Abnormal Psychology Research Articles

Distinguishing genuine from simulated dissociative identity disorder using the Morel Emotional Numbing Test.

Few studies have identified validity tests that are appropriate for use in individuals with dissociative identity disorder (DID). This study investigated whether the Morel Emotional Numbing Test (MENT) could distinguish between genuine and simulated DID. Thirty-five participants with DID diagnosed via a semistructured interview were compared to 88 participants taking an abnormal psychology course who were instructed to simulate DID. Group comparison analyses were conducted to examine differences in the MENT errors. Univariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses examined how well the MENT errors discriminated between groups and identified a cutoff optimizing sensitivity while maintaining high specificity. Simulators had significantly more errors across all three MENT sets compared to genuine DID participants. The total number of MENT errors across sets most strongly and significantly predicted genuine versus simulated DID groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that the MENT could discriminate between genuine and simulated DID with outstanding classification accuracy (area under the curve = .95). A cutoff of ≥ 10 total errors on the MENT yielded an optimal balance of sensitivity (.86) and specificity (.94). However, the previously defined cutoff of ≥ 8 total errors also demonstrated high sensitivity (.87) and specificity (.89). Findings provide preliminary evidence for the MENT as a validity test for DID populations. Although the commonly used cutoff of ≥ 8 errors on the MENT demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, we recommend using a cutoff of ≥ 10 errors for individuals with DID to minimize the risk of false positives while maintaining strong sensitivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Normalizing Abnormal Psychology: An Anti-Ableist Approach

Introduction A survey course of mental health diagnoses is a commonly taken undergraduate psychology course and presents a critical opportunity for addressing ableism in psychology. Statement of the Problem The presentation of mental health diagnoses is wrought with ableist beliefs, both in the historical and contemporary context. These ableist beliefs are a prime driver of stigma and its associated outcomes including worse mental health and avoidance of treatment professionals. Literature Review The present article presents the ableist context of the course typically titled, “Abnormal Psychology,” and offers an alternative: the building of an anti-ableist curriculum grounded in disability studies. We use the social model of disability and disability identity as guiding principles, while inquiry-based learning is the pedagogical driver. Teaching Implications We review six practical strategies, which include introducing the social model, renaming the class, starting with positive disability identity, complicating the continuum-categorical dichotomy, centering disability representation, and emphasizing consumer rights and direction. Conclusion By leaning on disability studies and Mad Pride, “Abnormal Psychology” can deconstruct its ableist roots and be the foundation for a destigmatized, positive approach towards the study of psychological disorders. We offer future directions, including potential ways to continually assess anti-ableist efforts.

The growing interdisciplinarity of developmental psychopathology: Implications for science and training.

The field of developmental psychopathology has grown exponentially over the past decades, and has become increasingly multifaceted. The initial focus on understanding abnormal child psychology has broadened to the study of the origins of psychopathology, with the goals of preventing and alleviating disorder and promoting healthy development. In this paper, we discuss how technological advances and global events have expanded the questions that researchers in developmental psychopathology can address. We do so by describing a longitudinal study that we have been conducting for the past dozen years. We originally planned to examine the effects of early adversity on trajectories of brain development, endocrine function, and depressive symptoms across puberty; it has since become an interdisciplinary study encompassing diverse domains like inflammation, sleep, biological aging, the environment, and child functioning post-pandemic, that we believe will advance our understanding of neurobehavioral development. This increase in the breadth in our study emerged from an expansion of the field; we encourage researchers to embrace these dynamic changes. In this context, we discuss challenges, opportunities, and institutional changes related to the growing interdisciplinarity of the field with respect to training the next generation of investigators to mitigate the burden of mental illness in youth.

The No-Self Thesis: counterarguments from abnormal psychology

The No-Self Thesis: counterarguments from abnormal psychology

Effects of physical fitness on mental health of Chinese college students: across-sectional study

