ABNORMAL

PSYCHOLOGY
Introduction
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define abnormal behavior

• Be aware of the prevalence of mental
disorders
• Learn the common modes of classifying
mental disorders
• Learn the advantages and disadvantages of
classification
• Understand the need for research-based
approaches in abnormal psychology
WHAT MAKES
ABNORMAL,
ABNORMAL?
There is no universal agreement on the
definition of abnormal behavior or disorder.
SOME INDICATORS OF ABNORMAL
BEHAVIOR

◦ Suffering (DISTRESS)
◦ Mal-adaptiveness (INTERFERES WITH
FUNCTIONING)
◦ Statistical deviancy (OUTSIDE THE NORM)
◦ Violation of the standards of society
(UNCONVENTIONAL)
◦ Social discomfort (SENSE OF UNEASE)
◦ Irrationality and unpredictability (UNORTHODOX
BEHAVIOR)
◦ Dangerousness (THREAT TO SAFETY)
 MENTAL DISORDER

CLINICALLY IMPAIRMENT
DISTRESS SIGNIFICANT IN
DISTURBANCE FUNCTIONING
Abnormal psychology is concerned
with understanding the nature, cause
and treatment of mental disorders.
CULTURE PLAYS A ROLE IN DETERMINING WHAT
IS ABNORMAL
In the Philippines,
does the belief in the
ASWANG warrant for
abnormal behavior?
How common are mental disorders?
Epidemiology

◦ Study of distribution of diseases, disorders

and health-related behaviors in a given
population
Prevalence
◦ Refers to the number of active cases in a
population during any period of time.
Incidence

◦ Refers to the number of new cases that

occur over a given period of time, typically 1
year.
Comorbidity

◦ Presence of two or more disorders in the

same person.
322,000,000
Total number of people in the world living with clinical
depression, with an increase of 18.4% between 2005
and 2015 (WHO, 2017).

264,000,000
Total number of people in the world living with
anxiety disorders, with an increase of 14.9%
between 2005 and 2015 (WHO, 2017).
788,000
People who died due to suicide last 2015 globally
(WHO, 2017).

3,298,652
Total cases of depression in the Philippines, accounting
for 3.3% of the population (WHO, 2017).

3,075,517
Total cases of anxiety disorders in the Philippines,
accounting for 3.1% of the population (WHO, 2017).
Classifying Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders
◦ The accepted standard for defining mental
disorders by the American Psychiatric
Association.
◦ Provides all the information necessary to
diagnose mental disorders.
◦ Provides specific diagnostic criteria for each
disorder.
◦ Creates a common language for clinicians
to use in their work.
◦ The most updated version is the DSM 5,
published back in 2013.
International Statistical Classification of
Diseases and Related Health Problems
◦ The World Health Organization’s coding of
diseases, signs, symptoms, abnormal
findings, complaints, social circumstances,
and external causes of injury.
◦ It is the official mental health system in the
United States, despite the prevalence of the
DSM.
◦ Includes both clinical descriptions,
diagnostic guidelines, and diagnostic criteria
for research.
The DSM-5 and ICD-10 were developed to
provide common language based on
observable signs and symptoms, explicitly
indifferent to pathophysiology or treatment
response.

Both are basically classification systems providing only nomenclature.

Challenges with the current diagnostic system

◦ Diagnosis based only on symptoms may never yield

the kind of specificity that we have begun to expect
in the rest of medicine.
◦ Diagnoses based on presenting complaints are
imprecise in terms of pathophysiology.
◦ If diagnoses are limited to symptoms, and not
biological markers of the condition, treatments may
be limited to symptom relief alone, precluding cures
or preventive interventions.
◦ We do not have rigorously tested, reproducible,
clinically actionable biomarkers for any mental
disorder.
Research is imperative in improving our current
system of diagnosing mental disorders.
The National Institute of Mental Health’s
Research Domain Criteria Project

◦ A new approach in classifying mental

disorders which begins with, but is not
limited to, symptoms nomenclature.
◦ RDoC’s ultimate goal is precision medicine
for psychiatry
◦ It aims to develop a diagnostic system
based on a deeper understanding of the
biological and psychosocial basis of a
group of disorders.
The National Institute of Mental Health’s
Research Domain Criteria Project

◦ It is not yet a diagnostic system, but a

framework for organizing research about
mental disorders.
◦ Studies might deconstruct any of the
current categories or identify core features
of mental disorders.
◦ It aims to integrate many different levels of
data to develop a new approach to
classification based on pathophysiology
and linked more precisely to interventions
for a given individual.
◦ A lot of work is yet to be done in order to
bring precision medicine to the field of
abnormal psychology and psychiatry.
◦ Why do we need to study abnormal
psychology if it is not exactly a precise
science?