The identification of abnormal behavior is the main focus in
abnormal psychology. Society sets the
standards for what behaviors are considered normal, however many different
cultures may not agree with societal standards on what is considered normal or
abnormal. The Gale Encyclopedia defined abnormal psychology as “behavior that is
considered to be maladaptive or deviant by the social culture in which it
occurs” ("Abnormal Psychology," 2001). Examining an individual’s abnormal pattern of
behavior, emotion and thought process can help identify a mental disorder that
may be present.
The American Psychiatric Association developed a diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental disorders.
The manual is known as the DSM-IV and is used to classify “systems of abnormal
behaviors which aids psychologist and other mental health professionals in
diagnosing and treating mental disorders” ("Abnormal Psychology,"
2001). Every disorder has biological,
emotional, cognitive and behavioral components and the “DSM-IV is organized
using a multi-axial approach to diagnosis to account for the various ways that
mental health can be affected in an individual” (Tan, 2008).
Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating are three
eating disorders classified in the DSM-IV-TR.
The National Institute of Mental Health states that “an eating disorder
is an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as
eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating” (National
Institute of Mental Health, 2013). An
individual suffering from with an eating disorder most likely started out
either increasing or decreasing the amount of food they consumed and then the
desire to either eat more or eat less escalated to a point beyond their
control.
Anorexia nervosa is “a disorder involving extreme thinness, often
achieved through self-starvation” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p.279). Individuals suffering from anorexia nervosa
feel that they are overweight even though it is clear that they are not so they
obsess over what they eat and controlling their weight. Many individual’s that suffer from anorexia
nervosa may sometimes binge eat then proceed to exercise excessively, diet,
make themselves vomit and other methods to rid their bodies of the food they
consumed. Anorexia nervosa causes severe
weight loss that creates many psychological and physical problems.
Bulimia nervosa is “a disorder involving repeated binge eating
followed by compensatory measures to avoid weight gain” (Hansell & Damour,
2008 p.281). Individuals suffering from
bulimia nervosa experience frequent episodes of consuming abnormal large
quantities of food and then forcing themselves to vomit, excessive use of
laxatives, vigorous exercising or a mixture of all of these behaviors. Individual’s suffering from bulimia nervosa
develop psychological and physical problems that tend to be overwhelming,
similar to those suffering from anorexia bulimia.
Binge eating disorder is “a diagnostic category currently under
study that describes recurrent episodes of binge eating not followed by
compensatory behaviors” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p. 283). An individual that suffers from binge-eating
disorder has lost control over their eating habits; therefore they will consume
large quantities of food that will cause them to become over-weight. Individual’s that suffer from binge-eating
disorders have issues with obesity and are more likely to develop
cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and other health problems.
The biological explanation of eating disorders puts emphasis on
“genetic factors, hormonal and neurotransmitters abnormalities, and structural
brain abnormalities” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p. 304). While studies have shown that identical twins
are more likely to suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia
many individuals often develop an eating disorder while suffering from other
disorders like depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders which both have
genetic links. Low levels of serotonin
can contribute to an individual developing anorexia and bulimia because
serotonin is a “neurotransmitter associated with appetite regulation, mood and
anxiety disorders, impulse control problems, and obsessional thinking” (Hansell
& Damour, 2008 p. 302).
The cognitive functions of an individual suffering from an eating
disorder become impaired because when the human body is in a state of hunger it
affects the mind in a serious way. When
an individual is hungry they feel weak and have a difficult time concentrating
so if they are suffering from an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia
their main focus may be maintaining their weight as they are very concerned of
how other’s see them.
A sexual disorder is defined as “any such disorder that is caused
at least in part by psychological factors.
Such a disorder characterized by a decrease or other disturbance of
sexual desire is called a sexual dysfunction, and that characterized by unusual
or bizarre sexual fantasies, urges, or practices is called paraphilia”
("Sexual disorder," 2012).
Sexual dysfunctions, paraphilia’s, and gender identity disorder are
three types of sexual disorders identified in the DSM-IV-TR. Hypoactive sexual desire and sexual aversion
are sexual desire dysfunctions; Female arousal disorder and male erectile
disorder are sexual arousal dysfunctions; premature ejaculation, male orgasmic
disorder and female orgasmic disorder are orgasmic disorders; Vaginismus and
dyspareunia are sexual pain disorders.
Sexual dysfunctions consist of an individual having difficulties
in their sexual relationships.
Paraphilia’s consist of chaotic sexual relationships and abnormal sexual
preferences, such as sexual stimuli involving “nonhuman objects (such as
inanimate objects or animals), hostile rather than affectionate human
relationships (such as sexual sadism), or non-consenting sexual relationships
(for example, with children)” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p. 379).
