A collaboration between L. Glover, J. Klatter, B. Lewis, C. Swarmer, and A. Thornton
Defining
Abnormality
There are several challenges that come along with defining
and classifying normal and abnormal behavior, some of these challenges include
situational context, culture, ethnicity, historical relativism, politics,
evolving theory of knowledge, gender and sexual preferences and practices,
mind/body, age, and religion. In the
following paragraph there is going to be a discussion about three of these
challenges, gender and sexual preferences and practices, religion, and
mind/body. Next there will be an
explanation of how classification of abnormal behavior can vary based widely on
situational factors and then the final paragraph will be a conclusion paragraph
that will tie together all of the points that were made throughout the
paper.
Gender and Sexual Preference/Practice
Gender and Sexual preference/practice is both normal and
abnormal depending on how you look at what is happening with a person. According to the text book, Abnormal
Psychology, there are three main core concepts to sexual behavior disorder;
continuum between normal and abnormal behavior, importance of context, and
cultural and historical relativism.
Continuum is when a “condition can disorder because it causes
significant distress and impairment” (Hansell & Damour, 2008, ch 10). Cultural relativism is when abnormal sexual
behavior is normal for the cultural that a person was raised in. Importance of context is, “sexual behavior
that would be considered inappropriate and abnormal in one context might seem
normal in another context” (Hansell & Damour, 2008, ch 10).
Looking at the different concepts of sexual dysfunction
that are times when a person explores his or her body in what may seem to be a
sexual way but in fact is not. In the
article, Childhood Sexuality: Discerning Healthy from Abnormal Sexual
Behaviors, it talks about what is healthy for a child discovering his or her
body. The challenge with this is some
parents find this to be a problem and not a part of development. A child will start to touch and play with his
or her genitals starting at the age of two and will continue to explore until
age twelve. If a child just looks at
himself or herself then there is not much to worry about besides talking with
your child about the time and place that it is appropriate to explore his or
her body. When or if a parent is faced
with a child who is discovering their body the parent needs to stay calm and
not make the subject a negative thing. A
parent should watch for different signs of abnormal behavior life masturbation,
inserting objects in their genital/anus area.
When a parent starts to see this behavior they need to talk with a
professional about the abnormal behavior (Thanasiu, 2004).
Some people feel that they are not attracted to the
opposite sex and Freud’s idea on this is excessive masturbation in his or her
younger years (Hansell & Damour, 2008).
When homosexuality was listed in the DSM-II it was classified as a
mental disorder until the change in 1973.
The world is seeing more people coming out as have different sexual
desires like, same sex attraction, binding/bondage, not getting sexually
gratified, or changing his or her gender altogether. There are some who may say that these
different behaviors are a sexual disorder, others have researched it in
different ways. In the article, Sexual
Orientation Identities, Attractions, and Practice to Female-to-Male
Transsexuals, it talks about females changing their gender not because of
sexual preference but more about gender identity issues. There are some who feel that they are attracted
to females and want to be with females but their cultural background is against
it. So they change their gender to be
able to be with the females that she is attracted to and not be looked at in a
shameful way (Devor, 1993).
Gender and sexual identities have a lot to evaluate when
decided if the behavior is normal or abnormal.
The best way to learn this is to know more about a person and their
background to know if it comes from genetics, religion, cultural, or any other
environmental situations.
Mind/Body
A seasoned psychologist must accept that
challenges of behavior diagnose are a fact. Out of the many challenges
psychologists encounter in their practices, the mind and body connection is one
that needs to be carefully reviewed so a clear distinction of normal and
abnormal behavior can be made. This, along with the use of the DSM-IV-TR
(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition) will
determine the best course of action in dealing with a possible disorder the
patient may have. The mind and body are not disconnected as earlier dualistic
school of thought believed (Hansell & Damour, 2008). According to Hansell
and Damour (2008), “the mind and the brain are fully interconnected and
interdependent” (p. 7). It is safe to assume that what happens to the mind may
affect the body and vice-versa besides the intangible nature of the former.
Behavior (contrary of behaviorist’s earlier belief) is finally seen as an
effect more than the cause of mental activity and possible abnormalities.
Emotional experience will have a direct
effect on the body, which may produce a set of behaviors traceable to the
emotional experience he or she may have had or are still experiencing. The
often times difficult connection between mind and body cannot be dismissed if
the diagnose determines the behavior to be abnormal. Hansell and Damour (2008),
cite Charlotte’s depression as a possible link to “profound hormonal changes
that take place during the postpartum period” (p. 7). It may be connected with “distorted
thoughts about her body and cognitive impairment resulting from her state of
physical starvation” (p. 7). The important point in this example lies on
Charlotte’s thoughts (the mind) affecting her body and causing depression.
Accurately determining this possible link between Charlotte’s mind and body can
determine the right treatment and successful recovery so Charlotte may regain
the mind and body balance.
Religion
Amongst the many contributing factors of bias in the
psychological setting, religion plays an instrumental role. Religion can affect
the bias of the professional as well as the client by means of diagnosis and
normal vs. abnormal behavior. A professional has the duty to put aside any
religious concepts they personally hold in order to provide a correct abnormal
diagnosis. Faith based judgments come in many forms. A Christian counselor may
encourage couples going through a rough patch to work on the marriage based on
the construct of their Christian faith which deems the act divorce a major sin.
