Factors Which influence the Diagnosis of Abnormal Behaviour (DP IB Psychology)

Diagnosing Abnormality

• There are key criteria available to clinicians which they use in order to classify or diagnose specific behaviours as ‘abnormal’ 

• Most of the measures used to determine abnormality follow the biomedical model of disease which will (generally but not always) tend to result in some form of drug therapy being used to treat the illness e.g. antidepressants in the treatment of depressive disorders

• Clinicians tend to use four different (though overlapping) measures for determining whether an individual is exhibiting abnormal behaviour:

Table 1: Definitions of Abnormality

Evaluation of the measures of abnormality

Statistical deviation:

Strengths

• The measures provide clear points of comparison between people, making it easy to test and to use as an analytical tool e.g. if person X scores 70 on an IQ test this falls a long way below the mean average for the population 

• Applying statistical deviation as a measure includes the use of a standardised tool which means that the measure has built-in reliability

Weaknesses

• Statistical deviation would not recognise depression as abnormal behaviour because depression is estimated to affect around 280,000,000 people across the world at any given time i.e. it is not statistically deviant

• Some behaviours which are statistically deviant e.g. having an IQ of 175, are not necessarily undesirable or adverse yet they fall within the same frame of reference as do low IQ scores which limits the usefulness of this measure

Failure to function adequately (FTFA)

Strengths

• This measure provides clear guidelines for the classification and diagnosis of abnormality as it is focused on observable signs that an individual is not coping e.g. lack of hygiene, clear behavioural distress signals

• Checklists such as those provided by Rosenhan & Seligman (1989) can be used to assess the degree of FTFA which increases the reliability of the measure 

Weaknesses

• FTFA is an overly subjective measure as one person’s lack of hygiene may be another person’s eco-friendly refusal to use deodorant which means that the FTFA measure may lack validity

• Some behaviours may appear to have the characteristics of FTFA but in fact are simply expressions of personal choice e.g. swimming with sharks may put a person’s life in some danger but it would be difficult to argue that their behaviour is abnormal based on this criterion alone

Is she daring, brave, intrepid, or failing to function adequately?

Deviation from social norms (DSN)

Strengths 

• An understanding of and adherence to what is agreed behaviour per society/culture could be said to be a guiding principle for harmonious living so this measure may help to identify behaviour which is damaging to other people and to society in general

• Someone who deviates from social norms may actually be giving a ‘cry for help’ with their behaviour e.g. by continually getting into fights with strangers, so this measure could be a good way of noticing that someone is in need of some sort of intervention 

 Weaknesses

• This measure may give rise to culture bias as some behaviours which are acceptable in one culture may be viewed adversely by another culture

• This measure may be mis-used by those in power to control or quash minority groups who are do not fall in line with current policy or prevailing social mores  e.g. the Suffragette and Civil Rights movements were initially ridiculed and vilified by the press and some public figures

Deviation from ideal mental health (DIMH)

Strengths 

• This is an holistic measure as it takes into account all facets and behaviours of a person

• This measure has good application as it can be used as the basis for therapy and treatments with its emphasis on the whole person and on positive mental health and wellbeing

Weaknesses

• This measure is almost impossible to live up to as it requires each individual to reach the highest levels of positive mental wellbeing (e.g. constantly self-actualising; being completely free of stress; being successful in love, work and leisure time) which may actually lead to people feeling demotivated and low in self-esteem

• This measure is also prone to culture-bound syndrome as it emphasises the importance of the individual which is not aligned with the attitudes and beliefs of collectivist cultures

Ideal mental health may be possible for some…but for most people it is probably unachievable.