Psychological explanations of Schizophrenia
Outline Clinical Characteristics of Schizophrenia (5 marks)
The characteristics of Schizophrenia (SZ) can be categorised into two different types: Type 1 symptoms (Positive Symptoms) and Type 2 (Negative symptoms). Type 1 characteristics include things such as delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. Patients may experience things such as hearing voices, which are often said to be from God or the Devil. Type 2 symptoms however show more catatonic behaviour, for example a loss of drive, a lack of emotion or catatonic stupor. On the other hand, there are some patients who experience both type 1 and type 2 symptoms, these are therefore categorised as Disorganised as they will have disorganised behaviour and speech. There is a 1% chance of developing SZ if neither of your parents is carrying the gene, however this increases to 20% if one parent is diagnosed, and to 46% if both parents are. It is said to occur within men when they are 25 or younger, however it occurs at an older age of 25-45 for women.
Discuss psychological explanations of Schizophrenia
In the 1950’s and 60’s it was believed that if you belonged to a dysfunctional family that you were more likely to suffer from SZ due to the dysfunction of communication within the family. According to the different psychological explanations of SZ this is because of the high emotional tension and the many secrets and close alliances that are kept in the family. One psychological explanation of SZ was put forward by Bateson et al (1956) who looked at childhood as a base for developing SZ, for example the interactions children have with their mothers. His explanation, the Double Bind theory, states that SZ can occur due to conflicting messages given from parents to their children, for example when a parent expresses care but does so in a critical way. This means that the child will become confused as the message they are given is conflicting, as one message effectively invalidates the other. As a result,
The characteristics of Schizophrenia (SZ) can be categorised into two different types: Type 1 symptoms (Positive Symptoms) and Type 2 (Negative symptoms). Type 1 characteristics include things such as delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. Patients may experience things such as hearing voices, which are often said to be from God or the Devil. Type 2 symptoms however show more catatonic behaviour, for example a loss of drive, a lack of emotion or catatonic stupor. On the other hand, there are some patients who experience both type 1 and type 2 symptoms, these are therefore categorised as Disorganised as they will have disorganised behaviour and speech. There is a 1% chance of developing SZ if neither of your parents is carrying the gene, however this increases to 20% if one parent is diagnosed, and to 46% if both parents are. It is said to occur within men when they are 25 or younger, however it occurs at an older age of 25-45 for women.
Discuss psychological explanations of Schizophrenia
In the 1950’s and 60’s it was believed that if you belonged to a dysfunctional family that you were more likely to suffer from SZ due to the dysfunction of communication within the family. According to the different psychological explanations of SZ this is because of the high emotional tension and the many secrets and close alliances that are kept in the family. One psychological explanation of SZ was put forward by Bateson et al (1956) who looked at childhood as a base for developing SZ, for example the interactions children have with their mothers. His explanation, the Double Bind theory, states that SZ can occur due to conflicting messages given from parents to their children, for example when a parent expresses care but does so in a critical way. This means that the child will become confused as the message they are given is conflicting, as one message effectively invalidates the other. As a result,