Statistical Definitions-The Same standards or norms are not relevant to all social groups/ ages/cultures for example in terms of anxiety. Children have more irrational fears than adults.
Deviation from social norms
Social norms are behaviours that are desirable for both the individual and society as a whole.
Deviance from social norms is both undesirable and abnormal. Most mentally Ill people do behave in a socially deviant way but this doesn’t mean that you can base clinical abnormality on this theory alone.
Problems
Moral standards-social norms change over time and basing mental illness on deviation from social norms is dangerous.
Context-for example, wearing few items of clothing on the beach is acceptable, on the high street it is not.
Sub Cultures-for example in the Mormon religion it is acceptable to have several wives. In England that is a crime called bigamy
Good/Bad-in some certain circumstances being socially deviant is a good thing for example in Nazi Germany people who were opposed to Nazism were socially deviant.
Failure to Function adequately
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989) suggested seven features of abnormality. Each of which on their own may not be sufficient to cause problem, but when several are present then they are symptomatic of abnormality.
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Suffering- most abnormal individuals report that they are suffering.
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Maladaptiveness- behaviour that prevents an individual from achieving major life goals such as enjoying good relationships.
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Vividness and unconventionality of behaviour- behaviour that is relatively unusual. However this is true of non-conformists
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Unpredictability and loss of control-Most abnormal people behave in a variable, uncontrolled and inappropriate way.
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Irrationality and incomprehensibility- behaviour with is unclear to know why somebody behaves in this way.
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Observer discomfort- Our social behaviour is governed by unspoken rules on behaviour, for example maintaining reasonable eye contact with someone.
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Violation of moral and ideal standards- behaviour may be judged to be abnormal if it violates moral standards.
Problems
Awareness-not all people who experience mental disorders are aware of their failure to function
Value judgement-what degree of impairment is abnormal? Who decided where the line is?
Deviation from Ideal mental health
Jahoda put forward 6 characteristics for ideal mental health
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Self attitudes- high self esteem and a strong sense of identity
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Personal growth-the extent of an individuals growth, development or self actualisation
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Integration-This is the extent to which the above two concepts are integrated. Can be assessed as the ability to cope with stressful situations
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Autonomy-the degree to which an individual is independent
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Perception of reality-how the person perceives their surroundings and themselves and how true this is.
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Environmental mastery-The extent to which an individual is successful and well adapted. This includes the ability to love, work and play.
Problems
Collectivistic cultures-cultures which emphasise the greater good of the community rather than focusing on individual achievement would not find the first three characteristics relevant.
Difficult-most people would have difficulty fitting all these criteria at most times in their lives.
Cultural relativism
A limitation to all ways of defining abnormality is that no definition is relevant to all cultures.
Also cultures definitions change over time. For example Homosexuality was considered to be a mental disease till the 80’s
