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Essay Instructions: Mental Disorder

In April 2007, Cho Seung-Hui went on a shooting spree and killed 33 people at the Virginia Tech Campus. He later mailed a video to NBC News where he presented himself as a persecuted martyr in a rambling and paranoid multimedia message.

In December 2005, a Virginia judge had considered Cho as an imminent danger to himself and the judge found Cho to be mentally ill.

Using South University Online Library or the Internet, research and read more about the above-mentioned case as well as other similar cases. Based on your understanding, answer the following:

?How often are mentally ill patients involved in serious crimes?

?Is there statistical data showing a correlation between mental illness and criminal behavior?

?Give an example of another mentally ill person involved in serious crime. Discuss the details of his or her crime.

?Can Cho Seung-Hui's act and the act of the person in the chosen example be attributed to mental illness? Why? Explain and provide a rationale for your answer.

?What preventions can be taken to ensure that people like Cho Seung-Hui, who have already been considered mentally ill, do not commit such crimes?

Essay Instructions: Mental Disorders

Part 1) Provide a working definition of abnormality.

What are some ways you decide if a person is abnormal? What is the difference between someone who is a little eccentric, and someone who actually needs help? What is the boundaries of when a person has a mental disorder.

Part 2) Brief "case study" scenario:

Jamie is a "street preacher" who spends most of his time on street corners sharing his religion with passersby. Jamie says that God speaks to him regularly and tells him each day what he should do and say (this is where his sermons come from). When asked, Jamie explains that he not only hears the voice of God, but has also seen Jesus and angels directly, A concerned volunteer at a local homeless shelter attempted to talk to Jamie about coming in to get some help finding work and to get cleaned up (Jamie's personal hygiene has been suffering), but he dismissed her as "an agent of the devil" and became aggressive when she continued to insist that he come with her.

Essay Instructions: The student (Bach. of Social Science) will write a 3000 word essay on a specific mental disorder. The essay will include diagnostic criteria (40%), research regarding its definition, research and treatment outcome (40%), and ethical issues regarding its definition, research and treatment (20%). For example, one might choose obsessive-compulsive disorder and define it through listing DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria or from a biological perspective. Relevant references that discussed studies of treatment methods and outcome would be individually reviewed and synthesised, and ethical concerns that might arise during assessment, diagnosis and treatment would be discussed. The order of the presentation of the material can be varied as long as all aspects of the assignment are covered.

Assignment 2 Topics
Please choose from the list below in selecting an essay topic fort Assignment 2. All disorders or categories can be found on the internet by Googling DSM-IV-TR and the specific disorder of interest. Your text also includes specific diagnostic criteria for many disorders. Please refer to the scientific literature to find alternative diagnostic criteria and info on treatment. Note that some topics are huge so please narrow your focus by considering how the condition presents at different ages (children, adults or older adults) and how treatments might attend to either biological, cognitive or behavioural features. For example, you might write about the diagnosis and behavioural treatment of phobias in children as opposed to all anxiety disorders in people of all ages with all treatment methods. You can also access proposed changes to diagnostic criteria that are part of DSM-V if you wish. Again, they are all available online. Be sure to cite all your online and literature sources carefully and include refernces to true research in your papers.

Topic List

Dysthymic Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder
One of the Bipolar Disorders
One of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (you could choose to talk about what they look like in adulthood)
One of the Substance-related Disorders
One of the Schizophrenic or Psychotic Disorders
One of the Somatoform Disorders
One of the Personality Disorders

Hi Jonathancelansmith. Feel free to pick any one of the disorders listed for this essay to write about. I will leave it up to your discretion. Also, I'm not sure how much referencing will be reqired to complete this essay so I will also leave that up to your professional judgment. Many thanks Valda.
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Essay Instructions: RESEARCH PAPER INSTRUCTIONS
Research a specific mental disorder within the realm of Abnormal Psychology. The topic must be one which is discussed in the Comer text and described in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The length of the body of the paper must be at least 7 pages, and must not exceed 10 pages of summarized research findings in current APA format. In addition to this, include a current APA-style title page, abstract, and references; these do not count toward the minimum number of pages required. The paper must be organized with sub-headings reflecting the required sections (I?IX).
The research paper will address the following aspects, organized in this order:
* Title Page: APA-style
* Abstract: APA-style
I. Introduction: Introduce and describe the topic. Discuss the DSM classification for the disorder, including a discussion of the specific criteria as described in the DSM (1/2 page).
II. Historical: The disorder in its historical context (1 page).
III. Cause of the Illness: Current research as to the cause of the illness (1 page).
IV. Treatment: Various treatment approaches for this disorder, including the benefits of the treatment (1 page).
V. Prevention: Research as to the prevention of the illness (1 page).
VI. Cross Cultural: Cross-cultural issues pertaining to the topic (1 page).
VII. Biblical Worldview: Discuss the topic from a Christian worldview perspective, including disorder?s cause, treatment, and prevention. Utilize the Bible and a book or journal source written from a biblical/theological perspective on the topic (1 page).
VIII. Conclusion: Include a closing summary of the research, including ideas for future research on the topic (1/2 page).
IX. References: APA-style
* Organize paper according to directions. Include current APA-style Level 1 sub-titles.
* Use the references you found for your References Assignment.
* The use of 3RD person point of view is expected for this type of scholarly research assignment.
* Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation is expected in writing at this level.
* Include not more than ? page of directly quoted material. Directly quoted material in excess of ? page would not count towards length/content requirements of the paper.
* Current APA formatting is required.