Fundamental Aspects of Psychopathology

Meta-Components of Psychology

Culture SES

RaceEthnicity

Gender and Sex

Psychopathology

Definition of Mental Disorder• A clinically significant behavioral or

psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in the individual and that is associated with persistent distress, disability or with significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom.

Assumption of DSM

• DSM defines major disorders based on the phenotypic presentation of symptoms

Inherent Components of a Mental Disorder

• Dyscontrol• Critiques?

• Impairment• Critiques?

• Pathology

Taxometrics

• Mathematical Study of Classification

• Gold Standard?• Taxon• Compromise: Bootstrap

Taxometrics

Culture

• Culture is values, beliefs and practices belonging to a particular group. This construct begins to identify the context, heterogeneity of beliefs and persons within a group.

Multicultural Considerations• Ethnic Identity• Acculturation• Beliefs about illness• Manifestation of symptoms• Norms/values• Resiliency• Need for systemic involvment• Orientation to mental health services• Nature of reporting

Purpose of Diagnosis

• Understand cause/reason for behavior

• Correctly identify disorder• Select proper approach for

treatment• How does culture impact these

issues?

Misdiagnoses• Blacks and Hispanics more likely to be

misdiagnosed with a chronic disorder.• Blacks more likely to be misdiagnosed

with schizophrenia;• Potential for violence and

dangerousness overestimated for blacks inpatients and inmates;

• Minorities more likely to be overmedicated;

• Minorities receive fewer referrals for group/individual psychotherapy.

Gender (Addis)

• Network of social, historical and psychological processes that collectively form ideologies and norms regarding who and how men and women should be.

Hypotheses for Male Depression• Men experience depression differently

than women;• Masked Depression Framework• Masculine Depression Framework**• Gendered Responding Framework**• Increased adherence to masculine

gender norms increases risk for depression and externalizing disorders

Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence: Gender and

Psychopathology • Examining sex differences

provides a means to identify the complex etiologies for different forms of emotional and behavioral problems.

Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence: Gender and Psychopathology

• Sex differences can occur because boys and girls may:

a) experience different environmental risk factors,b) experience different levels of the same environmental risk factors have different biological

processesc) require different thresholds of biological or genetic risk for serious problems to developd) differentially experience interactions of environmental and biological influences

Take home message

• Whether culture or gender, consideration of within group differences yields more conceptually useful information than examining between group differences