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Abnormal Psychology > Chapter 9 - Schizophrenia > Flashcards

Chapter 9 - Schizophrenia Flashcards

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1
Q

What are some common misconceptions about schizophrenia?

A
  1. means someone has two personalities

2. that they are violent

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2
Q

Schizophrenia

A

a chronic disorder characterized by disturbed behaviour, thinking, emotions and perceptions

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3
Q

What is the hallmark of schizophrenia?

A

psychosis: significant loss of contact with reality

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4
Q

How is schizophrenia heterogenous?

A

Those with the disorder can differ widely in symptoms, background, response to treatment, ability to live outside the hospital, etc.

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5
Q

What percent prevalence of Schizophrenia is there in North America and Europe?

A

1% of the population

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6
Q

How many people suffer from schizophrenia worldwide?

A

Approx. 24 million

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7
Q

At what age to psychotic symptoms typically appear?

A

Mid 20’s for men. Late 20’s for women

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8
Q

Are there different levels of risk between genders?

A

Equal gender risk, but men display more symptoms earlier and more severely than women

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9
Q

How fast is the onset of schizophrenia?

A

Most often it is a slow, gradual decline in functioning. Sometimes it is acute and can lead to an acute psychotic episode within weeks

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10
Q

Prodromal phase

A

The period of gradual deterioration

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11
Q

Acute/Active Phase

A

The individual is experiencing an active psychotic episode

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12
Q

Residual phase

A

The phase following an acute phase: return to the level of functioning in the prodromal phase. No psychotic behaviour but still significant impairment

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13
Q

When does the historical evidence for schizophrenia begin?

A

Late 18th century

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14
Q

What is missing from descriptions of ‘madness’ (thought to include schizophrenia) prior to the 1700’s?

A

accounts of auditory hallucinations - common to about 70% of schizophrenia patients

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15
Q

What are the DSM 5 criteria for schizophrenia?

A
  1. 2 or more of these symptoms in a 1 month period:
    - delusions
    - hallucinations
    - disorganized speech
    - grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour
    - negative symptoms
  2. Continuous symptoms for min. 6 months. Dysfunction in normal living
  3. Symptoms not better explained by substance abuse or other condition
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16
Q

Do people with briefer forms of psychosis receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia?

A

No, they are given other diagnoses such as brief psychotic disorder

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17
Q

Positive symptoms

A

excess or distortion of one’s normal behaviour and thoughts

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18
Q

What are some positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

A 
Delusions
Hallucinations
Disorganized speech
Disorganized behaviour
(all involve a break with reality)
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19
Q

Negative symptoms

A

a lack or deficit of normal behaviour and thoughts

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20
Q

What are some negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

A

Blunted emotional expressiveness
Alogia - poverty of speech
Avolition - lack of drive/motivation

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21
Q

What are the most common types of delusions a schizophrenic experiences?

A

Persecutory
Referential
Somatic
Delusions of grandeur

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22
Q

Persecutory delusions

A

the belief that others are ‘out to get you’

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23
Q

Referential delusions

A

Believing that others are reacting to you. ie. people on TV are making fun of me

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24
Q

Somatic delusions

A

believing that one’s thoughts, feelings, impulses or actions are controlled by external forces, such as agents of the devil

