Psychology
Unit 4, Outcome 2: Mental health, mental illness, biopsychosocial framework
E ngage
E ducation
Foundation
Mental health: key concepts
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Normality: Patterns of thoughts, feelings or behaviours that conform to a recognised or expected
standard. Normality is determined by sociocultural, functional, historical, situational, medical and statistical
approaches.
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Mental health: state of wellbeing in which an individual is able to interact with others and the
environment to promote subjective wellbeing, cope with normal stresses of life, optimally develop through
their lifespan and effectively use their cognitive, emotional and social abilities.
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Mental illness: psychological or behavioural patterns that are associated with dysfunction that usually
involves impairment in the ability to cope with everyday life, distress, and thoughts, feelings and behaviours
that are atypical of the person.
Biopsychosocial framework (3 factors that act individually and interact)
o Biological factors: physiological & genetically determined eg hormones.
o Social factors: interactions with others, culture, life events and environmental factors.
o Psychological factors: mental processes eg. coping skills.
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Classification of mental disorders
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Categorical approach: Organises mental disorders into categories & subcategories based on
symptoms and characteristics typical of the condition. Eg. DSM- IV & ICD-10
o Advantages: conveniently conveys information via diagnostic labels, user friendly guidelines &
enhances communication among mental health professionals through use of a common language.
o Disadvantages: does not consider severity, possible stigma, high degree of overlap between
symptoms & substantial loss of valuable clinical information.
Dimensional approach: Quantifies symptoms and characteristics of an individual and represents them
with numerical values on one or more scales or continuums, rather than assigning them to a mental
disorder category.
o Advantages: addresses a wider range of symptoms & characteristics, reduces stigma and
quantifies severity of an individual’s condition.
o Disadvantages: lack of standardised criterion & disagreement about what dimensions to consider.
Application of the biopsychosocial framework in understanding stress – introduction to concept
of stress and biological factors.
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Stress: State of physiological and psychological arousal produced by internal or external stressors that
are perceived by the individual as being challenging or exceeding their ability or resources to cope.
Eustress & Distress
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Eustress is a positive psychological response to a stressor where distress is a negative response.
Biological factors
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Flight-fight response: involuntary reaction resulting in a state of physiological readiness to deal with a
threat by either confronting it (fight) or running away to safety (flight). Triggered by the sympathetic nervous
system, involves the HPA axis leading to responses such as increased heart rate, pupil dilation etc.
General adaptation syndrome: 3 stage physiological response devised by Hans Selye including alarm
reaction (initial awareness of stressor), resistance (body’s resistance rises to deal with stressor) &
exhaustion (prolonged exposure to unresolved stressor resulting in the body’s resources depletion).
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Allostasis: stability through change brought about by the brain’s regulation of the body’s response to
stress.
o Note that although it is initiated by the brain and involves physiological arousal (biological),
allostasis integrates biological, psychological and social factors
Application of the biopsychosocial framework in understanding stress – psychological factors
The ways in which stressors are perceived are subjective and hence the impact differs from person to person.
Impact is influenced by things such as a person’s emotions, mental abilities, prior experiences, attitudes and
outlook on life, level of self-esteem etc.
Lazarus & Folkman’s transactional model of stress & coping: proposes that stress involves an initial
encounter (transaction) between an individual and their external environment and that the stress response depends
upon the individual’s interpretation (appraisal) of the stressor and their ability to cope with it. It involves primary
appraisal, secondary appraisal, problem- based coping and emotional- based coping.
Strategies for coping with stress:
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Biofeedback: enables an individual to receive information (feedback) about the state of their bodily
processes and with appropriate training learn to control the physiological responses using thought
processes.
Mediation: Intention to bring a deeply relaxed state.
Relaxation: Engaging in an activity that reduces psychological and/or physiological tension.
Physical exercise helps to promote psychological wellbeing, divert attention, use up stress hormones and
reduce muscular tension.
Social support including tangible, appraisal, emotional & information support.
Application of the biopsychosocial framework in understanding stress: social factors
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Social factors such as relationships, social interactions and social readjustments that follow from
significant life changes such as a death, divorce & dismissal from work can exacerbate the stress
response.
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Environmental factors such as crowding, loud noises, pollution, extreme climate changes and
catastrophes such as natural and technological disasters can exacerbate the stress response.
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Cultural factors arising from adjusting to a new culture in a foreign country. Examples include language
difficulties, poor socioeconomic status, racial prejudice, separation from family, and requirements to adopt
and practise a new culture.
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