Aqa A-level Psychology Pya5: Clinical Characteristics

Clinical Characteristics Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is characterized by a profound disruption of cognition and emotion, which affects a person’s language, thought, perception, affect and even sense of self. Positive & Negative Symptoms Positive Symptoms: reflect an excess or distortion of normal function Negative Symptoms: reflect a reduction or loss of normal function Diagnostic Criteria Diagnosis: requires at least 1-month duration of two or more positive symptoms. Positive Symptoms Delusions: bizarre beliefs that seem real. They are sometimes paranoid in nature and may also involve beliefs relating to grandiosity. Belief behaviour/comments of others are specifically meant for the individual alone (who is suffering from Schizophrenia). Experiences of Control: believe they are under control of an alien force that has invaded their mind or body. Auditory Hallucinations: unreal perceptions of the environment that usually auditory (hearing voices), may also be visual, olfactory or tactile. Disordered Thinking: thoughts have been inserted into or withdrawn from the mind. Tangential, incoherent or loosely associated speech is used as an indicator of thought disorder. Negative Symptoms Affective Flattening: reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression, voice tone, eye contact and body language. Alogia: poverty of speech, lessening of speech fluency and productivity. Avolition: reduction of, or inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed behaviour.

Clinical Characteristics Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. The repetitive execution of essentially irrational actions. Obsessions Obsessions are recurrent, intrusive thoughts or impulses that are perceived as inappropriate, grotesque or forbidden. Obsessions are perceived as uncontrollable, and sufferers often fear that they will lose control and act on them. Compulsions Compulsions are repetitive behaviours or mental acts reducing the anxiety that accompanies an obsession or preventing some dreaded event happening. Compulsions include both obvious behaviours and mental acts. Diagnostic Criteria Diagnosis: showing recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate Person displays repetitive behaviours or mental acts that he/she feels driven to perform in response to an obsession. These behaviours/mental acts either are not connected in any realistic way with what they are designed to prevent. Individual recognizes that these obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable and are a product of his/her own mind

Clinical Characteristics Depression Mood Disorder affecting a person’s emotional state. Depression is a low emotional state characterized by high levels of sadness, lack of energy and self-worth and feelings of guilt. Most people with a mood disorder suffer only from depression (unipolar or major depressive disorder). Diagnostic Criteria Diagnosis: following symptoms should be present for all or most of the time and should persist for longer than 2 weeks. Sad, depressed mood: indicated by subjective report or observations Loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities: indicated by subjective report or observations Difficulties in sleeping: although some patients show a desire to sleep Shift in activity level, becoming either lethargic or agitated: not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down Poor appetite and weight loss, or increased appetite and weight gain: significant weight loss when not dieting or increase/decrease in appetite Loss of energy and great fatigue Negative self-concept, feelings of worthlessness and guilt: feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt Difficulty in concentrating: slow thinking and indecisiveness Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide: major depressive disorders account for about 20-35% of suicide (Angst, 1995)