¬¬¬¬¬¬Examine How One or More Factors (Biological, Cognitive, Socio-Cultural) Influence Either One Specific Anxiety Disorder or One Specific Eating Disorder?
Examine how one or more factors (biological, cognitive, socio-cultural) influence either one specific anxiety disorder or one specific eating disorder?
Abnormal psychology is a division of psychology that studies people who are ‘abnormal’ or ‘atypical’ compared to the members of a given society. However, it is essential to note the fact that it is a very vague and ambivalent term, not to mention the fact that our socio-cultural heritage and specific circumstances may affect our perspective upon it. This essay will look as post-traumatic stress disorder (a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event resulting in psychological trauma) and the way factors from the cognitive and socio-cultural levels influence it and its classification.
In psychology it is very difficult to correctly identify and classify psychological disorder since the psychiatrist will often have to rely primarily on the patient’s subjective description of the problem, which is the main reason for the criticisms brought to studies in the cognitive level of analysis regarding PTSD. For example, cognitive therapists have noted that PTSD patients tend to feel that they have a lack of control over their lives and that the world is unpredictable. They often experience guilt about the trauma (such as a survivor from the Vietnam War etc). However, conceptions of abnormality differ between cultures and have significant influence on the validity of diagnosis of mental disorders. In this sense, culture blindness may negatively affect the process of classification itself, as for example Rack (1982) found that if a member of a minority group exhibits a set of symptoms that are similar to that of a white British-born patient, then they are assumed to be suffering from the same disorder. Hence from the very beginning there is this difficulty of identifying PTSD since the borders between different mental disorders are fluid, constantly changing (for example, PTSD frequently occurs in
Abnormal psychology is a division of psychology that studies people who are ‘abnormal’ or ‘atypical’ compared to the members of a given society. However, it is essential to note the fact that it is a very vague and ambivalent term, not to mention the fact that our socio-cultural heritage and specific circumstances may affect our perspective upon it. This essay will look as post-traumatic stress disorder (a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event resulting in psychological trauma) and the way factors from the cognitive and socio-cultural levels influence it and its classification.
In psychology it is very difficult to correctly identify and classify psychological disorder since the psychiatrist will often have to rely primarily on the patient’s subjective description of the problem, which is the main reason for the criticisms brought to studies in the cognitive level of analysis regarding PTSD. For example, cognitive therapists have noted that PTSD patients tend to feel that they have a lack of control over their lives and that the world is unpredictable. They often experience guilt about the trauma (such as a survivor from the Vietnam War etc). However, conceptions of abnormality differ between cultures and have significant influence on the validity of diagnosis of mental disorders. In this sense, culture blindness may negatively affect the process of classification itself, as for example Rack (1982) found that if a member of a minority group exhibits a set of symptoms that are similar to that of a white British-born patient, then they are assumed to be suffering from the same disorder. Hence from the very beginning there is this difficulty of identifying PTSD since the borders between different mental disorders are fluid, constantly changing (for example, PTSD frequently occurs in