The biological components of sexual disorders consist of medical
illness, not eating healthy, “temporal lobe epilepsy, brain tumors or injuries,
and degenerative diseases” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p. 393). There also have
been studies that have shown that many women that were accused of committing
sexual acts similar to paraphilia’s had a history of mental illness and
physical abuse as a child as well as an adult.
Classical conditioning and social learning are the
cognitive-behavioral components of paraphilia’s. The cognitive-behavioral components of
paraphilia’s are compared to those of phobias because the theories surrounding
both consist of a “physical reaction (sexual arousal or fear) occurring in
response to an inappropriate stimulus (something that would not normally arouse
sexual excitement or fear)” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p. 392).
Personality disorders are “characterized by extreme and rigid
personality traits that cause impairment” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p.410). Individual’s suffering from personality
disorders have personality traits that are socially unacceptable which makes it
impossible for their behaviors to adapt to their current environment. There are ten personality disorders listed in
the DSM-IV-TR and are grouped into three clusters based on mutual
characteristics. Cluster A: personality
disorders are bizarre and include paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal; Cluster
B: personality disorders are “dramatic, emotional or erratic and include
antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic”; Cluster C: personality
disorders traits are “anxious or fearful and include avoidant, dependent, and
obsessive compulsive” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p.412).
Biological components of personality disorders involve low levels
of serotonin, which serotonin is associated with “mood and anxiety disorders,
impulse control problems, and obsessional thinking” (Hansell & Damour, 2008
p. 302). Another biological component of
personality disorder involves “prenatal drug exposure which leads to negative
social, psychological and academic outcomes” (Hansell & Damour, 2008 p.
423).
Cognitive-behavioral components of personality disorders
“emphasizes that childhood experiences shape thought patterns (cognitive
schemas), establish interpersonal strategies, and influence the patterns of
perception and behavior that become personality traits” (Hansell & Damour,
2008 p. 414). Personality development is directly influenced by parents,
caretakers and siblings and many personality disorders could possibly be
developed from children mimicking behaviors that were either taught or observed.
I examined the case of Hilde because her story appeared common in
many situations that many families are faced with on the regular. Hilde was raised in a wealthy family where
her mother showed her little attention and her father was not always available. She was a very beautiful young lady so she
was encouraged to use her looks to get her needs met socially. That is a common characteristic that is seen
in many young celebrities today. Hilde
displayed signs of histrionic personality disorder which “is characterized by a
strong and constant need for attention and superficial emotions” (Hansell &
Damour, 2008 p. 430). Individuals that
suffer from histrionic personality disorder are often desperately seeking
attention in many different ways such as flirtation, “self-dramatization, or an
attention-grabbing appearance”.
Individuals with disorder often stand out because they make sure that
they are noticed by being seen or heard.
Hilde was very attractive in her younger age so she gained a lot of attention
but as she got older her physical appearance began to change as she was not as
attractive as she once was and did not receive the same attention as she did in
her younger days. Hilde’s husband came
from a different background than her and he was attracted to her physically and
sexually but as she got older he lost attraction and felt they were no longer
compatible. I can only imagine the
devastation that Hilde must have felt as she learned that the characteristics
that she once used to manipulate situations and people no longer worked and her
marriage was now over.
Histrionic personality
disorder appears to be difficult to treat because of how self-absorbed the
individual could be. The challenge comes from the environment the individual
was exposed to at an early age for a long period of time such as Hilde. Hilde was taught that her wealth and looks
could get her anything that she wanted and for years it worked. In my opinion she developed the idea that
world revolved around her and her way was always right. It seems like her husband dealt with it for
years but as she got older and her appearance started to change, he lost
interest. I hear of these stories a lot
in many situations, which makes me wonder how many people could be suffering
from histrionic personality disorder without even knowing.
Abnormal Psychology. (2001). The Gale Encyclopedia, 1(2), , 1-2.
Hansell, J., & Damour, L. (2008). Abnormal psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken,
NJ: Wiley.
Meyer, R., Chapman, L. K., & Weaver, C. M. (2009). Case studies in abnormal behavior (8th
ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & bacon.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2013). Eating
Disorders. Retrieved from
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders/index.shtml
Sexual disorder. (2012). Mosby’s dictionary of medicine, nursing, & health professions.
Retrieved from
http://search.credoreference.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/content/entry/ehsmosbymed/sexual_disorder/0
Tan, J. (2008). DSM-IV. Encyclopedia of obesity. doi:10.4135/9781412963862.n132
No comments:
Post a Comment