Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

M O D U L E 4 8 
Psychological Disorders 
in Perspective
Study Alert
Remember that the incidence 
of various types of psycho-
logical disorders in the 
general population is 
surprisingly high.
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 Module 
48 
Psychological Disorders in Perspective 
535
20 
0 
40 60 80 
Legal 
Sexual assault 
Chronic mental disorder 
Eating disorders 
Substance abuse 
Personality disorders 
Suicidal 
Grief 
Abuse 
Physical problems 
Educational/vocational 
Medication use 
Academic skills 
Depression 
Developmental 
Family issues 
Relationship 
Situational 
Stress anxiety 
Percentage of students reporting problem 
FIGURE 1 
The problems reported by 
students visiting a college counseling 
center. Would you have predicted this 
pattern of psychological diffi
culties? 
(Source: Benton et al., 2003.)
The Social and Cultural Context 
of Psychological Disorders
In considering the nature of the psychological disorders described in DSM-IV-TR, it’s 
important to keep in mind that the specifi c disorders refl ect Western cultures at the 
turn of the 21st century. The classifi cation system provides a snapshot of how its 
authors viewed mental disorder when it was published. In fact, the development of 
the most recent version of the DSM was a source of great debate, which in part 
refl ects issues that divide society. 
For example, two disorders caused particular controversy during the revision 
process. One, known as self-defeating personality disorde r, was ultimately removed from 
the appendix, where it had appeared in the previous revision. The term self-defeating 
personality disorder had been applied to cases in which people who were treated 
unpleasantly or demeaningly in relationships neither left nor took other action. It 
was typically used to describe people who remained in abusive relationships. 
Although some clinicians argued that it was a valid category they observed in 
clinical practice, the disorder lacked enough research evidence to support its designation 
Study Alert
It is important to understand 
that the 
DSM
is a living doc-
ument that presents a 
view of disorders that re-
fl ects the culture and his-
torical context of its authors.
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FIGURE 2 
According to a global survey conducted by the World Health Organization, the 
prevalence of psychological disorders is widespread. These fi gures show the prevalence of any 
psychological disorder within the last 12 months. 
(Source: The WHO World Mental Health Survey 
Consortium, 2004, Table 3.)
10
0
20
5
15
25
30