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1.1: Why It Matters- Understanding Mental Disorders

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    Why learn about abnormal psychology?

    Homeless man wearing a blanket with barefeet walking on a cold street, with others walking around in heavy coats.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Mental illnesses are common in the United States. Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (51.5 million in 2019), of which there were an estimated 13.1 million adults, or 5.2% of the population aged 18 or older with a serious mental illness. A 2015 study showed that 45% of the American homeless had some form of mental illness, and 25% had a more serious mental illness at some point during their lives.

    Welcome to the study of abnormal psychology, sometimes referred to as psychopathology, clinical psychology, or the study of mental illness. In this module, we will define what psychological disorders are, how they are diagnosed and classified, and how assessments are used to identify them. There are many myths surrounding mental illness, so let’s begin by addressing a few of them.

    Mental Health Myths

    Myth: Mental health problems don’t affect me.

    Fact: Mental health problems are actually very common. In 2020:

    • Over one in five American adults experienced a mental health issue.
    • Nearly one in 10 adults experienced a period of major depression and 17.0% of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17.
    • One in 25 Americans lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.

    Suicide is consistently considered to be about the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It accounts for the loss of more than 45,000 American lives each year, more than double the number of lives lost to homicide. Learn more about mental health problems at mentalhealth.gov.

    Myth: Children do not experience mental health problems.

    Fact: Even very young children may show early warning signs of mental health concerns. These mental health problems are often clinically diagnosable, and can be a product of the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors.

    Half of all mental health disorders show first signs before a person turns 14 years old, and three-quarters of mental health disorders begin before age 24.

    Unfortunately, less than 20% of children and adolescents with diagnosable mental health problems receive the treatment they need. Early mental health support can help a child before problems interfere with other developmental needs.

    Myth: People with mental health problems are violent and unpredictable.

    Fact: The vast majority of people with mental health problems are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. Most people with mental illness are not violent and only three to 5% of violent acts can be attributed to individuals living with a serious mental illness. In fact, people with severe mental illnesses are over 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crime than the general population. You probably know someone with a mental health problem and don’t even realize it because many people with mental health problems are highly active and productive members of our communities.

    Myth: Prevention doesn’t work. It is impossible to prevent mental illnesses.

    Fact: Prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders focuses on addressing known risk factors such as exposure to trauma that can affect the chances that children, youth, and young adults will develop mental health problems. Promoting the social-emotional well-being of children and youth leads to the following:

    • higher overall productivity
    • better educational outcomes
    • lower crime rates
    • stronger economies
    • lower health care costs
    • improved quality of life
    • increased lifespan
    • improved family life

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