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TOPIC 3 CLASSIFICATION AND

ASSESSMENT OF MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

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CLASSIFICATION OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM)

• International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

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ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR ACCORDING TO DSM:

- experience emotional distress

- show significant impairment in psychological functioning

- impaired functioning, involves difficulties in meeting responsibilities at work (in family @ society in general

- behavior of people that places people at risk

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The DSM and Model of Abnormal Behavior

• DSM treats abnormal behavior as symptoms of mental disorder

• DSM recognizes that the cause of mental disorder remain uncertain

• DSM is used to classify disorders not people

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Features of the DSM• The DSM is descriptive, not

explanatory

• Specific diagnostic criteria are used

• Abnormal behavior patterns that share clinical features are grouped together

• The system is multiaxial

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• Axis IClinical Disorders (all mental disorders except Personality Disorders and Mental Retardation)

• Axis IIPersonality Disorders and Mental Retardation

• Axis IIIGeneral Medical Conditions (Have to be related to Mental Disorder)

• Axis IVPsychosocial and Environmental Problems (for example problems with primary support group)

• Axis VGlobal Assessment of Functioning (Psychological, social and job-related functions are evaluated on a continuum between mental health and extreme mental disorder)

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• The main categories of clinical disorders (Axis I) according to DSM-IV are:

• 1. Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence2. Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders3. Mental Disorders Due to a General Medical Condition Not Elsewhere Classified4. Subtance-related Disorders5. Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders6. Mood Disorders7. Anxiety Disorders8. Somatoform Disorders (Disorders with somatic symptoms)

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• 9. Facticious Disorders (Disorders involving faking)10. Dissociative Disorders (for example multiple-personalities)11. Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders12. Eating Disorders13. Sleep Disorders14. Impulse Control Disorders Not Elsewhere Classified15. Adjustment Disorders16. Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention

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Evaluation of the DSM system

• Reliability– Is the degree to which a measuring

device produce the same result each time is used to measure the same thing.

• Validity– Is the extent to which a measuring

instrument actually measures what it is supposed to measure

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Advantages and Disadvantages of the DSM system

Advantages:- Permits the clinician to readily match a client’s complain

- multiaxis – comprehensive picture of client

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Disadvantages:- stress on categorizing psychological disorders rather than describing people’s behavioral strengths and weaknesses

- Potential for stigmatization of people with psychiatric diagnoses

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• Sociocultural Factors in the classification of abnormal behavior