BackgroundThe physical and mental health of college students is often mentioned, but there is limited research on a direct relationship between the mental health status of college students and their physical fitness level. This study mainly proves the relationship between Chinese college students’ mental health and physical fitness indicators.MethodThis study collected SCL-90 Scale test results from 5262 students (4012 boys and 1250 girls) through a questionnaire survey and conducted a Sport Quality Test on these students. Statistical software SPSS was applied for differential analysis and logistic regression analysis. Specifically, the differences in sport quality indicators between normal and abnormal mean total scores of psychological tests were analyzed first. Then, the binary logistic regression model was used to explore the impacts of sports quality indicator scores on students’ psychological fitness.ResultsThere are differences in the results of physical fitness tests between students with abnormal psychology and students with normal psychology. The four indexes of students’ vital capacity, speed, explosive power of lower limbs, and endurance running are effective in improving students’ psychologically abnormal state, and endurance running and improving vital capacity are the most effective methods to improve students’ psychologically abnormal state. In the physical tests of Chinese college students, the risk of psychological abnormalities was reduced by 9% for every one-point increase in lung capacity and 10.4% for every one-point increase in endurance running performance.ConclusionsChinese college students’ physical fitness and mental health are related. The best methods for treating psychological disorders are lung capacity improvement and endurance running. According to the physical test results of Chinese college students, for every 1-point increase in lung capacity and endurance running, the risk of psychological abnormalities decreased by 9% and 10.4%, respectively.

The term “abnormal psychology” cues mental illness stigma: A study in China

The term “abnormal psychology” cues mental illness stigma: A study in China

The Anxiety of Theodore Finch as Seen in All The Bright Places The Movie

Anxiety is still a frequent occurrence in the lives of many people that interferes with mental health to this day. This is what allows anxiety to occur. The purpose of this study is to analyse the types of anxiety that Finch suffers from and the impact of anxiety on Finch's life in the film All The Bright Places. The data collected in this thesis comes from cinema, research articles and journals. The theory used is the Anxiety Nevid theory in Abnormal Psychology, which can analyse the overall anxiety disorder of the main character. The results of the analysis of this study are: the types of anxiety that Finch suffers from are Phobia Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder. This anxiety affects all of Finch's life activities and mental health. The impact of anxiety causes Finch to experience depression and end his life by committing suicide.

The Relationship Between PTSD and Physical Disability among Adults

From the data collected by the World Health Organization, the population affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is measured at 12 million in America, especially after the outburst of COVID-19. A further outbreak of post-traumatic stress-related syndrome is achieving a large leap in the infected population. Hence, more and more studies about such disorders are being put into more and more attention in the field of abnormal Psychology. The revaluation of certain disorders had become a significant focus. This paper focused on the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder after traumatic events such as sexual harassment and in the post-COVID-19 period. It highlights the need to develop inclusive formulas beyond post-traumatic stress disorder to understand the psychological difficulties experienced by affected populations. It also explores the relationship between human cognition and physical dysfunction, including immune system disorders, structural changes in the brain, and memory trade-offs associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. The social aspects of PTSD are also discussed, highlighting its impact on individuals in different social contexts. Finally, popular interventions such as prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, and trauma-centered cognitive behavioral therapy are mentioned. The limitations of current PTSD diagnoses are acknowledged. The limitation of the research is also apparent. The understanding of to what extent factors like cultural background and culture dimensions, under different macro environments, the influence is being less discussed and less easy to determine as well.

Adventures in Psychology

In consideration of the necessity of understanding Psychology and human behavior as a basis for every human living and function, In this book, I try to present three spheres of Psychology. The concentration has been on Social, Abnormal, and Education psychology. Some applications are done from a Christian perspective in dealing with Social, abnormal, and Education Psychology. Actions and reactions of people in daily life are articulated to give a broader perspective of understanding human behavior. From a social perspective, many things arouse an individual’s curiosity. People and their behavior are the most cardinals. knowing the way individuals and groups behave is highlighted in the book. Being very objective through research, it is cardinal we present in this piece of work abnormal behavior disorders such as anxiety, somatoform, disassociative, and many other disorders. One of the major increasing problems in the world today is Abnormal behavior. In the book, a basic understanding is presented relative to the causes and solutions to abnormal behavior that is impacting the world negatively. I try to make Education Psychology simple and clearer in this book for the better understanding of the reader. Knowing that Education Psychology can be applied to every sphere of life, a detailed presentation is done. Since being a Christian does not exempt anyone from this basic social life, abnormal behavior, and learning theories and practices, I have included a Christian perspective on every major topic presented in the book. In other words, It was applied to every Christian living.

Jean Piaget and His Studies on Cognitive Development and Contributions to the Field of Psychology

This paper explores the life, accomplishments, and psychological contributions of Jean Piaget and how his findings impacted the field of psychology. It also dives into the criticisms he faced for his findings. Piaget was born as the son of a historian but decided to study abnormal psychology after being introduced to the concept of psychoanalysis. Piaget went on to study children and cognitive growth at different stages of childhood. He developed four stages of mental growth and explored what children can do during each stage. Piaget studied other concepts, such as object permanence and conservation of quantity, and explored the level of understanding of these concepts during each stage. This paper dissects many of the topics Piaget studied and analyzes criticisms against his work, raising the question of how he could have studied these topics better. It also emphasizes how Jean Piaget revolutionized the field of psychology through his discoveries and contributions relating to children and how they learn, demonstrating how Piaget’s theories can even be used during the 21st century to understand cognitive growth among children.