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25
Delusions of grandeur
believing oneself to be God or on a special mission
26
What are some common schizophrenic delusions related to thoughts?
thought broadcasting - others can hear your thoughts thought insertion - thoughts have been planted thought withdrawal - thoughts have been removed
27
Hallucinations
sensory perceptions occurring in the absence of external stimuli that become confused with reality. Can involve any of the senses
28
What are the most common schizophrenic hallucinations?
Auditory Tactile Somatic
29
Auditory hallucinations
hearing voices - experienced by 70% of schizophrenics
30
Tactile hallucinations
tingling, electrical or burning sensations
31
Somatic hallucinations
Specific body-related ie. 'there are snakes crawling in my belly'
32
Visual hallucinations
seeing things that are not there
33
Gustatory hallucinations
tasting things that are not present
34
Olfactory hallucinations
smelling things that are not present
35
Command hallucinations
voices telling you what to do ie. harm yourself or others
36
What are the suspected causes of hallucinations?
Disturbances in brain chemistry including the neurotransmitter dopamine
37
How can drugs such as cocaine induce hallucinations?
Drug use can lead to increased production of dopamine
38
What characteristics of thought and speech are common in schizophrenics?
distortions in thinking and expression of thoughts through coherent, meaningful speech
39
Thought disorder
a disturbance in thinking characterized by the breakdown of logical associations between thoughts
40
How do attentional deficiencies affect a schizophrenic's ability to to learn and think?
causes them to have difficulty filtering out irrelevant stimuli ie. can't focus attention, organize thoughts or filter out unessential information
41
Flat effect
negative symptom: absence of emotional expression in the face and voice
42
Alogia
negative/emotional disturbance: a deficit or reduction in communication
43
Avolition
negative/emotional disturbance: lack of motivation; inability to initiate and persevere in activities
44
Andomonia
negative/emotional disturbance: loss of pleasure, don't enjoy the things you used to
45
What happens when a schizophrenic suffers from loss of ego boundaries?
Confusion about personal identity | Failure to see oneself as a unique individual
46
Catatonia
people with schizophrenia become unaware of the environment and maintain a fixed or rigid posture
47
Waxy flexibility
when an individual allows body and limbs to be moved and then retains the new position
48
What changed in the DSM 5 diagnoses of schizophrenia as compared to the DSM-IV-TR?
1. one of the three positive symptoms must be present | 2. Subtypes were eliminated
49
Endophenotypes
measurable processes or mechanisms not apparent to the naked eye. The means by which an organism's genetic code affects observable characteristics or phenotypes
50
What possible endophenotypes are being explored as correlated to schizophrenia?
disturbances in brain circuitry deficits in working memory impaired attentional/cognitive processes abnormality in neurotransmitter function
51
Eye movement dysfunction is common in people with schizophrenia and...
their first degree relatives. Suggests a biomarker - genes linked to schizophrenia
52
How is schizophrenia explained from a psychodynamic perspective?
The ego is overwhelmed by primitive sexual or aggressive impulses from the id. These impulses threaten the ego and lead to intense intrapsychic conflict
53
Which Freudian stage does a person facing schizophrenia revert to?
The oral stage. Also called primary narcissism
54
How is schizophrenia partially explained from a learning theory perspective?
Bizarre behaviours are learned when they are more likely to be reinforced than normal behaviors
55
Do first degree relatives of people with schizophrenia have a different risk level of developing it themselves?
Yes, ten times mores than the general population
56
What mechanisms may be critical in making schizophrenia related genes active?
Epigenetic mechanisms
57
What prenatal factor may be linked to schizophrenia?
viral prenatal infections show possible links to increased risk of schizophrenia
58
What is the most prominent structural abnormality found in persons with schizophrenia?
Loss of brain tissue (grey matter)
59
In what area of the brains of people with schizophrenia has abnormal function and loss of brain tissue been found?
the prefrontal cortex
60
What is the leading biochemical model of schizophrenia?
the dopamine hypothesis: suggests schizophrenia involves an over reactivity of dopamine transmission in the brain
61
What is the major source of evidence for the dopamine hypothesis for schizophrenia?
the effects of antipsychotic drugs called neuroleptics
62
How is a negative family environment linked to schizophrenia?
Those with a genetic vulnerability could be more likely to develop schizophrenia if they are in a negative/stressful family/social environment
63
Communication Deviance (CD)
a pattern of unclear, vague, disruptive or fragmented communication found in the families of schizophrenia patients
64
What are the forms of disturbed family communication that can contribute to the development of schizophrenia?
Communication Deviance | Expressed Emotion
65
Expressed Emotion
a pattern of responding to the schizophrenic family member in hostile, critical and unsupportive ways
66
How is Expressed Emotion related to schizophrenia patients?
High EE families are less tolerant and flexible. | Patients from high EE families stand a higher risk of relapsing
67
How does the Diathesis-stress model view the development of schizophrenia?
as an interaction of a genetic predisposition (diathesis) with stress life factors. Especially environmental stress such as family conflict, child abuse, emotional deprivation or brain trauma/injury
68
What is the biological approach to the treatment of schizophrenia?
The use of antipsychotic medication to control the flagrant behaviours that disrupt normal life such as delusional thinking and hallucinations. Reduces the need for long-term hospitalization
69
How do antipsychotic drugs treat schizophrenia?
They block dopamine receptors in the brain, reducing dopamine activity and quelling more obvious symptoms. ie. hallucinations, delusions
70
What aspects of schizophrenia does treatment with antipsychotics not address?
Does not address negative symptoms and cognitive impairments
71
What was Freud's belief on the use of psychoanalysis in the treatment of schizophrenia?
Traditional psychoanalysis is not suited to treatment. The client withdraws to a fantasy world and can't form a meaningful relationship with the psychoanalyst
72
What problems does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focus on in the treatment of schizophrenia?
Emotional disturbance Psychotic symptoms Social disabilities Risk of relapse
73
What does the CBT model include in treating schizophrenia?
How to interpret environmental events How to respond to social cues Practice dealing with positive symptoms
74
What are the Learning-Based Therapy methods in treating Schizophrenia?
Reinforcement of behaviour Token economy Social skills training
75
What is 'reinforcement of behaviour'?
A learning-based therapy model that provides or withdraws attention according to the appropriateness of the patient's behaviour
76
What is 'token economy'?
A learning-based therapy model that rewards appropriate patient behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for goods or privileges
77
What is 'social skills training'?
A learning-based therapy model in which clients are taught conversational skills and other good social behaviours through coaching, modelling, behaviour rehearsal and feedback
78
How do Family Intervention Programs assist in treatment of schizophrenia?
Families are trained in coping with the burden of care and developing cooperative, less-confrontational ways of relating. This reduces stress and risk of relapse for the patient.
79
What are other disorders that are on the Schizophrenia Spectrum?
Brief psychotic disorder - lasts a day to a month following a major stressor Schizphreniform Disorder - last less than 6 months w/ similar features Delusional disorder - people who hold persistent, delusional and often paranoid beliefs
80
What are some other forms of psychosis?
Erotomania - rare, one believes that they are loved by someone famous or important Schizoaffective disorder - individuals who experience both severe mood disturbance and features associated with schizophrenia

Abnormal Psychology (8 decks)

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