Most mental disorders lie on a continuum with "normal" behavior at one end. For example, nearly everyone has a fear of something, but it does not rise to the level of a phobia. A behavior may seem abnormal in one context but completely normal in another context. These two aspects show why it can be challenging to properly identify mental disorders.
Using your textbook and the Argosy University online library resources, research the principles and methods of identifying mental disorders. Note particularly the diversity of views and the challenges of identification. Based on your research, write a reflective essay. Use the following question to direct your thoughts and organize your essay:
• Why is determining abnormal behavior or a mental disorder so difficult?
To develop your essay, keep in mind issues such as the role of social norms in defining the abnormal, the multiplicity of indicators of what is abnormal, the stigma suffered by those identified as abnormal, and finally the need for objectivity in dealing with the concept.
Write a 2-3-page essay in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: CHALLENGES IN IDENTIFYING ABNORMAL BEHAVIOURS.
A mental disorder is a psychological problem generally related to subjective disability that affects an individual, and which is not a part of normal development. Some authors believe that some behaviors can't be concisely defined in attempts to identify the abnormal behavior.
There are many factors that determine abnormality in individuals for example people's social norms and culture.
In discussing the challenges of identifying mental disorders, abnormal disorders can't be succinctly defined (Bennett, 2011). Some of the challenges include a perceiver's concept of normality.
Determining an abnormality or a mental disorder is so difficult since a behavior may seem normal in one perspective but completely abnormal in another dimension. This is similar with how different cultures may identify and explain abnormality. Secondly, individuals' cultures and norms (Butcher, 2007) since one culture may identify an abnormal and mental disorder which is quite normal in other cultures.
A behavior that differs from normality can be considered dysfunctional. These disturbing behaviors are a result of distorted thoughts or cognitions. There are different ways of identifying an abnormal behavior among people and they include deviation of social norms, distress, maladaptive behaviors and statistical theories.
To identify an abnormal behavior, we first consider deviation from social norms. Culture is an important factor in considering abnormality. Each culture has its own rules for behavior and these rules govern their ideals of what is socially acceptable along with their moral standards. It is when a behavior exceeds their specific culture's acceptance it then becomes labeled as abnormal.
For example, in most cultures the thought of committing suicide is looked down upon and it is considered a mental disorder, however in some Middle-Eastern cultures the religious implication of committing of suicide raises somebody's martyr status.
Social norms constitute informal or formal rules of how individuals are expected to behave. A deviant behavior is a behavior that is considered undesirable or anti-social by the majority of people in a given society. Individuals who break rules of conduct or do not behave like the majority are defined as abnormal.
Many factor play a role in what is seen as normal or abnormal within a certain society for instance social, cultural and historical factors. For example, homosexuality was seen as an abnormal behavior in Britain around 1900 where the famous writer Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for homosexuality.
If it is insufficient to define behavior that is bad for a person as an indicator of abnormality, perhaps it is better to ask whether the person is suffering or not, or if they are experiencing distress.
This conveniently ignores the problems of most of the other criteria above and can allow those who feel that they need some kind of medical or psychological attention to gain it. However, it carries with it the assumption that individuals engaging in this kind of abnormal behavior will have enough insight to experience distress.
This is not always the case. For example, irritability is a common symptom of depression among men, but it is not the kind of symptom that would encourage a man to seek help. Another example occurs when a person begins drinking a lot of alcohol. Their behavior may be unhealthy for them, but until there is damage to their physical health or changes in relationships with family or friends, there may be no suffering.
Another way to decide what is abnormal is to assume that all humans perform behaviors that are good for them in their particular environmental context. We might expect people to develop an understanding of social expectations, regardless of whether they agree with them or not, and to be able to function within their social group.
Maladaptive behaviors are those that threaten one's ability to function well within that social context. This approach works well when we consider such conditions as alcoholism and anorexia, where it is clear that a person's health is in danger because of the way he or she is behaving.
People who spend so much time on the internet that they lose contact with their peers might also be seen to be engaging in maladaptive behavior; internet addiction is a fairly recent addition to the range of abnormal behavior practitioners might deal with. The most frequently cited problem with this approach is that people whose motivation is clearly not indicative of a serious disorder will sometimes engage in maladaptive or dangerous behavior. Examples include extreme sports people and political protestors such as Guillermo Farinas, who went on a hunger strike in Cuba to protest at internet censorship.
From the statistical abnormality curve, abnormal people are characterized by a significant deviation from the average. Many human characteristics are normally distributed. On a normal distribution, more people fall around the average. Characteristics falling beyond a particular distance from the average values are sometimes seen as abnormal.
This distance is defined in terms of standard deviation units which are values that tell the scientist how many people fall beyond the average. For example, there is a normal distribution of IQ scores; those who score 2 standard deviation units below the mean of 100 are mentally ill or abnormal.
There are various indicators that single out abnormal behaviors among mentally ill patients. When someone violates the standard of the society, he is considered abnormal. For example, when a woman drowns her infant, the society will conclude that the mother is mentally ill.
Suffering is also considered as an indicator of abnormality. When people suffer from their conditions, the society concludes that they are abnormal for example people with social anxiety. Irrationality is a condition when somebody is unreasonable and unstable. When somebody displays signs of unpredictability for example manic screaming, people around him will always infer to him as mentally unstable.
And lastly, dangerousness is also an indicator of abnormality. Someone in the society who attempts suicide is considered abnormal. People will handle him with caution since he is suspected to be mentally ill, dangerous and violent. In this case, stigma becomes prevalent since many people fail to associate with a mentally ill patient.
Discrimination of the abnormal people has a negative psychological effect in their lives since it causes social isolation and low esteem.Occupational discrimination and stigma are witnessed when an abnormal person is identified as mentally ill (Butcher, 2007). There are so many issues associated with stigma for example stereotyping which leads to discrimination of the mentally ill. Furthermore, when the mentally ill patients interact with other abnormal people, they suffer from stress and this induces a psychological response.
CONCLUSION.
Social and cultural differences between an observed individual and the observer poses many challenges in identifying mental disorders. The obscurity in identifying an individual as normal or abnormal defines an abnormal behaviour. Perception of abnormality has many impacts in the daily life since it causes social discrimination and rejection.
References.
Comer, R. J. (2005). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (4th ed.). New York, NY: Worth