| What is faliure to function adequatley? | Occurs when someone is unable to cope with ordinary demands of day to day living. Can't cope with everyday life or live independently in society. Acknowledges that people will behave differently but if they can't manage basic habits its considered abnormal. |
| What does the FFA defintion say abotu distress? | Due to their faliure to cope this can cause personal suffering and distress. They may cause distress and discomfort to other people who observe their behaviour |
| What are the 5 outlines of FFA? | Unpredictability, maladaptive behaviour, personal distress, irrationality, observer discomfort |
| What is unpredictability? | Loss of control - no one knows that you'll do next, not even you. Implusive and uncontrollable behaviour |
| What is maladaptive behaviour? | You are at risk of harm/danger to yourself and/or others and going against accepted standards |
| What is personal distress? | Experiencing severe suffering and excessive emotional responses eg: distress or anxiety |
| What is irrationality? | Incomprehensibility - no one understands you; you don't even understand yourself. Unreasonable thinking and behaviour |
| What is observer discomfort? | You upset (casue distress) or frighten others with your behaviour and leave them feeling uncomfortable. |
| What is the GAF and what is it for? | Global Assessment of Functioning scale
A questionnaire which measures a person's symptoms affect their day-to-day life on a scale of 0-10.
Low score indicated FFA |
| What are the 4 different categories for FFA (number scores) | 90-81: good functioning in all areas of life
50-41: Serious symtpoms, impairmnet in everday life
30-21: behaviour influenced by delusions, communication impaired
10-0: persistent danger of severely huring themselves or others, inability to take care of themselves |
| What is the WHODAS? | Another way to measure FFA: World health organisation disability assessment scaled. Rate each item 1-5, overall score of 180, quantative measurement |
| What are the 6 areas of WHODAS? | 1. Understanding and communicating
2. Getting around
3. Self-care
4. Getting along with people
5. Life activites
6. Participation in society |
| A strength of FFA? | Consideratio of how the individual feels, the defition is focused on the individual and how they are managing in thier everyday life from their perspective. So if someone feels are though they are stuggling they will be deemed abnormal and get help |
| A strength of FFA? | GAF and WHODAS are scales that allow for the exent of the failure to function to be measured. This means that the decision of whether a behaviour is abnormla or not can be made in a relatively objective way |
| A strength of FFA? | FFA can be seen by other around the individual because they may not be able to hold down a job. This menas that problmes can be picked up by others and if the individual is incapble of making a decision or helping themselves others can intervene |
| A weakness of FFA? | Too much focus on the individual, it can be aruged that abnormal behaviours may not be a problem for the individual, but it may be for others around them. Eg: someone may be abnormally aggressive and not be worried by it, but their family and friends
Someone may have the same score on the GAF but there will be differences in their abilities |
| A weakness of FFA? | Abnormality does not always stop the person functioning, the focus on how someone is coping of this defintion may mena that some abnormal behaviour is missed.
People may appear fine to others as they fit in, but they may have distorted thinking which is causing them innter distress that they hide |
