Psychopathology in Women : Incorporating Gender Perspective Into Descriptive Psychopathology

Gender has a fundamental influence on the human brain, not only by virtue of biological and hormonal differences between the sexes but also because of the impact of gender-specific cultural, social, anthropological, and environmental factors. Nevertheless, the relation of gender and psychopathology remains a largely neglected field. Gender perspective has been treated as a paradigm in this book on psychopathology because it determines the way in which a psychiatric symptom is defined, perceived, and understood. This conception of gender as being of key importance in the definition of psychiatric symptomatology is exceptional in the literature. The book opens by examining historical and cultural aspects of mental health in women worldwide and the relation of sex, brain, and gender, with coverage of both neurobiological and psychosocial aspects. The significance of gender with regard to specific aspects of psychopathology is then addressed in detail. A wide range of psychological disorders are considered, as well as hormonal influences and issues concerning body image, self identity, sexuality, and life instinct. It is hoped that this book will make a significant contribution in ensuring that gender perspective receives due attention within descriptive psychopathology Front Matter....Pages i-xxii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Women’s Mental Health Around the World: Education, Poverty, Discrimination and Violence, and Political Aspects....Pages 3-24 Psychosexual Development and Sexual Dysfunctions....Pages 25-51 Gender and Psychological Differences: Gender and Subjectivity....Pages 53-66 Self-Identity and Gender Differences....Pages 67-82 Improving Our Science in Psychosis Research with a Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis....Pages 83-110 Front Matter....Pages 111-111 Gender and Corporality, Corporeality, and Body Image....Pages 113-142 Body and Hysteria: Dissociated Body....Pages 143-159 Corporality and Trauma....Pages 161-183 Dysmorphophobia: From Neuroticism to Psychoticism....Pages 185-202 Eating Disorders....Pages 203-235 Paraphilic Disorders: Sexual Sadist and Masochistic Disorders....Pages 237-265 Gender Dysphoria....Pages 267-302 Life Instinct and Gender....Pages 303-339 Use, Misuse, and Gender Differences....Pages 341-360 Psychosis and Gender: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (and Gender) in Psychosis but Were Afraid to Ask....Pages 361-387 Psychopathology, Art, and Gender....Pages 389-405 Front Matter....Pages 407-407 Adolescent Depression....Pages 409-421 Premenstrual Experience Premenstrual Syndrome and Dysphoric Disorder....Pages 423-449 Pregnancy Depression from a Gender Perspective....Pages 451-479 Postnatal Depression....Pages 481-495 Front Matter....Pages 407-407 Puerperal Psychosis....Pages 497-510 Psychopathological Symptoms and Treatment of Menopause....Pages 511-523 Front Matter....Pages 525-525 Affective Disorders....Pages 527-559 Anxiety Disorders....Pages 561-585 Gender Differences in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder....Pages 587-609 Gender and First Psychotic Episodes in Adolescence....Pages 611-620 Schizophrenia and Gender....Pages 621-639 Gender Differences in Bipolar Disorder....Pages 641-659 Mixed Forms in Bipolar Disorder and Relation to Gender....Pages 661-677 Gender Differences in Personality Disorders....Pages 679-686 Borderline Personality Spectrum....Pages 687-711 Pathological Gambling: Clinical Gender Differences....Pages 713-726 Somatoform and Factitious Disorders....Pages 727-741