(Read: Abnormal Psychology An Integrative Approach, 8E)
- Psychological disorders are behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context and associated with present distress and/or impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or impairment (DSM, 2015)
- Defining a psychological disorder requires scientific study from different types of mental health professionals
- A diagnosis first begins with a description of current problems which are then understood as symptoms.
- Symptoms help to segregated dysfunction from common distress
- onset of disorders can be acute or chronic
- acute onset is sudden and intense existence of symptoms associated with a disorder
- chronic onset is a long drawn, not very intense but harmful existence of symptoms associated with a disorder
(Study Tip: Knowing one part of the two types of onset will help you remember the other one:
For the difference between acute and chronic, think of it as a-cute: as sudden and intense, similar to how you feel when you see a cute baby but in this case it’s for existence of symptoms of a disorder)
Next chapter: Social Psychology