Chapter 15 – Psychological Disorders

The fear of being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult.

he tendency to use or abuse alcohol to a degree that leads to social or occupational dysfunction.

An eating disorder in which a person refuses to eat, starving themself to the point that physical complications and sometimes death may occur.

A personality disorder marked by irresponsible and socially disruptive behaviour in a variety of areas.

A disorder characterised by intense, frequent or continuous anxiety, which may lead to disruptive avoidance behaviour.

A disorder characterised by age-inappropriate inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

A psychological disorder marked by extreme mood swings; also called manic-depression.

A personality disorder characterised by extremely unstable interpersonal relationships, dramatic mood swings, an unstable sense of identity, intense fears of abandonment, manipulativeness and impulsive behaviour.

A disorder characterised by a binge-and-purge syndrome in which the person binges on food and then either induces vomiting or uses laxatives to purge.

A constellation of symptoms that tend to occur together.

Approach in clinical psychology in which practitioners integrate an understanding of classical and operant conditioning with a cognitive-social perspective.

Cognitive mechanisms by which a depressed person transforms neutral or positive information in a depressive direction.

An intentional behaviour or mental act performed in a stereotyped fashion.

A childhood disorder in which a child persistently violates the rights of others as well as societal norms.

A disorder characterised by a loss or significant change in a physical function without any physical problem to explain the condition.

A false belief firmly held despite evidence to the contrary.

A classification of mental disorders in terms of clinical syndromes.

The manual of clinical syndromes published by the American Psychiatric Association and used for descriptive diagnosis.

The model of psychopathology that proposes that people with an underlying vulnerability (also called a diathesis) may develop a disorder under stressful circumstances.

A disturbance in memory and consciousness in which significant aspects of experience are kept separate and distinct (or dis-associated).

Disorders characterised by disruptions in consciousness, memory, sense of identity or perception of the environment.

The most severe dissociative disorder; also known as multiple personality disorder.

Hypothesis that implicates an imbalance in the neurotransmitter dopamine in schizophrenia.

Chronic low-level depression of more than two years' duration, with intervals of normal moods that never last more than a few weeks or months.

Causes of a disorder.

The tendency of family interactions to be characterised by criticism, hostile interchanges and emotional overinvolvement or intrusiveness by family members, implicated in the etiology and maintenance of schizophrenia and other disorder.

Patterns of taking sides in family conflicts.

In family systems theory, the physical and psychological limits of a family or system.

Methods members use to preserve equilibrium in a family.

Parts individuals play in repetitive family interaction patterns.

The model of psychopathology which suggests that an individual's symptoms are really symptoms of dysfunction in a family.

Persistent anxiety at a moderate but disturbing level.

Sensory perceptions that distort, or occur without, an external stimulus.

A disorder that occurs when people believe they are suffering from an illness or ailment, even when there is no medical evidence to support that belief.

The theory that psychiatric diagnosis is a way of labelling individuals a society considers deviant.

A tendency common in individuals with schizophrenia, in which conscious thought is directed along associative lines rather than by controlled, logical, purposeful processes.

A form of psychopathology, characterised by depressed mood, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, and disturbances in appetite, sleep, energy level and concentration.

A period of abnormally euphoric, elevated or expansive mood.

Relating to a mood disturbance in which people feel excessively happy or euphoric and believe they can do anything.

The existence of a clinically recognisable set of symptoms and behaviours that cause distress to the individual and impair their ability to function as usual.

The capacity of individuals to behave in ways that promote their emotional and social wellbeing.

Include the wide range of emotional and behavioural abnormalities that affect people throughout their lives.

A disorder characterised by disturbances in emotion and mood.

The system used in DSM-IV that places mental disorders in their social and biological context, assessing the patient on five axes.

Symptoms of schizophrenia such as flat affect, socially inappropriate behaviour and intellectual impairments that reflect a deficit or a loss of something that was once present or should be present.

In Beck's cognitive theory of depression, negative outlook on the world, the self and the future.

Problems in living, such as phobias, chronic self-doubts and repetitive interpersonal problems.

Persistent unwanted thoughts or ideas.

A disorder characterised by recurrent obsessions and compulsions that cause distress and significantly interfere with an individual's life.

A disorder characterised by attacks of intense fear and feelings of doom or terror not justified by the situation.

A chronic and severe disorder that substantially inhibits the capacity to love and to work.

An irrational fear of a specific object or situation.

Symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions and hallucinations that reflect the presence of something that was not there previously and is not normally present.

An anxiety disorder characterised by symptoms such as flashbacks and recurrent thoughts of a psychologically distressing event outside the normal range of experience.

A set of hypotheses about the patient's personality structure and the meaning of a symptom.

Problematic patterns of thought, feeling or behaviour that disrupt an individual's sense of wellbeing or social or occupational functioning.

Gross disturbances involving a loss of touch with reality.

Psychotic disorders characterised by disturbances in thought, perception, behaviour, language, communication and emotion.

A marked fear that occurs when a person is in a specific social or performance situation.

Disorders that occur when people complain of pain, suffering or illness but no physical problems can be identified to explain their ailments.

Disorders involving continued use of a substance (such as alcohol or cocaine) that negatively affects psychological and social functioning.

A group with interdependent parts.

An approach that explains an individual's behaviour in the context of a social group, such as a couple, family or larger group.

A mood disorder involving only depression; see also bipolar disorder.

Fluid-filled cavities of the brain that are enlarged in schizophrenics suggesting neuronal atrophy.