deviation ideal mental health

• what is the definition of deviation from ideal mental health?

  failure to meet the criteria for perfect psychological wellbeing
• what does this definition perceive abnormality as?

  perceives abnormaslty in a similar way to how physical health is assessed, by looking for signs of an absence of wellbeing m but in terms of mental rather than physical health

  therefore any deviation away from what is seen as normal is classified as abnormal
• what does this definition need?

  a set of characteristics of what is required to be normal and these were provided by MARIE JAHODA who devised the concept of ideal mental health
• who devised the concept of ideal mental health?

  marie jahoda
• what did marie jahoda describe?

  six characteristics that individuals should exhibit in order to be normal

  • an absence of any of these indicates that someone is abnormal
  • the more characteristics a person fails to meet and the further they are away from realising individual characteristics, the more abnormal they are.
• give 3 of jahoda's characteristics of ideal mental health?

  • RESISTING STRESS- having effective coping strategies and being able to cope with everyday anxiety-provoking situations
  • ACCURATE PERCEPTION OF REALITY- seeing world in non-distorted fashion and having objective and realistic view of world
  • AUTONOMY- being independent , self-reliant and able to make personal decisions
• give 3 strengths of the definition?

  1. POSITIVITY- emphasises positive achievements rather than failures and distress and stresses a positive approach to mental problems by focusing on what is desirable
  2. HOLISTIC - considers a person as a whole person rather than focusing on individual areas of their behaviour
  3. GOAL SETTING- permits identification of exactly what is needed to achieve normality, allowing creation of personal goals to work towards and achieve, thus facilitating self-growth
• give 3 limitations of this definition?

  1. CHANGES OVER TIME: perceptions of reality change over time
  2. NON-DESIRABILITY OF AUTONOMY: collectivist cultures stress communal goals and behaviours and see autonomy as undesirable. western cultures want autonomy. cultural bias
  3. CONTEXTUAL EFFECTS- mh criteria are affected by context . spitting while out jogging is normal but not while in a cafe