University PSY2010 Abnormal Psychology Interview Analysis Project

This report presents an analysis of three patient interviews, each focusing on a different psychological disorder: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), paranoid schizophrenia, and Tourette's syndrome. The ADHD patient, a 16-year-old student, exhibits hyperactivity and inattentiveness, diagnosed based on DSM-IV criteria. The interview explores his struggles with school, learning difficulties, and medication. The second patient, diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome, discusses the onset of symptoms, social stigma, types of tics, and the impact on relationships. The final case involves a patient suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, with the interview focusing on the onset of symptoms, hallucinations, and delusions, aligning with DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The report examines the symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and treatment approaches for each disorder, providing insights into the challenges faced by individuals and the importance of effective management strategies.

Running head: INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
PSY2010 ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY WEEK 2 PROJECT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
Introduction
Abnormal psychology refers to the unusual types of emotion, behavior and thought
that might or might not be identified as a precipitating mental disorder. This assignment will
analyze the interview of three patients, suffering from ADHD, paranoid schizophrenia and
Tourette’s syndrome, respectively.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
David, the patient is a 16 year old school student who has been found to be incredibly
hyperactive in his behavior. Some of the presenting complaints were that he was not able to
focus his attention for a considerable period of time and often used to get ostracized by his
classmates for this behavior. Other signs and symptoms were related to regular complaints
from his teachers, difficulty in studying, reports of words jumping around, and problems in
expressing judgment capabilities (Faces of Abnormal Psychology, 2018). The condition was
diagnosed as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) based on few of the DSM-IV
diagnostic criteria such as, (i) inattentive and/or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms, (ii)
impairment at home, school or work, (iii) noteworthy deficiency in academic, social, or
occupational environment, and (iv) excessive talkativeness (van de Glind et al., 2014).
Furthermore, signs of blurting out answers even before the question has been finished were
some other criteria that were used for David’s diagnosis.
Three themes that were considered while interviewing David were namely, coping at
school, trying to learn, and coping with ADHD. In response to whether he liked school,
David first displayed disapproval, but later talked about his interest in attending school due to
the presence of his peers. According to Crump et al. (2013) ADHD most often makes
children miss school and decreases their attendance. On asking if ADHD interferes with his
learning, David stated that he could not read for long and could not sit quietly like his peers,

2INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
thus disrupting the class (Faces of Abnormal Psychology, 2018). He also found the words
bouncing and jumping over the pages that made learning even more difficult. There is
mounting evidence for the negative impacts that ADHD creates on the learning grades in
school and the increasing workload often makes it difficult for the affected students to cope
up with the environment (Taanila et al., 2014). The final question was related to his capability
in controlling the illness, with an increase in age. Hyperactivity and fidgetiness, the two
primary symptoms of ADHD are found to decrease with an increase in age (Döpfner et al.,
2015). David stated that the administration of medications helped in enhancing his health and
with an increase in age, although he tried to control his impulsivity, he failed to do so.
The most commonly prescribed medication for ADHD is Ritalin that principally acts
by acting as a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) and modulates the
dopamine levels in the brain. According to Currie, Stabile and Jones (2014) this drug proves
effective in increasing attention ability, staying focused on tasks, and controlling all types of
behavioral problems. However, some adverse effects are associated with loss of appetite, dry
mouth, and nausea. This calls for the need of behavioral therapy that addresses the
problematic behavior by structuring the time, launching predictability and sequences, and
snowballing positive attention.
Tourette's syndrome
The patient Ben first reported symptoms at the age of three years such as, twitching of
the head and recurrent verbal tic. Further examination also revealed that his brother suffered
from the same condition. The condition was diagnosed by a neurologist. Some of the
common diagnostic criteria for the disorder that confirm the diagnosis in Ben are namely, (1)
presence of repeated motor and verbal tic, (2) appearance of the tic several times in a day, (3)
onset occurring before the age of 18, and (4) consequences that encompass marked distress or
momentous impairment, in relation to social functioning (Cavanna & Seri, 2013). Although

3INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
his brother was also found to manifest similar symptoms, inheritance of the disease is quite
complex (Faces of Abnormal Psychology, 2018). With advancement in age, the symptoms
have also shown a deterioration that can be accredited to the presence of tics in entire body
and verbal tics that comprise of atrocities.
The three themes that were selected for the interview were namely, social stigma,
types of tics, and friends and love life. On asking his feelings about going out to public
places, Ben stated that he often felt embarrassed by the way surrounding people looked at
him, especially children who might perceive him as a monster. However, his response was
interrupted by tics at regular intervals. His response to what he does when the teenagers tease
him was that he tries to reach out to them and help them become aware of the condition by
adopting a welcoming approach (Faces of Abnormal Psychology, 2018). These two questions
were vital since stigmatization and bullying is most often hurtful and creates an impact on the
quality of life of the patients (Malli, Forrester-Jones & Murphy, 2016).
On asking him about the types of tics, Ben answered that he has both verbal and
physical tics, while he preferred not having the verbal one (Faces of Abnormal Psychology,
2018). This question was relevant since in the words of Cohen, Leckman and Bloch (2013)
the sudden, seemingly uncontrollable actions leads to a sensation of anxiety, boredom, stress
and fatigue. He was also asked about having a girlfriend or wanting one because the
involuntary noises often make it difficult for the partner to cope up with (O’Hare et al.,
2016). This most often makes the patients isolated and feel dejected.
In response to the question Ben stated that although he likes having a girlfriend, his
symptoms often scare his partners away. However, his female friends are aware of the fact
that the condition is involuntary and they do display a liking towards him (Faces of Abnormal
Psychology, 2018). Despite absence of proper medications, Haldol, or Haloperidol is the

4INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
commonly prescribed antipsychotic drug. Dopamine receptor blocking activity of the drug
makes it effective in reducing tics (Roessner et al., 2013). However, it leads to weight gain
and affects voluntary activities such as, thinking.
Recent evidences have also elaborated on the role of nicotine patch in easing motor
tics, the major symptoms of Tourette syndrome (Quik et al., 2014). Some alternate therapies
include herbs and acupuncture. While herbal remedies such as, Lady’s slipper and
Passionflower have demonstrated their effectiveness in treating the frequency and severity of
tics, the signs and symptoms of the condition are found to reduce in their severity with an
increase in age (Kim et al., 2014). Thus, efforts need to be taken to manage the physical and
verbal tics, to the maximum possible extent.
Paranoid schizophrenia
The patient Valerie reported a normal childhood with good grades but indicated
events that made her feel like a social outcast. Patient history also suggests that she was a
good student during her college years, dated at that time and got married at the age of mid-
twenties. The first signs and symptoms of the disorder manifested at the age of 28 years,
when she was going through an unstable phase in her married life, when she began
experiencing delusions of people scheming against her, which worsened with time (Faces of
Abnormal Psychology, 2018). This made her husband forcefully admit her to the psychiatric
ward. However, even after admission, Valerie continued experiencing terror of being
imprisoned by the doctors and professionals. Diagnosis of the condition was done based on
presence of some of the symptoms that are mentioned in DSM-IV namely, (1) hallucinations,
(2) delusions, (3) gross disorganization, and (4) presence of negative symptoms such as, lack
of speech and a flat affect (Tandon et al., 2013). Furthermore, persistence of the active
symptoms for at least six months, and their interference with relationship, work and self-care,
all of which were reported by Valerie helped in confirming the diagnosis.

5INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
Three themes that were selected while interviewing her were namely, onset of
schizophrenia, hallucinations and delusions. She was asked about the onset of her symptoms
owing to the fact that although in most patients the general signs manifest before the age of
19 years, females have an age of onset in between 25-35 years (Okkels et al., 2013). The
patient suggested that she initially began experiencing the symptoms at 28-29 years, which
represents no potential impact of the condition on her academic life. Upon questioning her
about the first schizophrenia episode, she mentioned that during the time when she found
solace in religious activities from her tumultuous marriage, she first experienced delusion that
several people were infiltrating the church and trying to destroy it (Faces of Abnormal
Psychology, 2018). This is in alignment with the established relationship between
schizophrenia and religion (Grover, Davuluri & Chakrabarti, 2014). She was asked if she
hears voices because majority of patients report auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations,
with auditory being the most common of all (Shinn et al., 2013). She reported hearing radio
like transmissions emerging from her head that made her believe that some kind of records
were being played. She also reported having visual hallucinations twice, on being asked
about them.
On being asked about the similarity between her delusions and religious beliefs she
stated that she felt like being spied on through the television and her Protestant belief made
her consider the Catholics in the psychiatric ward as dangerous (Faces of Abnormal
Psychology, 2018). This question was pertinent as according to Cook (2015) religion affects
the level of psychopathology. Narcoleptic drugs such as, Haldol and Thorazine by acting as
effective D2 dopamine receptor antagonists, thus reducing the frequency and severity of
psychotic symptoms (Laruelle, 2014). However, they have some adverse effects like
akathisia, gain in weight, and movement disorder.

6INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
Conclusion
To conclude, all the three abnormal psychological manifestations are severe in their
signs and symptoms and create noteworthy negative influences on the life of patients. Thus,
they must be effectively managed to enhance the health and wellbeing of the symptoms.

7INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
References
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8INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
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