Интеркогортный анализ родительских факторов риска развитию ребенка на первом году жизни

Children develop rapidly in the first year of life and this period should create a solid ground for their health in future. Diseases of the nervous system, mental and behavioral disorders occupy leading places among causes of childhood disability. Given that, the aim of this study was to search for parental risk factors endangering physical and neuropsychic development of infants. Infants living in Vologda region were selected as a research object. Our informational basis was represented by sample data of the prospective monitoring over children’s health (894 children from five different cohorts born in 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014 and 2020); statistical and sociological data on prevalence of risk factors in Russia and in the region. The information was provided by healthcare workers (obstetrician-gynecologist, neonatologist, and pediatrician) and children’s mothers. The applied methodology included inter- and intra-cohort sociological analysis; calculation of relative risk (RR) to assess a correlation between developmental delay and parental factors. Child development was assessed by a pediatrician using abnormal psychology and adaptation approaches. We analyzed Russian and foreign studies that focused on the same research subject. We calculated relative risks of various social-demographic, socioeconomic, biomedical and environmental factors for the development of children who participated in the cohort monitoring. This allowed us to identify those with prognostic value including young age of parents (RR = 1.40); a single-parent family (RR = 1.46), bad relationships between spouses (RR = 1.36); low purchasing ability of a family (RR = 1.59), poor living conditions (RR = 1.66); a future mother being exposed to chemicals and toxic substances (RR = 1.31), gas pollution (RR = 2.02), hand high temperatures (RR = 1.56) at her workplace one year prior to childbirth; a smoking mother (RR = 1.56); a father having a sexually transmitted disease (RR = 3.23); abnormal pregnancy. The identified risk factors for child development occur prior to childbirth and are manageable. Awareness about them makes it possible to neutralize their negative influence when a pregnancy is being planned. Our analysis of statistical and sociological data has revealed a descending trend for prevalence of practically all the analyzed risk factors. Still, some factors cause certain concern including high prevalence of smoking among women, future mothers included; prevalence of anemia in pregnant women; unresolved financial issues and poor living conditions of a considerable share of families who are expecting a child; effects produced on women by harmful working conditions. The results of this study can be used for developing programs aimed at protecting child’s health at any level, from an individual to the national one.

Inter-cohort analysis of parental risk factors for development of infants

Children develop rapidly in the first year of life and this period should create a solid ground for their health in future. Diseases of the nervous system, mental and behavioral disorders occupy leading places among causes of childhood disability. Given that, the aim of this study was to search for parental risk factors endangering physical and neuropsychic development of infants. Infants living in Vologda region were selected as a research object. Our informational basis was represented by sample data of the prospective monitoring over children’s health (894 children from five different cohorts born in 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014 and 2020); statistical and sociological data on prevalence of risk factors in Russia and in the region. The information was provided by healthcare workers (obstetrician-gynecologist, neonatologist, and pediatrician) and children’s mothers. The applied methodology included inter- and intra-cohort sociological analysis; calculation of relative risk (RR) to assess a correlation between developmental delay and parental factors. Child development was assessed by a pediatrician using abnormal psychology and adaptation approaches. We analyzed Russian and foreign studies that focused on the same research subject. We calculated relative risks of various social-demographic, socioeconomic, biomedical and environmental factors for the development of children who participated in the cohort monitoring. This allowed us to identify those with prognostic value including young age of parents (RR = 1.40); a single-parent family (RR = 1.46), bad relationships between spouses (RR = 1.36); low purchasing ability of a family (RR = 1.59), poor living conditions (RR = 1.66); a future mother being exposed to chemicals and toxic substances (RR = 1.31), gas pollution (RR = 2.02), hand high temperatures (RR = 1.56) at her workplace one year prior to childbirth; a smoking mother (RR = 1.56); a father having a sexually transmitted disease (RR = 3.23); abnormal pregnancy. The identified risk factors for child development occur prior to childbirth and are manageable. Awareness about them makes it possible to neutralize their negative influence when a pregnancy is being planned. Our analysis of statistical and sociological data has revealed a descending trend for prevalence of practically all the analyzed risk factors. Still, some factors cause certain concern including high prevalence of smoking among women, future mothers included; prevalence of anemia in pregnant women; unresolved financial issues and poor living conditions of a considerable share of families who are expecting a child; effects produced on women by harmful working conditions. The results of this study can be used for developing programs aimed at protecting child’s health at any level, from an individual to the national one.

