Glossary

• Cross-sectional design

  Comparing two or more groups on a particular variable at a specific time
• Single-blind testing

  An experiment in which the researchers know which participants are receiving a treatment and which are not; however, the participants do not know which condition they are in
• Abnormal concepts

  • Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
  • Comorbidity
  • Confirmation bias
  • Emic approaches to diagnosis
  • Etic approaches to diagnosis
  • Etiology
  • Iatrogenic effects
  • Overpathologization
  • Prevalence
• Emic approaches to diagnosis

  An approach that uses local healers and professionals to determine how terms like normalcy and mental illness are defined within the constraints of their own culture
• Protective factors

  Conditions or attributes that lessen or eliminate the risk of mental disorders when present in individuals, families, or the larger society
• Meta-analysis

  Pooling data from multiple studies of the same research question to arrive at one combined answer
• Overpathologization: When a person is more likely to be diagnosed with a specific disorder simply because of gender, culture, or age
• Comorbidity

  The idea that often there is more than one disorder that influences a person's behavior, making diagnosis difficult
• Etiology

  The origin or potential cause of a disorder
• Prospective research

  A study that attempts to find a correlation between two variables by collecting data early in the life of participants and then continuing to test them over a period of time to measure change and development
• Risk factors

  Conditions or attributes that increase the risk of mental disorders when present in individuals, families, or the larger society
• Iatrogenic effects

  Symptoms that result in response to a treatment, which can be mistaken as part of the disorder
• Treatment-Etiology Fallacy: The false belief that since a treatment works, it was a lack of whatever the treatment was that caused the disorder
• Longitudinal study

  Research over a period of time using observations, interviews, or psychometric testing
• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and neglect, strongly related to the development and prevalence of a wide range of health problems throughout a person’s lifespan
• Prevalence

  The proportion of a population found to have a disorder
• Confirmation bias: When a researcher is biased by his/her own hypothesis, potentially leading to an incorrect diagnosis
• Etic approaches to diagnosis

  An approach that applies a standard (e.g. the DSM) to assess the level of mental illness cross-culturally, assuming normalcy and mental illness are universal
• Rumination

  Repetitively focusing on one's symptoms of depression and the possible causes and consequences of these symptoms
• Reporting bias

  Selective revealing or suppression of information by clients when meeting with a doctor
• Relapse rate

  The rate at which symptoms return after treatment has been discontinued
• Overpathologization

  When a person is more likely to be diagnosed with a specific disorder simply because of gender, culture, or age
• Lifetime prevalence (LTP)

  The proportion of a population that at some point in their life has experienced the disorder
• Sick role bias

  One of the key obstacles to objective and valid diagnosis
• Somatization examples

  • Chinese experiencing lower back pain instead of "sad mood" when depressed
• Underpathologization

  When a person is less likely to be diagnosed with a specific disorder simply because of gender, culture, or age
• Validity of diagnosis

  The extent to which a diagnosis is accurate and leads to a successful treatment
• Stigmatization

  When a person is labeled as an outcast or having poor character
• Somatization

  When individuals experience psychological distress in the form of physiological symptoms
• Reactivity

  When individuals alter their performance or behavior due to the awareness that they are being observed
• Reliability of diagnosis

  When different psychiatrists agree on a client's diagnosis using the same diagnostic system
• Overpathologization examples

  • ADHD is overpathologized in teenagers
  • Depression is overpathologized in women
• Self-fulfilling prophecy

  In diagnosis, when a person who is diagnosed with a disorder may begin to demonstrate symptoms due to the belief that s/he has the disorder
• Reporting bias examples

  • About past medical history
  • Smoking
  • Sexual experiences
• Stigmatization examples


  • People diagnosed with schizophrenia being stigmatized by others or in society
• SSRIs

  Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors - e.g., Prozac
• Underpathologization examples

  • Men may be underpathologized for depression
  • 40-year-olds may be underpathologized for ADHD
• definition to star

  
• Qualitative research methods

  • Case studies
  • Naturalistic observations
  • Interviews - unstructured, semi-structured, focus-groups
• Quantitative research methods

  • (lab)Experiments - IV manipulated to see effect on DV, controlled environment, cause n effect
  • Field experiments- IV manipulated to see effect on DV, natural environment, cause n effect
  • Quasi experiments- IV cannot be manipulated, cause n effect questionable
  • Natural experiments- IV occurs naturally (cannot be manipulated), DV still measured, i.e IV= male/fem DV=maths test score
  • Correlational research- Measures strength of a relationship between 2 variables, no cause n effect bc no IV/DV
  • Surveys- predetermined questions used to collect data from respondents