Andrea Yates Case Study Psychology

I would diagnose Andrea Yates with major depressive disorder (MDD).
This disorder is a serious clinical mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, frustration, loss or anger interfere with a person’s everyday life. The exact cause of major depressive disorder is not known, however many researchers believe it is linked to chemical changes in the brain, problems with a person's genes, or a combination of both. It tends to run in families, but can also occur in those with no family history of the disease. As stated in the case study, Andrea’s mother and 3 of her siblings were diagnosed with serious mood disorders or alcohol abuse. Symptoms of MDD may include: irritability, difficulty with concentration, fatigue or lack of energy, feelings of hopelessness and/or helplessness, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or self-hate, social isolation, loss of interest in once pleasurable activities, sleep problems (insomnia or excessive sleeping) and suicidal ideation or behavior. In more severe cases of MDD, patients may experience psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations. Andrea shows signs of many of these symptoms. She is having hallucinations of people being stabbed and being possessed by the devil. She is

delusional hearing voices coming from the TV. She also makes several attempts at suicide.
I believe she does not suffer from obsessive compulsive disorders. Andrea for 4 years, followed a frantic schedule, but I do not consider her schedule obsessive compulsive. She was a mom of 4 boys, who kept a schedule to make sure everything was done in her household. Many families have a strict schedule in order to get things done in a timely manner. For Andrea to be diagnosed with a compulsive disorder she would have had to be characterized by persistent, uncontrollable thoughts and urges, or by the presence of a compelling need to perform one or more actions repeatedly.
Mrs. Yates had been prescribed medicine for hearing people’s voices and thinking delusionally, after the birth of her fourth child. She stopped all medication before the birth of her 5th child. The birth of the couple’s fifth child and the death of her father triggered another episode of extreme depression. She became withdrawn in the three weeks before the children’s killings. The extreme depression that she fell into without medication and treatment allowed Mrs. Yates to justify her thoughts of saving her children by killing them.
The cognitive perspective is the thinking process of one’s behavior. It best represents the explanation in the previous paragraph. She thought she was a bad mother and that she believed Satan controlled her children. She believed by killing her five children it would prevent them from going to Hell.
It does not explain why she did not seek treatment for her illness. She knew after she drowned her children what she did was wrong. She didn’t run away crazy, but instead called her husband and police. Most psychotic individuals would have taken off and not stayed around to explain their actions.
Another explanation would be biological. The biological approach believes that most behavior is inherited and has an adaptive function. Andrea’s mother and 3 of her siblings had been diagnosed with serious disorders. She could have already had predispositions to having a mental illness. With a biological mental disorder, it would have just progressed as she grew older and having the stresses of childbirth triggered this disorder to come to light.
I believe that the second trial justice was better served.

Andrea was initially charged with capital murder: “intentionally and knowingly” causing the deaths of her children. Although she knew that killing her children was wrong, she had done so believing that it was the only way that she could save them from Hell. In her second trial, it was recognized how she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and had lost her grip from reality. Andrea was in Kohlberg’s pre-conventional level of reasoning. In level one, actions are determined to be good or bad depending on the reward or punishment. Andrea’s reasoning was the reward for her decision of killing her children would be her children wouldn’t go to Hell and they would be

saved.
Yes, she should be allowed to vote. There are many voters who can’t read or write. There are many who know nothing at all about the candidates or their platforms. One can be quite psychotic and still be informed about current events and political candidates. One can be mentally healthy and clueless.