Psychopathology
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According to the concept of "male depression," depression among men might be underdiagnosed and undertreated because of gender differences in symptoms and coping. There is evidence that men experience atypical depressive symptoms including irritability, aggression, substance abuse, and increased risk behavior. To date, a substantial number of qualitative studies on men's views on depression has been conducted in the last few decades. ⋯ Traditional masculinity values might serve as barriers but also as facilitators to adaptive coping strategies in depressed men. More research is needed to study the dimensions and role of alternative masculinities in the context of depression.
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According to the concept of "male depression," depression among men might be underdiagnosed and undertreated because of gender differences in symptoms and coping. There is evidence that men experience atypical depressive symptoms including irritability, aggression, substance abuse, and increased risk behavior. To date, a substantial number of qualitative studies on men's views on depression has been conducted in the last few decades. ⋯ Traditional masculinity values might serve as barriers but also as facilitators to adaptive coping strategies in depressed men. More research is needed to study the dimensions and role of alternative masculinities in the context of depression.
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Although stalking is a widespread phenomenon that can be caused by different motives, consideration of the psychopathological underpinnings of stalking behaviour is scarce. In rare cases, stalking can be an expression of mental disorder. Psychotic stalking, for example, can occur as a symptom of schizophrenia or erotomania. ⋯ Although legislative approaches to protecting victims of stalking differ widely in the European Union, mentally not severely disturbed stalkers can be prosecuted and punished according to criminal law in most countries. In some cases, the differentiation between mentally sane and mentally disturbed stalkers is difficult. This paper focuses on the psychopathology of such 'borderline cases', using the example of a court decision in Germany.
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The impending revisions of DSM-IV and ICD-10 provide an excellent opportunity to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the current somatoform disorder classification. To prepare for these revisions, this study systematically investigates the validity of the current classification of somatoform disorders. ⋯ The insufficient criterion and predictive validity of the present somatoform classification underlines the need to revise the diagnostic criteria. However, an abolishment of the whole category of somatoform disorders would ignore the substantial convergent and divergent validity of the current classification and would exclude patients with somatoform symptoms from the current health care system. A careful revision of the current somatoform disorder diagnoses, based on positive criteria of psychological, biological and social features, has the potential to substantially improve the reproducibility and clinical utility of the existing classification system.
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Dissociation is often conceptualised as an altered state of consciousness, a trance-like state in which normal barriers between conscious and unconscious memories, desires and beliefs break down and other amnestic barriers emerge. This review explores whether it is likely that there is a neurophysiology of pathological dissociative processes that will elucidate management. ⋯ Psychiatric and neurophysiological research and theory development are better directed towards individual components that contribute to dissociative experience.