ABNORMAL BEHAVIORS IN OKKY MADASARI’S NOVEL BOUND IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

This research aimed to describe the abnormal behavior and the factors causing the abnormal behavior experienced by the first character in Okky Madasari's novel Bound. The qualitative-descriptive study was used in this research. The research focused on the problems related to the Sasana’s abnormal behaviors. Sasana is the first character in the novel. The abnormal behaviors in the novel were analyzed by implementing the abnormal psychology. The data collection techniques used in this study were reading and note-taking techniques. The depiction of the abnormal behaviors experienced by the first character, and the factors of the behaviors are described based on the collected data both in the form of sentences and paragraphs contained in the data source. The results show that the abnormal behaviors happen to the first characters in the novel. The abnormal behaviors in this novel include being interested in things related to women, wearing women's clothes, behaving like a girl, and feeling jealous of his sister. Besides, the factors that cause the abnormal behaviors of the first character are biological factors and socio-cultural factors.

Academic Predictors of Performance in the Board Licensure Examination for Psychometricians

In relation to the adherence of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) offering undergraduate psychology programs to excellent standards of education as translated in the Board Licensure Examination for Psychometricians (BLEP), this study aimed to analyze the predictors of BLEP performance as inputs to curriculum and instruction quality assurance. This study employed a descriptive-quantitative design and collected data using an online survey and data mining. Results from one private-sectarian HEI show that general academic performance – specifically in Theories of Personality, Abnormal Psychology, Industrial Psychology, and Dynamic Psychology courses – were significant predictors of BLEP performance, suggesting that better undergraduate academic performance leads to better BLEP performance. These results highlight the need for enhancing the curriculum and instruction in response to the demands of various regulatory and quality assurance bodies in ensuring that the mandate of HEIs to produce high-quality professionals is achieved through a curriculum-based course audit for review classes and intensified instruction.

""On Being Sane in Insane Places" … it is a work half done."

""On Being Sane in Insane Places" … it is a work half done."

Data Exclusion in Policy Survey and Questionnaire Data: Aberrant Responses and Missingness

Data preprocessing is an integral step prior to analyzing data in psychological science, with implications for its potentially guiding policy. This article reports how psychological researchers address data preprocessing or quality concerns, with a focus on aberrant responses and missing data in self-report measures. 240 articles were sampled from four journals: Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology from 2012 to 2018. Nearly half of the studies did not report any missing data treatment (111/240; 46.25%), and if they did, the most common approach was listwise deletion (71/240; 29.6%). Studies that remove data due to missingness removed, on average, 12% of the sample. Likewise, most studies do not report any aberrant responses (194/240; 80%), but if they did, they classified 4% of the sample as suspect. Most studies are either not transparent enough about their data preprocessing steps or may be leveraging suboptimal procedures. Recommendations can improve transparency and data quality.

Divine Command Theory, Robust Normative Realism, and the Argument from Psychopathy: A Reply to Erik Wielenberg

Erik Wielenberg has offered a fascinating argument from moral psychology against a sophisticated theistic account of moral obligations: Divine Command Theory (DCT). This argument focuses on the pathology known as psychopathy—a perennial interest for those concerned with abnormal and moral psychology. The argument can be labeled the argument from psychopathy for convenience. The strength of the argument is that it forces the DCT-ist to maintain that there are some human beings who have no moral obligations yet still do evil actions. This, he argues, is an implausible thesis. Therefore, DCT is false. In this paper, I defend DCT and argue that there is good reason to be neutral or skeptical that psychopaths have moral obligations and, to the degree that they do, they are able to grasp morality in a way consistent with DCT. Furthermore, if the argument does present a serious problem for DCT, then it does so for Wielenberg’s own view, Robust Normative Realism (RNR), just as much as DCT.

