Interactionist approach

Question 1

What is the interactionist approach to schizophrenia?

Answer 1

Explains schizophrenia as the result of an interaction between biological and environmental influences.

Question 2

What is the diathesis-stress model for schizophrenia?

Answer 2

States that people can have a predisposition to develop schizophrenia (diathesis), but this disorder will only develop if it is triggered by a stressful environment (stress).

Question 3

What does Meehl’s (1962) original diathesis-stress model state?

Answer 3

That diathesis (vulnerability) is entirely genetic and the result of a single schizogene which leads to a biologically based schizotypic personality (sensitivity to stress)

Question 4

What does the modern understanding of diathesis entail?

Answer 4

Many genes each can increase genetic vulnerability, not just one gene (schizophrenia is polygenic).
Also diathesis can be more than just genetics- e.g. psychological trauma (child abuse)

Question 5

What does the modern understanding of stress entail?

Answer 5

Anything that risks triggering schizophrenia (e.g. cannabis)- is not just parenting.

Question 6

What is an interactionist approach to treating schizophrenia?

Answer 6

Treating a patient with both antipsychotics and CBTp

Question 7

What are the two strengths fir the interactional approach for schizophrenia?

Answer 7

Research support:
Tienari et al. (2004)- investigated the combination of genetic vulnerability and parenting style and its impact on the development of schizophrenia.
Two groups:
1. Adopted children from Finnish mothers with schizophrenia
2. Adopted children with no genetic risk for schizophrenia (control group)
Found that a child-rearing style characterised by criticism and conflict and low empathy was implicated in the development of schizophrenia but only for the children with high genetic risk and not control group.
This suggests that both genetic vulnerability and family-related stress are important in the development of schizophrenia.

Support for the effectiveness of combination of treatment
Research has shown the effectiveness of adopting an interactionist approach for treating schizophrenia.
Tarrier et al. (2004)- compared patients who were receiving combined treatment with patients receiving standard care (antipsychotics only)
Of the 315 patients those receiving combination treatments showed lower symptom levels than those in control group.
COUNTER-ARGUMENT: There was no difference in hospital readmission between the groups  suggests in the long-term, these two treatments are as effective as each other. It would cost more for combination treatments so may be better to just focus on biological treatments if both are as effective as each other in the long-term.

Question 8

What is the limitation of the interactionist approach for schizophrenia?

Answer 8

Oversimplified:
Original diathesis-stress model is oversimplified in that it claims that diathesis (vulnerability) is entirely genetic and the result of a single ‘schizogene’.
Research has shown that there are multiple genes which increase vulnerability to schizophrenia and no single gene.
Also diatheses do not have to be purely genetic. An increased risk for schizophrenia can also result from brain damage caused by environmental factors or psychological trauma, such as child abuse
Houston- found people who had suffered child sexual trauma (psychological diathesis) and used cannabis (stressor)= more likely to develop schizophrenia).
Are a multitude of factors which could lead to a diathesis for schizophrenia other than just genetic influences and the diathesis-stress model needs to take these into account (which the modern version does!).