Conduct disorder involves such behavioral patterns as stealing, fighting, lying, sexual, physical or psychological abuse, running from home, and so on (Mash & Wolf, 2013). This disorder can be traced in people of all age groups. Thus, it can be found in children and develop throughout people’s lives. Notably, the disorder often becomes more severe if untreated.
It is also found that this disorder can be caused by peculiarities of brain development, as well as socio-economic factors such as poverty, violence in the family, substance abuse of parents and so on (Bernstein, 2014). I would regard these disorders as a health problem. Therefore, people diagnosed with this disorder have to be treated.
Bernstein (2014, n.p.) notes that the disorder is “resistant” to treatment, but it is crucial to start treating it as early as possible and it should include “medical, mental health, and educational components”. However, I also believe these people have to be punished for their misdeeds.
They have to try to control themselves as they are a part of a society where certain rules exist. Of course, age has to be taken into account and younger people can have such a corrective punishment as losing privileges (for example, restricting access to computer games or television, and so on).
Anxiety is a way people react to a perceived threat or uncomfortable situation. It differs from fear greatly as fear is a person’s reaction to a real threat he/she faces while anxiety is a reaction to a possible and hypothetical threat.
However, the body can respond to anxiety and fear in a similar way: fast breathing, sweating, muscle tension, diarrhea, chest pain and so on. PTSD can be seen as a form of anxiety which is focused on a past event rather than the future. However, the symptoms are quite similar in both cases.
Sexual Abuse
Actually, I never thought about sexual abuse in same-sex relationship. Of course, I have heard lots of stories about homosexual abuse but the victim hardly knew the abuser.
Now, when I am thinking of peculiarities of this kind of sexual abuse, I understand that it differs significantly from abuse in heterosexual couples. Gosselin (2014) stresses that abused partners have to conceal the case as they are often afraid that their ‘secret’ will be revealed. I think the issue needs further research.
Elderly people, abuse and neglect is even a more complex problem which needs special attention. In US society, elderly people are often seen as somebody who should keep out of the way. Younger generations are concentrated on their problems and do not have time to visit their older relatives. This all leads to neglect and even abuse of the elderly.
In the US, cases of elderly abuse are common. At that, lots of elderly choose to conceal their suffering as they are afraid to lose their caregiver who can often be an abuser (Robinson, Saisan & Segal, 2014).
Besides, in many cases, younger people do not pay attention to the change in mood or even to physical conditions of elderly people and the cases of abuse remain concealed. Finally, younger people often think that change is explained by dementia or other mental disorders and do not try to find out what is happening to elderly people.
Admittedly, the situation has to be changed. However, it is not enough to enact certain laws to secure elderly people’s rights (though this step should also be undertaken). It is necessary to change the way Americans see elderly people and the way they treat them. I believe that cases of elderly abuse will decrease significantly after these steps.
Movement and Sleep
It is possible to state that proprioceptive information makes people move. A muscle proprioceptor detects a tension or a stretch in a muscle and “send messages” that make the spinal cord to send respective signals to muscles (Kalat, 2013, p. 235).
Mirror neurons can also play a significant role in the movement as they make people perform (or mirror) actions performed by others. This process takes place in the human cortex (Kalat, 2013).
Voluntary movements are movements controlled by people’s consciousness. For instance, walking, talking, dancing and so on are examples of voluntary movements. Involuntary movements are those which are not controlled by a person’s consciousness. Examples of these movements are heart beating, movements in the digestive system and so on.
Sleep is crucial for the proper functioning of the human body. While sleeping, people’s body is restoring. Lack of sleep often leads to numerous negative effects and even mental disorders. Such studies as the case of Randy Gardner and Peter Tripp contributed greatly to people’s understanding of the importance of sleep and sleep deprivation (Sleep deprivation, 2014).
There are a number of hypotheses about dreaming. Personally, I think a combination of the activation-synthesis hypothesis and the clinic-anatomical hypothesis can explain why people dream. I believe that the brain is trying to process information coming from outside (day experience, past experiences, stories told, positioning of the body during the sleep). This explains why people dream about something they were talking about or experienced.
Reference List
Bernstein, B. (2014). Conduct disorder.
Gosselin, D.K. (2014). Heavy hands: An introduction to the crimes of family violence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kalat, J.W. (2013). Biological psychology. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Mash, E.J., & Wolfe, D.A. (2013). Abnormal child psychology. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Robinson, L., Saisan, J., & Segal, J. (2014). Elder abuse & neglect. Web.
Sleep deprivation. (2014). Web.