EconTalk Russ Roberts on Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Mental Illness or Made-Up Malady?
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Jun 16, 2006 A sharp look at a controversial new study claiming 7.3% of people have intermittent explosive disorder. Questions about how the condition is defined and measured are raised. Links between pharmaceutical funding, insurance rules, and incentives to medicalize behavior are examined. A skeptical, sometimes humorous take on psychiatry, measurement, and labeling of anger and adolescent outbursts.
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Disorder Label Hinges On Subjective Judgments
- The label intermittent explosive disorder (IED) can hinge on subjective judgments rather than clear biomarkers.
- Russ Roberts compares IED examples to Johnny Cash smashing a guitar and golfers throwing clubs to show fuzzy boundaries between disorder and normal rage.
Johnny Cash And Golfers As Test Cases
- Roberts uses the Johnny Cash scene and golfers' destroyed clubs as concrete examples to question what counts as an IED episode.
- These stories illustrate how culturally familiar explosive acts might be labeled pathological depending on framing.
Prevalence Based On Three Survey Questions
- The 7.3% prevalence claim came from a face-to-face survey using three behavioral questions rather than biological tests.
- The survey asked about losing control to break things, hit or try to hurt someone, or threaten harm, making the diagnosis operationally narrow but subjective.