Deck 9: Mental Disorder

Question 1

Psychosis refers to a cluster of symptoms primarily involving which of the following?

A) A lack of emotional attachment to, and concern for, other people
B) Unusual motor activity
C) Impaired reality testing
D) Fluctuating moods
E) All of the above

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT an example of hallucinations?

A) You feel like thousands of spiders are crawling all over your body.
B) You see an enormous giant picking up a car.
C) You are convinced your neighbour is using x-ray vision to monitor your movements.
D) You smell a floral aroma despite the absence of flowers or perfume.
E) The television is broadcasting secret messages to you that no one else can hear.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is a common criticism of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)?

A) It rates psychological conditions on a continuum instead of using diagnostic categories.
B) It is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association.
C) It medicalizes many normal aspects of the human condition.
D) It omits major mental disorders like schizophrenia.
E) It has not been revised or updated for several decades.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Word salad and bizarre behaviour are both examples of which of the following?

A) Positive symptoms
B) Neutral symptoms
C) Negative symptoms
D) Fluctuating symptoms
E) Disorganized symptoms

Question 5

In addition to profound sadness, what is the core symptom of a major depression?

A) Avolition
B) Alogia
C) Mania
D) Anhedonia
E) Flattened affect

Question 6

For a person diagnosed with bipolar disorder, what might he or she experience during a manic episode?

A) Pressured speech
B) Euphoria
C) Impulsivity
D) Distorted thinking
E) All of the above

Question 7

What is the main diagnostic distinction among schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and brief psychotic disorder?

A) The age of onset of the symptoms
B) The severity of the symptoms
C) The length of time the symptoms persist
D) The number of symptoms that are present
E) Whether or not it is characterized by the presence of psychosis

Question 8

In general, studies of inmates find that which of the following major mental disorders is the most common?

A) Depression
B) Delusional disorder
C) Bipolar disorder
D) Schizophrenia
E) Personality disorder

Question 9

What does research suggest about the level of major mental disorder among North American inmates (in comparison to the general public)?

A) It is higher for depression, but lower for schizophrenia and mania.
B) It is higher for schizophrenia and mania, but lower for depression.
C) It is higher for schizophrenia, but lower for depression and mania.
D) It is higher for mania, but lower for depression and schizophrenia.
E) It is higher for mania, depression, and schizophrenia.

Question 10

What is the primary methodological advantage of investigating the link between mental disorder and crime in total birth cohorts?

A) These studies tend to be conducted in Scandinavian countries.
B) These studies avoid the problem of biased samples.
C) These studies ensure the mental disorder is not influenced by historical events.
D) These studies use official records for information about criminal behaviour.
E) These studies eliminate prenatal complications as a possible third variable.

Question 11

Swanson and colleagues' (1990) study of the link between mental disorder and violent behaviour using data from the Epidemiological Catchment Area found violence rates were highest for people diagnosed with which of the following?

A) Bipolar disorder
B) No mental disorder
C) Depression
D) Drug and alcohol abuse/dependence
E) Schizophrenia

Question 12

Which of the following statements accurately describes the extent to which people with mental disorders are involved in criminal offending?

A) The majority of non-violent crime in society is committed by individuals with a mental disorder.
B) The majority of the violent crime in society is committed by individuals with a mental disorder.
C) The majority of non-violent and violent crime in society is committed by individuals with a mental disorder.
D) The majority of individuals with a mental disorder engage in criminal violence.
E) People with mental disorders are no more likely to offend, but are more likely to be arrested, convicted, and imprisoned than others who engage in similar behaviour.

Question 13

What is the transfer of psychiatric patients out of large-scale institutions and into community-based care known as?

A) Psychiatric exporting
B) Institutional depopulation
C) Deinstitutionalization
D) Psychiatric down-sizing
E) Patient displacement

Question 14

What does the criminalization of mental disorder suggest about the link between mental disorder and crime?

A) It is due to the presence of specific symptoms of mental disorder which raise the risk of criminal behaviour.
B) It is the result of interpersonal distress and conflict between a person exhibiting symptoms of psychosis and other people who are not suffering from a mental disorder.
C) It is due to the stress of being in the criminal justice system and imprisoned, which increases the risk of people developing a mental disorder.
D) It is an artifact of the fact people with mental disorder are more likely to be caught, arrested, and prosecuted than people without a mental disorder.
E) All of the above

Question 15

The study by Teplin (1984) examining the exercise of police discretion found members of the public presenting signs of mental disorder were more likely to be ________ than those without symptoms of mental disorder.

A) investigated
B) arrested
C) charged
D) released
E) convicted

Question 16

Which of the following is one explanation advanced by Teplin (1984) for the results of her study examining the exercise of police discretion in relation to members of the public with and without a mental disorder?

A) The signs of mental disorder are often misinterpreted as belligerence and uncooperativeness.
B) People manifesting a mental disorder were less likely to retain a lawyer.
C) The signs of mental disorder were seen as an indication the person was dangerous.
D) People manifesting a mental disorder usually claimed the "insanity defence."
E) People manifesting a mental disorder were usually intoxicated.

Question 17

Differences in how police exercise their discretion and manage people with and without a mental disorder appear to be greatest in relation to which of the following?

A) Sexual offences
B) Homicide
C) Minor offences
D) Robbery
E) Both A and C

Question 18

Research showing that offenders with a mental disorder are more likely than those without a disorder to commit crimes in the presence of witnesses, remain at the scene of the crime, and turn themselves into police, is evidence generally supportive of which of the following?

