Mental Illness and Diagnosis

Mental Illness and Diagnosis

Definitions

Phenotype

This term can be explained as the manifestation of physical organism, and is the structure, function and observable behavior of a living human-being. For example, certain types of behavior and diseases (Chamberlain et al., 2007).

Genotype

Genotype can be defined as the gene comprised or genetic information of a specific organism known as “alleles”. This particular term 'Genotype” refers to the inherited and hereditary information passed by antecedent. It can be identified through certain genotypes such as eye, hair color and height (Chanock et al., 2007).

The Diathesis-Stress Model

This model helps in analyzing the relationship between non-biological or genetic diathesis (predisposition) with the environment and life event (stressors) in developing specific disorder like schizophrenia. For example, enzyme of MAOA mediates the risky environment of child abuse (Belsky and Pluess, 2009).

Genotype-environment Correlation

The genotype-environment correlation is occurred when an individual is exposed to the factors of environment, based in the genotype of a person. It can be arose by casual and non-casual mechanisms (Cerf et al., 2012).

Reliability

It refers the repeated diagnosis that directs to the same disorder. There are two types of reliability in assessment and diagnosis. Test retest reliability depicts whether reiterating the diagnosis will each time provide different diagnostic results (Cerf et al., 2012). While the inter-rater reliability signifies same diagnosis is obtained by different diagnosticians, which illustrate how objective the criteria of diagnosis are (American Psychiatric Association, 2008).

Validity

The term 'validity' refers to the diagnosis process which helps in measuring a real pattern of symptoms and it ensures the biasness in the process of diagnosis. It can also administer the effective treatment (Cerf et al., 2012).

The Prototypic Approach to Diagnosis

This type of approach offers a feasible alternative for enhancing the diagnosis of personality disorder. This procedure has several benefits, such as artifactual comorbidity minimization, compatible with naturally occurring process of cognition, ease of use, and ready interpretation in both dimensional and categorical diagnosis (Cerf et al., 2012).

Presenting Problem

Behind every clinical visit, presenting problem may be a cause that seeks for help of a therapist (Coming et al., 2007).

Comorbidity

The term comorbidity is related to the medicine and it shows the existence of one or more diseases (or disorders) in addition to a primary disorder or disease, or the effect of additional diseases or disorders (Hudson et al., 2007).

Behavior Genetics

This refers to an area of study that scrutinizes genetics role in the human (animal) behavior (Coming et al., 2007).

Attachment Theory's role in Abnormal Behavior

Theory of attachment has a crucial role in examining the abnormal behavior as it is about physiological propensity to look for closeness to the other individual, to develop a sense of security in the presence of that person and vice versa (Matsumoto and Juang, 2013).

Q2# Mental Illness Causes

Necessary Cause

Necessary cause is the cause that is essential and vital to exist for occurrence of mental illness. For example, violence necessarily leads to mental illness as violent behavior affects him/her in a love relationship and work, as well ...