failure to function adequately

• failure to function adequately means a person is not coping with their day to day life
• this behaviour, causes distress to the individual and / or others
• AO3 definition recognises individual's subjective experience


  benefit of this definition is that we view the disorder from the point of view of the person experiencing it
• AO3 definition recognises individual's subjective experience


  we can use the whodas criteria to measure the ability of the individual to function adequately and so measure abnormality objectively
• AO3 definition recognises individual's subjective experience


  definition therefore has both sensitivity (considering subjective experience) and practicality (using objective measures)
• AO3 behaviour may be functional

  limitation is that some apparently dysfunctional behaviour can be beneficial for the individual
• AO3 behaviour may be functional


  some mental disorders, such as eating disorders or depression, may lead to extra attention for the individual. such attention is rewarding and functional rather than dysfunctional
• AO3 behaviour may be functional


  failure to distinguish between functional and dysfunctional behaviours means that this definition is incomplete