Failure to function adequately

Question 1

failure to function adequately

Answer 1

when someone is unable to cope with day to day life e.g. having a job, forming relationships etc.. as they are experiencing psychological distress + discomfort
= impacts their personal, social + occupational life

Question 2

what do psychs use to assess rate of functioning?

Answer 2

• Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF)
• 7 criteria: (SUMOVIV)
• suffering
• unpredictability + loss of control
• maladaptiveness
• observer discomfort
• vividness + unconventionality
• irrationality + incomprehensibility
• violation of moral + ideal standards

Question 3

suffering - GAF scale

Answer 3

when a person might be psychologically or physically suffering because they have a psychological abnormality that is having a negative effect on them

Question 4

unpredictability + loss of control - GAF scale

Answer 4

when behaviour is very variable, uncontrolled, unpredictable + inappropriate
e. g. mood swings, outbursts
e. g. doesn’t get on w/ people (bad relationships)

Question 5

maladaptiveness - GAF scale

Answer 5

prevents a person from achieving major life goals + enjoying good relationships/jobs due to a lack of relevant knowledge/skills (negative behaviour)

Question 6

observer discomfort - GAF scale

Answer 6

when social norms/expectations are broken w/ behaviour that makes others feel discomfort
e.g. mood swings + outbursts could be dangerous/ threatening

HOWEVER, may reflect different cultural differences/style

Question 7

vividness + unconventionality - GAF scale

Answer 7

when someone behaves differently in various situations from/compared to how most people would –> deliberately standing out, obvious + attracting attention

Question 8

irrationality + incomprehensibility - GAF scale

Answer 8

when it isn’t clear why anyone would choose to behave in the way they do –> behaviour can’t be explained in a logical way
HOWEVER we may simply not know the reasons

Question 9

violation of moral + ideal standards - GAF scale

Answer 9

behaviour violates established moral standards/ ethical + ideal standards
HOWEVER may be out of date

Question 10

ad of failure to function adequately

Answer 10

• using the GAF scale means that psychs can accurately assess the degree of abnormality + how well the patient is/ isn’t coping w/ their daily life
• if the patient isn’t coping well in their social/ occupation life
  = could conclude that the patient is not functioning adequately = abnormal

Question 11

disads of failure to function adequately

Answer 11

• inaccurate
• subjective

Question 12

inaccurate - disads of failure to function adequately

Answer 12

• abnormality is not always accompanied by dysfunction
• some ppl have a psychological abnormality but appear to lead a normal life + don’t possess any of the 7 criteria
• on the other hand, some people might appear to not be functioning adequately at all = but just having a bad day
  = this definition may be inaccurate

Question 13

subjective - disads of failure to function adequately

Answer 13

• problematic to use 7 criteria = difficult to measure + analyse
• e.g. how do we really judge if someone is suffering or not?
• e.g. how much suffering should they be experiencing?
• model is very subjective + lacks scientific + objective
  = psychs need to be cautious when using
• also moments where the criteria should be adhered to otherwise it’s abnormal
  e.g. when a relative has passed away, acceptable to show signs of suffering rather than to not