Similarly a client with marriage concerns may feel the need to remain in a
clearly unhealthy marital situation because of religious beliefs. Religion and
spirituality are elements of the cultural diversity and historicism of
psychotherapy. Faith based religion and
psychological sciences are often contradictory of one another and have feuded
throughout history. According to Bergin (1980) there is a “religiousness gap”
amongst psychologists in general, as the majority have shunned the idea of
religion and in turn may have viewed faith as irrelevant and possibly devious,
two major criteria for defining abnormality (Harris, 2011). Social deviance is
defined as any behavior that does not fall within the normal construct of
behavior (Hansell & Damour, 2008). There are many religious rituals or
tendencies that fall within the category of deviant behavior. Faith based
concepts such as speaking in tongues, angelic encounters, signs of the cross,
stigmata, and the consummation of the blood and body of a worshiped figure
would each individually be diagnosed as socially deviant from majority behavior
in many realms, but within the construct of specific religious tradition it is
normal behavior. Amongst religious and psychological bias lies the ever popular
case of Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields. Cruise publicly attacked the actress for
using antidepressant medication after being diagnosed with postpartum
depression after the birth of her first child. Cruise’s comments were a direct
application of his applied religion of scientology that prohibits the use of
medicine. Other members of such religious organizations abolish all medical
practice as unspiritual, including the area of psychopathology.
Situational Factors that affect
Classification of Abnormal Behavior
Situational factors
affect how abnormal behavior is classified. Some situational factors are gender
and sexual orientation, religion, and the mind and body. While a certain
behavior may be considered abnormal, the continuum between normality and
abnormality must first be considered (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Therefore,
the continuum between the normal and the abnormality of factors like gender,
religion, and the like must be considered before defining a behavior as
abnormal. For example, one of the main criterions for classifying abnormal
behaviors is that the behavior must be causing a distress. However, one factor
that may cause Person A distress may not cause distress in Person B. Person A
may be diagnosed with an abnormal disorder based upon his or her distress;
whereas, Person B would not. It is believed that abnormal behaviors and
feelings are generally just an exaggeration of normal behaviors and feelings
(Hansell & Damour, 2008). Based upon this belief, each individual has the
potential to have an abnormal disorder; the deciding factor is the extent of
the behavior. Factors such as gender, sexual orientation, and religion are
important in the consideration of abnormal behaviors and disorders. Gender
carries a high importance as there are differences in the way males and females
are viewed in a societal context. Females are generally regarded as having more
stressors than males (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). Females are usually
responsible for the care of children, home, and relationships even while working.
The presence of depression in females is believed to be twice of that as that
of males (Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2010). This is more than likely due to the fact
that females are usually placed under more stress due to societal roles. In
classifying abnormality, it is vital to understand the situational factors
surrounding the individual.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are several challenges associated
with defining and classifying abnormal and normal behavior, include situational context, culture,
ethnicity, historical relativism, politics, evolving theory of knowledge,
gender and sexual preferences and practices, mind/body, age, and religion. The challenge of gender and sexual
preferences and practices can be determined to be either normal or abnormal
depending on who you look at this situation.
According to the textbook (Hansell & Damour, 2008) three of the main
concepts associated with sexual behavior disorder includes continuum between
normal and abnormal behavior because it causes distress or impairment, importance
of context what may seem normal or abnormal to one person may not necessarily
be that way to another person or in another context, and cultural and
historical relativism this behavior is acceptable in an individual’s cultural
or when and where they were brought up.
When it comes to the mind and body emotional experience will have a
direct effect on the body, which may produce a set of behaviors traceable to
the emotional experience he or she may have had or are still experiencing. The
often times difficult connection between mind and body cannot be dismissed if
the diagnose determines the behavior to be abnormal. Amongst the many contributing factors of bias
in the psychological setting, religion plays an instrumental role. Religion can
affect the bias of the professional as well as the client by means of diagnosis
and normal vs. abnormal behavior. Some of the situational factors include
gender, sexual orientation, religion, and mind and body. In classifying abnormality, it is vital to
understand the situational factors surrounding the individual.
References
Bergin, A. E., & Jensen,
J. P. (1990). Religiosity of psychotherapists: A national survey. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research,
Practice, Training, 27, 3-7.
Devor, Holly, Sexual
Orientations Identities, Attractions, and Practice to Female-to-Male Transsexuals. Journal of Sex Reseach, Nov1993. Vol. 30
Issue 4, p 303-315.
Hansell, J., & Damour,
L. (2008). Abnormal Psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Harris, K. A. (2011).
Clinical judgment faith bias: The impact of faith and multicultural competence on clinical judgment. (Order No.
3454245, Ball State University). ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses, , 389. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/868530349?accountid=458.
(prod.academic_MSTAR_868530349).
Sue, D., Sue, D. W., &
Sue, S. (2010). Understanding Abnormal Behavior (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Thanasiu, Page L., Childhood
Sexuality: Discerning Healthy From Abnormal Sexual Behaviors, Journal of Mental Health Counseling. Oct2004, Vol. 26 Issue 4, p309-319.
Plagiarism:
Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use our work, please reference it.