A) The principle of rationality-within-irrationality
B) Symptom-consistent behaviour
C) Belief maintenance
D) The criminalization of mental disorder
E) Hiday's theory of "tense situations"

Question 19

The actions of someone with erotomania who repeatedly communicates with and approaches another person as part of a romantic relationship he delusionally believes they have together demonstrates which of the following?

A) Persecutory delusions
B) Symptom-consistent behaviour
C) Belief maintenance
D) Delusional distress
E) Criminal intentions

Question 20

Research by Douglas et al. (2009) suggests that the relationship between psychosis and violence is strongest for which of the following?

A) Positive psychotic symptoms
B) Disorganized psychotic symptoms
C) Neutral psychotic symptoms
D) Fluctuating psychotic symptoms
E) Negative psychotic symptoms

Question 21

It is speculated that which group of psychotic symptoms can have a destabilizing effect on decision-making processes that increase the chances of impulsive criminal conduct, and, in extreme cases, impact normal thinking and behaviour so severely that the likelihood of criminal behaviour is actually reduced?

A) Positive psychotic symptoms
B) Disorganized psychotic symptoms
C) Neutral psychotic symptoms
D) Fluctuating psychotic symptoms
E) Negative psychotic symptoms

Question 22

What are the actions of someone who spends a lot of time looking for evidence to confirm his or her delusion referred to as?

A) Delusional distress
B) Belief maintenance
C) Confirmatory bias
D) Symptom-consistent behaviour
E) Delusional drive

Question 23

The likelihood of someone obeying an auditory command hallucination appears to be influenced by which of the following?

A) Whether the voice is recognized or trusted
B) The seriousness of the act being commanded
C) Beliefs about the consequences of obeying or disobeying the command
D) The pressure or persistence of the voice
E) All of the above

Question 24

What is the feeling that one's mind is being dominated by forces beyond one's control an example of?

A) Control-override psychotic symptom
B) Persecutory delusion
C) Threat-related psychotic symptom
D) Command hallucination
E) Both B and C

Question 25

Which of the following statements best characterizes what is currently known about people with a mental disorder who also engage in alcohol and substance use?

A) They are much more likely to offend because the effect of alcohol and substance use is to make existing symptoms more severe.
B) They are much more likely to offend, but the precise reason(s) why remain(s) uncertain at present.
C) Alcohol and substance use has not been shown to significantly raise or lower their risk of offending.
D) They are much less likely to offend because alcohol and substance use is a form of "self-medication" that helps to calm them.
E) They are much less likely to offend, but the precise reason(s) why remain(s) uncertain at the present time.

Question 26

Which of the following social situation factors appears to raise the risk that someone with a mental disorder will act violently?

A) Being the victim of violence
B) Having social networks dominated by antisocial peers
C) Living in an impoverished, crime-ridden neighbourhood
D) Having social networks dominated by unfriendly and coercive relationships
E) All of the above

Question 27

When people suffering from a mental disorder are described as having "insight" it generally means they can do which of the following?

A) Appreciate that they have a mental disorder and need treatment
B) Understand the difference between what is legal and illegal
C) Believe that they can read the minds of other people
D) Understand the difference between what is real and fantasy
E) Describe their offence cycle to another person

Question 28

Which symptoms does Hiday (1997) believe contribute to tense interpersonal situations that may culminate in violence?

A) Control-override psychotic symptoms
B) Bizarre and unusual psychotic symptoms
C) Threat-related psychotic symptoms
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

Question 29

In Hiday's (1997) model, she identifies two other notable disorders which are not major mental disorders, but are conditions she believes can lead directly to violent behaviour. What are these other two mental disorders?

A) Post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse
B) Antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder
C) Post-traumatic stress disorder and antisocial personality disorder
D) Antisocial personality disorder and substance abuse
E) Narcissistic personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder

Question 30

A disorder described as co-morbid is which of the following?

A) Present with another mental disorder or condition
B) Likely to cause the death of the person with the disorder
C) One that is exhibited by multiple members of the same family
D) Known to increase a person's risk of inflicting violence and death on others
E) One that is likely to result in one's death

Question 31

Identify the three main groups of psychotic symptoms and explain which one of these groups exhibits the strongest relationship to violent behaviour.

Question 32

Studies generally report higher levels of the major mental disorders among inmates than among members of the general population. These findings may indicate mental disorder contributes to offending, but other explanations are also possible. Describe two alternative explanations for these results.

Question 33

Based on the research discussed in the text, identify two reasons why police may be more likely to arrest someone with a mental disorder than someone without a mental disorder who engages in the same behaviour.

Question 34

Describe two factors that appear to influence compliance with command hallucinations.

Question 35

Describe threat and control-override symptoms and explain why the presence of these symptoms increases the risk of violent behaviour.

Question 36

Compliance with medications can be a challenge with some people experiencing mental disorder. Identify two reasons why a person may not take their medications.

Question 37

Research shows that being the victim of violence increases the likelihood someone with a mental disorder will engage in violent behaviour in the future. Discuss two reasons why.

Question 38

Explain how the criminalization of mental disorder accounts for the empirical relationship found between mental disorder and crime, and discuss research findings from the text that support this theory. Next, discuss evidence that casts doubt on this theory or at least suggests it is not a complete explanation for the link found between mental disorder and offending.

Question 39

Based on Hiday's (1997) model, explain the three pathways along which different symptoms of mental disorder may lead to violence. Your answer must explain all relevant terms, including descriptions of the symptoms implicated in these pathways.