Psychology Degree Abnormal Psychology and DSM 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to DSM-5, Borderline Personality Disorder is best characterized by:
- Grandiosity, lack of empathy, and need for admiration
- Pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others
- Instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects with impulsivity (Correct answer)
- Odd beliefs and magical thinking with social detachment
Correct answer: Instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects with impulsivity
BPD is defined by a pervasive pattern of instability in relationships, self-image, and emotions, along with marked impulsivity, beginning in early adulthood.
Question 2: Which specifier was added to Major Depressive Disorder in DSM-5 to describe grief-like depression after a loved one's death?
- With peripartum onset
- With melancholic features
- With anxious distress (Correct answer)
- With mixed features
Correct answer: With anxious distress
DSM-5 removed the bereavement exclusion from MDD, acknowledging that grief can trigger clinical depression; 'with anxious distress' is a new specifier but the bereavement change itself was the major structural shift.
Question 3: A patient experiences episodes of uncontrollable laughter or crying that are inconsistent with their emotional state. This is most characteristic of:
- Bipolar I Disorder
- Pseudobulbar Affect (Correct answer)
- Histrionic Personality Disorder
- Cyclothymic Disorder
Correct answer: Pseudobulbar Affect
Pseudobulbar affect (also called emotional lability or involuntary emotional expression disorder) involves episodes of crying or laughing uncontrollably that do not match the person's actual emotional state, often seen after neurological injury.
Question 4: In DSM-5, which condition requires that symptoms were present before age 12?
- Conduct Disorder
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Correct answer)
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Correct answer: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
DSM-5 changed the ADHD age-of-onset criterion from 'before age 7' to 'before age 12,' allowing for broader recognition of late-presenting cases.
Question 5: The 'revolving door' phenomenon in abnormal psychology refers to:
- The cyclic nature of bipolar mood episodes
- Repeated psychiatric hospitalizations without long-term recovery (Correct answer)
- Relapse following discontinuation of antipsychotic medication
- The comorbidity between substance use and mental illness
Correct answer: Repeated psychiatric hospitalizations without long-term recovery
The revolving door describes the pattern of frequent, brief psychiatric hospitalizations where patients are stabilized and discharged only to decompensate and return, often due to inadequate community support.
Question 6: Which DSM-5 category includes Hoarding Disorder and Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder?
- Anxiety Disorders
- Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
- Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (Correct answer)
- Impulse-Control Disorders
Correct answer: Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
DSM-5 created a new chapter, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, which includes OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hoarding Disorder, Trichotillomania, and Excoriation Disorder.
Question 7: A therapist notices that a client's reported symptoms perfectly match a well-known case study the client recently read about. This raises concern for:
- Malingering
- Factitious Disorder (Correct answer)
- Illness Anxiety Disorder
- Somatic Symptom Disorder
Correct answer: Factitious Disorder
Factitious Disorder involves intentionally producing or feigning symptoms to assume a sick role, without external incentives; awareness of a case study could facilitate symptom fabrication.
Psychology Degree Abnormal Psychology and DSM 3
According to DSM-5, Borderline Personality Disorder is best characterized by: