Abnormal Psychology The Problem of Maladaptive Behavior, 11E By Irwin G. Sarason
Email: Richard@qwconsultancy.com
Table of Contents Abnormal Psychology: The Problem of Maladaptive Behavior 11/e
Preface, Acknowledgments, and Author Biography
iv
Organization of the Instructor’s Manual
iv
Content Description
v
Media Services Locator
vi
Chapter 1
Abnormal Psychology
1
Chapter 2
Theoretical Perspectives on Maladaptive Behavior
17
Chapter 3
Therapies
26
Chapter 4
Classification and Assessment
34
Chapter 5
Stress, Coping, and Maladaptive Behavior
43
Chapter 6
Bodily Maladaptation: Eating, Sleeping, and Physiological
51
Chapter 7
Disorders of Bodily Preoccupation
60
Chapter 8
Anxiety Disorders
66
Chapter 9
Sexual Variants and Disorders
76
Chapter 10
Personality Disorders
84
Chapter 11
Mood Disorders
93
Chapter 12
Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
104
Chapter 13
Cognitive Impairment Disorders
114
Chapter 14
Substance-Related Disorders
120
Chapter 15
Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence
130
Chapter 16
Pervasive Developmental Disorders and Mental Retardation
139
Chapter 17
Society’s Response to Maladaptive Behavior
150
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Chapter 1 Abnormal Psychology OVERVIEW Chapter 1 provides the framework for the discussion of abnormal behavior. The chapter includes topics such as epidemiological factors such as prevalence, incidence, and risk factors. Sources of help for abnormal behavior are discussed including the different professional fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, and psychiatric nursing. Research methods used to study both normal and abnormal behaviors are defined. Ethical considerations and regulations are discussed CONTENTS The Range of Abnormal Behavior What Is Abnormal Behavior? Triggers of Mental Health Problems The Stigma of Abnormal Behavior Adaptive and Maladaptive Behavior Historical Background of Modern Abnormal Psychology The Ancient Western World The Middle Ages The Renaissance The Age of Reason and the Enlightenment The Reform Movement Recent Concepts of Abnormal Behavior The Psychological Approach The Organic Approach Vulnerability, Resilience, and Coping The Epidemiology of Maladaptive Behavior – Incidence, Prevalence, and Risk Factors Seeking Help for Abnormal Behavior Reasons for Clinical Contacts Sources of Help Research in Abnormal Psychology Observing Behavior The Role of Theory The Research Journey Types of Research Research Design, Statistical Analyses, and Inference Ethical Aspects of Research Take-Away Message LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this chapter students should be able to: 1. Define the focus of “abnormal psychology” and “mental health.” 2. Describe differences among adaptive, maladaptive, and deviant behaviors. 3. Discuss the negative effects of stigma on mental health consumers and their families. 4. List several of the methods for treating mental disorders used in the ancient Western world. 5. Discuss the roles played by Dorthea Dix and Clifford Beers in the development of today’s mental health system in the United States. 6. Explain the differences between the psychological approach and the organic approach. 7. Describe the concepts of risk-vulnerability and resilience-protective factors, specifically with regard to an individual’s ability to cope with stress. 8. Describe a few of the epidemiological patterns of mental illness in the United States in identifying incidence, prevalence, and risk. 9. Describe the range of mental health treatment facilities available today. 10. Identify different mental health specialists. 11. List the four steps followed in the path of scientific understanding.
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12. Compare the information gained from a correlational study with that gained from an experimental study. 13. State the two types of statistics most frequently used in psychological studies. 14. State four of the ethical responsibilities in human research. LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICS 1. Describe differences between adaptive and maladaptive behavior. 2. What is mental illness? Who decides if someone’s behavior is maladaptive or deviant? (Ex. DSM-III designated homosexuality as a mental disorder.) 3. Are there broad categories like those defined in early England? 4. Encourage the students to discuss the following: When is unusual behavior not considered "mental illness?” 5. Can you name famous people whose behavior was "unusual"? Name several of the current films that depict a person with a mental disorder. 6. How does stigma affect people who have been diagnosed with mental illness? 7. Does our attitude toward individuals change if we hear they have been "mentally ill"? Do you have friends who have been diagnosed as "mentally ill"? Do your attitudes or behaviors toward them change? Do they hesitate to tell you? Why? 8. Guest Lecturer: Invite a consumer from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill to talk sensitively about their illness. 9. Discuss behaviors that distinguish between the constructs of maladaptive and deviant (pg. 9). 10. Deviant behavior might be highly adaptive within a situation. Have class members list behaviors that could be deviant but adaptive. Create a similar list of deviant behaviors that are maladaptive. 11. Differences in Mental Health Professionals: Provide a list of the different professionals involved in diagnosis, treatment, and research in the field of abnormal psychology. These should include the psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, psychiatric nurse, and other professionals such as psychotherapist, licensed counselor or family counselor. Include in the discussion the differences in schooling, licensing, responsibilities, and duties of the different professionals. Include in this discussion the different fields represented in psychology. List the percentage representation of each field. Briefly discuss the differences of each field. STUDENT ACTIVITIES Classroom 1. The State Decides Discuss the state-based requirements for commitment of a person to a mental facility. If possible provide a list of the criteria for committing a person to a state mental institution. Organize the class into groups of 4 to 8 students. Declare that each group is the Mental Health Commission in a state (each group can create a name for their state). Ask them to generate the requirements for commitment in their state. Review them or post them for discussion the next week. Ask several students to describe the difficulty in agreeing to the critical factors that decided whether a person should be hospitalized. 2.
