PSY313H5 : mental health- summary
Document Summary
Factors that combine to produce a mental illness: biological factors: genetic defects, brain damage, psychosocial factors: are also important in producing behaviour- especially to vulnerable people- ex. The loss of a loved one, economic status: diagnostic issues, unsure of whether mental illness increases/decreases with age- why, because one"s knowledge of age can affect the diagnosis- ex. Mental confusion in young people may be seen as schizophrenia, in older people it may be seen as alzheimers: same set of symptoms may have different meanings depending on different ages, The type of psychological test that is used to diagnose mental ilness may not be suitable for older people: age differences influence types of r isk factor: ex. Sensory defect, bereavement- tend to be more frequent with older age group therefore it may be inflated because there is a higher rate of physical/social stress- rather than age.
