ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY - I

Course code MPS51

Course Teacher : Ms. Haritha
Topic : Introduction to Abnormal psychology
 Mental health in Global level
• 1 in 5 of the worlds children and adolescent have a mental disorder
• About half of mental disorders begin before the age of 14
• Almost 80,000 people die by suicide every year – 1 person dies from suicide every 40 seconds .
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of individuals aged15-29 yrs death .
• Global economy loses about US $ 1 trillion per year in productivity due to depression and anxiety .

Mental Health in India

• WHO revealed 7.5% (1.3 billion ) of the Indian population suffer from Some form of mental disorder and
without anticipating the corona virus pandemic WHO predicts that by 2020, roughly 20 % percent of India will
suffer from mental Illness .
• India Only spent 0.05% of its health budget annually on mental health over last few years
Mental health professionals :
3,500 psychiatrist – Need 13, 000 , Clinical psychologist -1000 – Need 20,000 , Psychiatric nurses 15000 – Need
30,000
psychiatric social worker 900 – Need 35, 000
Abnormal Psychology -the study of abnormal behaviour , Including theories and research about causes ,
assessment and treatment
Every definition provided so far has proved problematic , even though there is a lack of agreement most of the
abnormal behaviour is recognised with a prototype kind of model of abnormality which includes elements of
abnormality such as
1.Sufferings
2.Maladaptiveness
3.Deviancy
4.Violation of standards of society (laws)
5.Social discomfort
6. Irrationality and Unpredictability
No one element is sufficient to define and determine the abnormality – similarities between the person behaviour
and elements of abnormality world wide matters a lot in defining the abnormality.
Additional thing is the society is constantly changing and evolving so the tolerance to certain behaviour also
changed which should be taken into count – (Homosexuality classified as mental disorder )
 Classification of mental disorder
• Nomenclature – Enable us to structure information . The organised information allow us to study the different
disorders and causal factors and specific treatment for that particular disorder
• Has social and political implications - Health Insurance benefits for mental illness treatment

Limitations :
• Provides shorthand Information – loss of complete picture about the person
• Stigma - Talking about Psychological illness candidly create an unwanted Social and occupational
Consequences
• Stereotyping – less competent , Irresponsible , More dangerous .
• Labelling – addressing the person as Schizophrenic , Manic - Person suffering from Schizophrenia or mania
 Culture and Abnormality
Culture Bound syndrome
Certain Disorders are more culture specific –Taijin kyofusho Syndrome – a form of anxiety disorder which is
Prevalent in Japan – a fear that one’s body , odours , body parts or body functions may offend or embarrass others
and make them feel uncomfortable .
• Dhat Syndrome – Neurotic Spectrum disorder – Patients Complaints about the premature ejaculation without
organic cause – Anxiety and depression symptoms - India
• Taiijin kyofusho –Fear of embarrassing others – Japan
Social Phobia – Fear of Experiencing embarrassment in front of others
• Hikkikomori – withdrawing from the society –Japan

Experience like hearing a dead one’s voice – Normal in native American Tribes and abnormal in most of the other
culture .
 Prevalence and Incidence
• Essential for planning mental health services - to allocate the resources
• Provides valuable clues about causes – Women out number men in Depression by a ratio of 2:1
Puberty , Premenstrual problems , Pregnancy , Postpartum depression , Perimenopause – Menopause
Life circumstances and culture
Mental Health epidemiology - study of distribution of mental disorders
Key components of epidemiological survey :
1. Prevalence – the number of active new cases in a population during particular time
2. Incidence –number of new cases that occurred in a particular time
Comorbidity - Presence of two or more disorder in same person – Highly seen among the individual with severe
illness
 Mental health Team

Psychiatrist
Clinical Psychologist
Psychologist
Psychiatric Social worker
Psychiatric nurse
Occupational therapist