Outline what is meant by the ‘schizophrenogenic mother’
A psychodynamic explanation for schizophrenia. The schizophrenogenic mother is cold, rejecting and controlling. Creates a family climate characterised by tension and secrecy. Leads to distrust that later leads to paranoid delusions.
Outline double-bind theory.
A parent will send mixed messages to their child. For example, a parent telling a child they love them but then leaving them. A risk factor for developing schizophrenia as child has a confused understanding of the world.
Outline expressed-emotion.
Includes:
- Verbal criticism of the person, sometimes accompanied with violence.
- Hostility towards the person including anger and rejection.
-Emotional over involvement including self-sacrifice.
Can lead to stress in the person with schizophrenia which can lead to relapse. Could also be a trigger for schizophrenia for those predisposed to it.
Outline dysfunctional thinking.
Schizophrenia is characterised by disruption to normal thought processing. Suggests cognition is likely to be impaired.
Outline metarepresentation dysfunction.
Metarepresenation is the ability to reflect on one’s own thoughts and behaviour. When dysfunction occurs here people are unable to recognise our own actions as being carried out by ourselves rather than someone else. Can lead to hallucinations and thought insertion.
Outline central control dysfunction.
The inability to suppress automatic thoughts and speech triggered by other thoughts, resulting in speech poverty and thought disorder. For example, people may experience derailment of thoughts as each word triggers associations, and they may not be able to suppress a response to these.
What are the strengths of family dysfunction as an explanation for schizophrenia?
+ Research support: there is evidence linking family dysfunction to schizophrenia. For example, indicators of schizophrenia may include an insecure attachment type. In a review by Read et al (2005), he found that adults with an insecure attachment type are disproportionately more likely to develop schizophrenia. Additionally 69% of women and 59% of men with schizophrenia reported some form of sexual or physical abuse in their childhood. This supports the idea that family dysfunction makes people more vulnerable to schizophrenia.
+ Though the ideas for family dysfunction may lack support, this research connecting insecure attachment types and trauma in childhood means that there can be preventative measures for those who have had traumatic childhoods, and also treatment for those already diagnosed with the disorder e.g. therapy (family therapy focuses on reducing expressed emotion, reduces relapse rates by 50-60%).
What are the weaknesses of family dysfunction as an explanation for schizophrenia?
- Lack of research support for schizophrenogenic mother and double bind theory. They are based on clinical observation of people with schizophrenia and also informal assessment of their mothers’ personalities. No systematic evidence. This means family explanations may have not been able to fully account for the link between childhood trauma and schizophrenia.
- Socially sensitive due to parent-blaming. Mothers seem to be particularly blamed due to the schizophrenogenic mother theory. Could be criticised for being sexist, based on freudianism. Also blaming parents for their childs’ condition adds insult to injury.
What are the strengths of cognitive explanations for schizophrenia?
+ Research support: Stirling et at (2006) tested 30 people with schizophrenia and a control group, using cognitive tests such as the stroop test. People with the condition took more than twice as long. This supports Frith’s central control theory and also the idea that schizophrenia greatly impairs peoples’ cognitive function.
+ May be more valid than family dysfunction as an explanation. Based on scientific evident rather than making assumptions based off of observations. Also less socially sensitive.
What are the weaknesses of cognitive explanations for schizophrenia?
- Only a proximal explanation: can only explain what is happening now to produce symptoms, and not the origin of the condition. Unlike family dysfunction which is a distal explanation because it explains where the disorder stems from. This means that the cognitive theories on their own only provide partial explanations.
- May be more genetic: ignores the idea of inheritance. Researchers have seen that there is a genetic correlation, as the abnormal cognition associated with schizophrenia may be partly genetic and the result of poor brain development. Suggests schizophrenia is a biological condition.