线上和线下形式的专业实践活动对心理学专业大学生实践能力提升的影响——以《变态心理学》课程为例

线上和线下形式的专业实践活动对心理学专业大学生实践能力提升的影响——以《变态心理学》课程为例

FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TO INTERVENTION IN DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

Covid- pandemics exerted limitations and fostered developments in clinical psychology assessment, intervention, education and supervision practices. The hard-to-reach professional services are becoming more available, new technological solutions are offered for both assessment and therapeutic techniques, communication between different parties is facilitated and, while disembodied, the Internet-assisted interaction must be thought as an ecologically valid one in contemporary world. We propose a term “telepathopsychology” for a discipline that designates both the clinical and abnormal psychology practices in virtual format and the scientifi c study of risks for health inherent to the usage of digital technologies. The practice of Internet-assisted clinical psychological assessment can be conceptualized using the metaphor of dramatic action to underline some particularities that distinguish it from ordinary assessment. The construct of “performance” points to the role-taking aspect inherent in any virtual behavior and importance of the process of mutual creation of the images of both the psychologist and the client. The idea of “curtains” indicates the limitation of space and a special focus that leaves important circumstances “behind the stage”, including people that can perform as prompters or audience. “Stage direction” involves idea and “liberal theatre” with possibilities for rule-breaking, role-reversals and enjoyment of omnipotence, in example via cheating on psychologist and of Internet being a “deviant place”. Finally, metaphor singles out the need for creativity and openness to experience required from both psychologist and the client. For both assessment and psychotherapy intervention in the digital format does not present critical technical diffi culties and opens opportunities to develop a more contemporary, open, non-expert, participatory and help-oriented approach, particularly when working with children.

An Abnormal Psychology Study Using Stressors and Symptoms for a Hypothetical Individual with Borderline Personality Disorder and a Comparison with the Physio-Pathology Study Using Lifestyle Details and Glucoses from an Individual with Type 2 Diabetes by Applying the Concepts from Viscoelastic and Viscoplastic Glucose Theory (VGT #12) Based on GH-Method: Math-Physical Medicine (No. 591)

The majority of this article focuses on stressors and symptoms of a hypothetical patient with borderline personality disorder (BPD) during the period from Y2010 to Y2022. The example cited is a purely hypothetical patient with BPD conditions. The author has accumulated knowledge on abnormal psychology since 2002 and augmented it from his established five psychotherapy centers to care for approximately 200 abused women and abandoned children from 2006 to 2010. Due to confidentiality, he cannot reveal any of their identities, but their general stories or commonly observed behaviors have been included in the hypothetical BPD case. Psychology is an empirical science and, at times, it is easier to describe in words stressors (root causes), symptoms, behaviors, reactions, and/or treatments; however, it is more difficult to describe them in numbers, a quantitative manner, even though most psychological research works are based on statistics only, but not based on any branches of natural science. The author self-studied, observed, and managed abnormal psychology therapy for 9-years, from 2002 to 2010. He has read approximately 100 textbooks and 500+ clinical reports during that period. Based on his findings, he tried to develop some “scientific” formula-based equations with a quantitation and precision approach to study and research abnormal psychology. Here, the word “scientific” means observing physical phenomena, applying physics principles, deriving mathematical equations, building engineering modeling, and utilizing computer and artificial intelligence tools - not applying statistics tools alone. Since 2010, it has been difficult to collect and utilize data from patients with Personality Disorder (PD) without breaching professional ethics and patient confidentiality. The author has given up his original idea of using the developed math-physical medicine research approach (MPM) for the psychology field. In the summer of 2010, when his health conditions became life-threatening due to severe type 2 diabetes (T2D) complications, he launched his GH-Method: math-Physical medicine (MPM) research approach on metabolism, endocrinology, and food nutrition to save his own life. To date, he has written and published nearly 600 medical papers using the MPM method. This particular paper is one of his few attempts to apply his developed MPM methodology to the abnormal psychology field of BPD. The author hopes to continue his psychological research by using more of the MPM approach. He appreciates the invaluable inputs, comments, criticisms, and suggestions from his colleagues regarding the area of abnormal psychology. In summary, although this article mainly focused on a psychological case study with hypothetical data from any BPD patient, it was also complemented with a physio-pathological case study with the collected data of an actual T2D patient. When the author displays the two case results together using a space diagram (SD) of stress (causes) versus strain (symptoms), these two case results have demonstrated an observed viscoplastic behavior, e.g. time-dependency, nonconvergence between the initial period data and ending period data, and hysteresis loops (energy loss through loading and unloading process). By using descriptive psychology language, it can illustrate the viscoplastic BPD behavior that their stressors and symptoms are changing from time to time which does not have the same pattern at the initial and ending states of a selected period. Furthermore, this up-and-down orloading-and-unloading cycle creates a loss of energy for the BPD patient, while coping with this disorder.