Name That Disorder: Exposure to Mental Health Conditions and Their Impact on Disorder Identification

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

20-4-2015 2:00 PM

End Date

20-4-2015 3:30 PM

Student's Major

Psychology

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Daniel Houlihan

Mentor's Email Address

daniel.houlihan@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Psychology

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Second Mentor's Name

Melissa Lenz

Second Mentor's Department

Psychology

Second Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

Stigma about mental health conditions decreases treatment seeking. By better understanding stigma, researchers hope to reduce this as a barrier. This study looked at individual interactions with mental health conditions and how this impacted their understanding of four specific disorders. Participants read one of five vignettes depicting an individual with depression, a manic episode, generalized anxiety disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, or weight gain. They then responded to a questionnaire about symptoms likely to be present, social distancing, and their own experiences with mental health issues. Findings showed participants were confident identifying depression at 93% accuracy. Mania and schizophrenia proved more difficult. For the paranoid schizophrenia vignette, there was not a common error; many different disorders were speculated. Additionally, participants were eager to diagnose the individual in the weight gain vignette with a psychological disorder, such as depression. For the manic episode vignette, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was more commonly suggested than mania/bipolar itself. Chi Square Test showed there was a significant difference (p<0.01) for participants having exposure to ADHD in their lives and responding with the incorrect diagnosis for mania.

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Apr 20th, 2:00 PM Apr 20th, 3:30 PM

Name That Disorder: Exposure to Mental Health Conditions and Their Impact on Disorder Identification

CSU Ballroom

Stigma about mental health conditions decreases treatment seeking. By better understanding stigma, researchers hope to reduce this as a barrier. This study looked at individual interactions with mental health conditions and how this impacted their understanding of four specific disorders. Participants read one of five vignettes depicting an individual with depression, a manic episode, generalized anxiety disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, or weight gain. They then responded to a questionnaire about symptoms likely to be present, social distancing, and their own experiences with mental health issues. Findings showed participants were confident identifying depression at 93% accuracy. Mania and schizophrenia proved more difficult. For the paranoid schizophrenia vignette, there was not a common error; many different disorders were speculated. Additionally, participants were eager to diagnose the individual in the weight gain vignette with a psychological disorder, such as depression. For the manic episode vignette, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was more commonly suggested than mania/bipolar itself. Chi Square Test showed there was a significant difference (p<0.01) for participants having exposure to ADHD in their lives and responding with the incorrect diagnosis for mania.

Recommended Citation

Mattick, Rachel. "Name That Disorder: Exposure to Mental Health Conditions and Their Impact on Disorder Identification." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 20, 2015.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2015/poster_session_B/38