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Victoria is upset as she finds it hard to leave the house as she is scared of birds - AQA - A-Level Psychology - Question 2 - 2019 - Paper 2
Question 2
Victoria is upset as she finds it hard to leave the house as she is scared of birds. Whenever she leaves the house she is highly anxious in case a bird is nearby, an... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Victoria is upset as she finds it hard to leave the house as she is scared of birds - AQA - A-Level Psychology - Question 2 - 2019 - Paper 2
Step 1
a) Describe how distress and danger could be used to diagnose Victoria as having a mental health disorder.
Answer
To diagnose Victoria with a mental health disorder, the concepts of distress and danger can be examined. Victoria's distress stems from her inability to leave the house due to her anxiety about encountering birds, indicating significant emotional suffering. Her fear directly affects her daily life, leading her to feel upset about not being able to provide for her children. Moreover, the danger aspect is highlighted by her behavior of running across the road without looking for cars, which could put her at risk of an accident. This combination of distress and dangerous behavior may qualify her condition as a mental health disorder.
Step 2
b) Explain one weakness of using danger to diagnose mental health disorders.
Answer
One weakness of using danger to diagnose mental health disorders is that behaviors deemed dangerous can vary widely from person to person. For instance, activities like car racing might be considered dangerous by some, while others might not see them as problematic. This subjectivity means that the assessment relies heavily on the psychiatrist's perspective of what constitutes dangerous behavior, leading to potential inconsistencies in diagnosis.