Stigma - The Green NIMBYs Jane Elliott is well known for the "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes" discrimination experiment she did with her third grade class in all-white, all-Christian Riceville, Iowa, immediately after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. In her experiment, Elliott divided the class by something they couldn't control — the color of their eyes. She told her brown-eyed students they were superior to the blueeyed ones. She gave the brown-eyed students special privileges and told the blue-eyed children they had made mistakes because of the color of their eyes. (Javelina Bulletin. (1999, March). Texas A and M University-Kingsville.) (http://www.tamuk.edu/news/bulletin/1999/march/jane-elliot.html) (Note: This is a very effective exercise that is commonly used to increase sensitivity and selfexamination about prejudice. It is not as personal as separating blue-eyed students from the remainder of the class but it may not be as personally devastating because it allows students a level of control. Be certain that students agree to participate and that time is allotted for debriefing.)
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NOT IN MY BACKYARD Neighborhood and community attitudes that want services for clients but refuse to permit them to be located in their neighborhoods. It is a reflection of the stigma associated with mental illness. • The Activity - Materials - white board and markers or chalk board and colored chalk, or poster paper taped to the wall and washable markers. Withhold green markers and chalk. • Depending upon the size of the class and available board space, assign white or chalk boards (large poster paper can also be used) to half the class. Select several students to be Mental Health Commissioners for the county and have them sit up front with you. • The paper or boards are neighborhoods. The architects of the neighborhoods have the right to establish the rules for the size, style, and locations of homes, stores, play yards and fields, and parking. Instruct the groups to plan and draw their development (about 10 minutes). • Next, instruct the Commissioners that they are to place two group homes (green markers or chalk) for persons with mental and drug disabilities in each neighborhood (near other homes) and that they have to ask permission from the Neighborhood Zoning Commission (the other students) to set up the group homes. Let them proceed. • Observe each group and the discussions taking place. • Stop the discussion after ten minutes and debrief the class. • Discuss the NIMBY issues, quality of life concerns for persons with mental disabilities (or any group with disabilities), and personal reactions to stigmatize or be stigmatized. • Using the same “neighborhoods,” review the “Incidence and Prevalence” statistics (attachment), ask the students to characterize their neighborhood. Given that 1,000 people (men, women, and children) live in their neighborhood, how many of them, past, present, and future are likely suffering from a mental disorder?
Assignment 1. Have students bring to class news reports that discuss the use of "mental illness" as a plea in a criminal justice case. 2. Ask students to locate recent famous cases. Discuss the probabilities of such an event using epidemiological terminology. 3. Ask the students to locate a recent case where an individual who has committed an offense used "mental disturbance" as a reason. Critical Writing Following the Littleton, Colorado, killings, Gary B. Larson (1999, April 24) paraphrased the writing of Martin Niemoller, 1892-1984, a Protestant pastor in Nazi Germany: “First they came for the blacks (and the Latinos and the American Indians and the Asians). I was silent. I was not black (or Latino or American Indian or Asian). Then they came for the gays and lesbians. I was silent. I was not gay or lesbian. Then they came for the kids with cleft palates, missing limbs, speech defects and other physical or mental defects. I was silent. I had no such defects. Then they came for the nerds, dweebs, and geeks. I was silent. I was not a nerd, dweeb or geek. Then they came for the fat, wimpy, and ugly kids. I was silent. I was not fat, wimpy or ugly. Then they came for the kids with attention deficit disorder. I was silent. I did not have the deficit disorder. And then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me.” (http://members.home.net/garbl/writing/comment.htm) Those who suffer from mental disorders frequently face direct, implied, or imagined stigma (a narrow set of beliefs that applies to a broad group of people and damages their ability to live freely) against their illness. Whether considering a stranger, a friend, or yourself, write an essay from the perspective of the stigmatized person. What would you say to those who are ignorant or insensitive to help them understand? Consider name-calling, and power and control issues, fear, hate, and ignorance as possible motives for maintaining a prejudicial position toward the mentally ill.
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