Intro To Sz Flashcards
Schizophrenia
Severe mental disorder where contact with reality and insight are impaired
1% have it. Most common in men and lower socio economic groups
Interfere with every day life and may end up hospitalised or homeless
Diagnosis and classification
Identifying a list of symptoms. 2 systems used:
- International classification of disease
- Diagnostic and statistical manual
Both used to recognise types schizophrenia - dropped due to being inconsistent
Positive symptoms-additional experiences
Hallucinations and delusions
- Hallucinations- Unusual sensory experiences. Related or unrelated to environ. Experienced in relation to any sense
- Delusions-paranoia, irrational beliefs, having superpowers, externally controlled, Persecuted by gov or aliens
Negative symptoms-loss of usual abilities
Speech poverty and avolition
- Speech poverty-reduction in quality, delayed verbal response, disorganised, changed topic mid sentence
- Avolition-Apathy, Difficult to maintain goal directed activity, reduced motivation. Andreason- 3 signs of avolition-poor hygiene, lack of energy, lack of persistence in work or education.
Strength-good reliability
Inter-rater reliability- different clinicians reach the same diagnosis
Test retest reliability -same clinician reaches same diagnosis
Osorio-excellent reliability for diagnosis in 180 people using DSM 5
Limitations-locality
Use criterion validity to assess validity.
Cheniaux-two psychiatrists individually assessed 100 clients 68 diagnosed ICD. 39 DSM.
Means the schizophrenia is over or under diagnosed so low validity
Limitations-comorbid with other conditions
If they occur together is difficult to rule out that they might be a single condition
Around half of those with schizophrenia are diagnosed with depression or substance abuse
May not be a distinct condition -may just have an unusual case of depression
Limitations-gender bias
More men have been diagnosed-
Women may be under diagnosed due to having close relationships and getting support
This means women function better than men with schizophrenia they may not be receiving treatment services they need
Limitations-cultural bias
Some symptoms have different meanings in different cultures
In the UK more African people are likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia . However these symptoms may be normal in African cultures
Suggests individuals from some backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed than others due to bias
Issues in diagnosis
Reliability, validity, comorbidity, symptom overlap-2 or more conditions share the same symptom
