Psychology Degree Abnormal Psychology and DSM 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which DSM-5 disorder is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior?
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (Correct answer)
- Intellectual Disability
- Social Communication Disorder
Correct answer: Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined by deficits in social communication/interaction and restricted, repetitive behaviors, collapsing previous DSM-IV categories (Asperger's, PDD-NOS) into one spectrum.
Question 2: A client reports recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and persistent worry about future attacks for over a month. The most appropriate DSM-5 diagnosis is:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Specific Phobia
- Panic Disorder (Correct answer)
- Agoraphobia
Correct answer: Panic Disorder
Panic Disorder requires recurrent unexpected panic attacks plus at least one month of anticipatory anxiety or maladaptive behavioral change related to the attacks.
Question 3: In the diathesis-stress model, 'diathesis' refers to:
- An environmental stressor that triggers a disorder
- A biological or psychological predisposition to a disorder (Correct answer)
- The severity of symptoms at onset
- The genetic heritability of a condition
Correct answer: A biological or psychological predisposition to a disorder
Diathesis is a pre-existing vulnerability (genetic, biological, or psychological) that, combined with environmental stress, can lead to the development of a disorder.
Question 4: Which of the following is a negative symptom of Schizophrenia?
- Auditory hallucinations
- Grandiose delusions
- Flat affect (Correct answer)
- Disorganized speech
Correct answer: Flat affect
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia reflect a diminution of normal functioning, including flat affect, alogia, avolition, anhedonia, and asociality.
Question 5: DSM-5 replaced the multiaxial system with a single-axis approach. Which of the following was previously recorded on Axis II?
- Clinical disorders like Major Depression
- Personality disorders and intellectual disability (Correct answer)
- General medical conditions
- Psychosocial stressors
Correct answer: Personality disorders and intellectual disability
In the old DSM-IV multiaxial system, Axis II was reserved for personality disorders and intellectual disability, separating them from clinical syndromes on Axis I.
Question 6: A person who experiences amnesia, identity confusion, and travels to a new location unable to recall their past most likely meets criteria for:
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
- Dissociative Amnesia with Dissociative Fugue specifier (Correct answer)
- Conversion Disorder
Correct answer: Dissociative Amnesia with Dissociative Fugue specifier
Dissociative Amnesia with the dissociative fugue specifier describes purposeful travel or bewildered wandering combined with inability to recall one's past or identity.
Question 7: The 'kindling' hypothesis in abnormal psychology most directly relates to:
- The progressive sensitization of neural circuits leading to recurrent mood episodes (Correct answer)
- The genetic transmission of bipolar disorder across generations
- The role of childhood trauma in later PTSD
- How antidepressants gradually build therapeutic effect
Correct answer: The progressive sensitization of neural circuits leading to recurrent mood episodes
The kindling model proposes that repeated subthreshold stressors progressively sensitize neural circuits so that later mood episodes can be triggered by minimal or no external stress.
Psychology Degree Abnormal Psychology and DSM 2
Which DSM-5 disorder is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior?