic - have no control over their disorder because they are determined to have symptoms of sz due to their brain dsyfunctions
• Social Drift theory

  • individuals are lower class in society
  • they 'drift' towards the bottom and cannot escape
  • disengage with individuals and are rejected by society leading to lack of hope and therefore find it difficult to get better
• Social drift theory CRITICISMS

  • Cannot establish cause and effect
  • ignores nature, too much on the role of society
  • reductionist because it only links to social class
• Hallucinations - their lack of perception of reality means they cant interact properly (disengage from society), they are rejected from society because it is abnormal
• Thought disturbances - cannot concentrate or interact properly with others (disengage from society), therefore are rejected because they cannot commuicate and have conversations properly
• Catatonic behaviour - involves frenzied actions which may be violent or hyperactive (disengage from society), therefore are rejected because they are viewed as abnormal and crazy
• Daniel Amphetamine STUDY

  Schizophrenic patients have low cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex leading to low levels of activity.

  Dopamine is important in preventing random brain activity and focus on specific stimuli, so amphetamine should increase prefrontal cortex activation during the WCST.
• Amphetamine STUDY

  The study was a laboratory experiment with a repeated measures design.

  The Wisconsin Card sort test (WCST) was used in the study.

  SPECT was used to scan cerebral blood flow.

  The Psychiatric Symptoms Assessment scale was used to measure patients' symptoms.

  The study involved 10 schizophrenic patients, aged 20-50, from Washington, USA.

  A placebo was used as a control to investigate the effects of amphetamine, and was counterbalanced so they received both over two days.
• CRITICSMS of amphetamine study

  • small sample (10) - cannot be generalised, unrepresentitive
  • deception: placebo was given
  • psychological harm: the SPECT scan is for radiation and claustrophobic
  • reapeated measures - order effects, demand characteristics
  • the previous drug given (haloperidol) may be an extraneous variable
• Clinical depression symptoms: disturbed sleep, reduced energy and concentration, low mood, low self esteem, lack of interest,acts of selfharm
• key statistics for depression:

  • 25% of the population is diagnosed with depression
  • common in 18-30, more common under 65s but above 18
  • 2x females compared to males
  • indian/pakistani > caribbean and african
  • 50% have a second episode
  • 80% have a third episode
• Biological explanation - depression, Social Rank theory

  • survival strategy
  • allows social change to occur without much conflict so they dont risk more failure
  • accepting loss = accepting you are at a lower rank in society and keeps them a place in a social group
• CRITICISM of social rank theory

  • Reductionist - focuses on evolution of depression, other biological approaches such as imbalances in the brain
  • ignores individual differences such as natural reactions and personality traits
  • depression is limited to those of a lower rank even though there is depression evident in higher social ranks
• ABC model STUDY - Ellis

  suggests clinical depression is a result of irrational beliefs

  supports free will

  • A- Activating event

  A 'triggering' event that could leave to irrational thoughts

  • B - Beliefs

  How the event is interpreted: irrationally or rationally

  • C - Consequences

  How you think/feel about the situation
• CRITICISMS of Ellis' abc model

  • doesnt support psychology as a science
  • subjectivity of irrational thoughts, could be rational
  • patients feel like its their fault causing further depression (abc model supports free will)
  • reductionist: ignores biological causes
  • cant establish cause and effect
• Tandoc - Facebook use, envy and depression STUDY

  investigates if depression is caused by social media usage and does facebook lead to envy/jealousy which may lead to depression

  • 854 students from USA, 736 chose to participate (selfselected), average age 19
  • 68% female, 32% male
  • online questionnaires about number of hours they spend on facebook, how often they post/update pictures (5-point scale)
  • And questionnaire asking about envy

  results showed: facebook does not directly link to depression, envy can lead to depression
• antidepressants:

  • increase levels of serotonin neurotransmitters (links to happiness)
  • isnt absorbed in presynaptic neurone (blocks serotonin reuptake) so there is a buildup of serotonin in synapes and more is recieved
  • decreases depression symptoms

  alternatives include: therapy, physical exercise
• antipsychotics:

  • blocks dopamine receptors to reduce the amount of dopamine being recieved
  • reduces symptoms of Sz so they have more control over their behaviour

  include side effects such as: not feeling themselves, tiredness

  Atypical antipsychotics: rapid weight gain, negative symptoms (thought disturbances)

  Conventional antipsychotics: seizures, face distortions, postive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations)
• PET scans: allows us to see brain activity by injected radioactive tracer into the brain showing the effects of medicine on neurotransmitters.

  We can understand why medication works for some people and not

  others

  • good because its standardised - reliable, common treatment
  • bad because individual differences
• criticism of abc model

  • ignores determinism - suggests people have a choice between rational and irrational beliefs therefore supports free will as depression is not of something predetermined but something in the hands of the individual
• social rank theory

  • depression is a survival strategy - it stops us fighting to regain what we lost so that we dont suffer from more failure and causing further conflict
  • accepting loss means that you know your place in society (rather than being ejected from society completely) and is safe from harm, the groups function as normal
• critisms of social rank theory

  • simplifies complex depression as a instinctive to loosing something therefore is reductionist as depression is more than a survival strategy
  • states those of a lower rank can only suffer from depression but those from a higher rank such as celebrities are also depressed
• biological explanations of sz - brain dysfunctions

  • volume of brain is 5% lower than average -
  • temporal lobe lacks grey matter - causes disturbance to speech
  • frontal lobe is less active due to decreased blood flow - thought disturbances
  • hippocampus is smaller than average - lack of understanding of memory and emotions
• social drift theory

  • working class people are 5 times more likely to be diagnosed with sz
  • sz patients disengage from society as they are uninterested in 'normal' actvities
  • this means that they dont interact so are rejected by society
  • they loose their status and lack hope
  • then they have difficulty getting better because theyre stuck