Psychological Explanations of Schizophrenia - Family Dysfunction

Question 1

What is family dysfunction?

Answer 1

Abnormal processes in a family such as poor communication and cold parenting. These may be risk factors for the development and maintenance of SZ

Question 2

Describe the schizophrenogenic mother as part of the family dysfunction explanation

Answer 2

• Fromm Reichmann proposed a psychodynamic explanation based on her patients childhoods, where they spoke of a particular type of parent, called the schizophrenogenic mother
• Schizophrenogenic means SZ-causing, and the schizophrenogenic mother is cold, rejecting and control, and tends to create a family climate based on tension and secrecy. Leads to distrust that develop into paranoid delusions and then SZ.

Question 3

Describe double-bind theory as part of the family dysfunction explanation

Answer 3

• Bateson et al emphasised the role of communication style in the family in the development of SZ
• The developing child often finds themselves trapped in situation where they fear doing the wrong thing but get mixed messages on what this is, and feel unable to seek clarification
• When they ‘get it wrong’ (which is often) the child is punished by withdrawal of love, leaving them with an understanding of world as confusing and dangerous, which is reflect in symptoms like disorganised thinking and paranoid delusions.

Question 4

Describe expressed emotion as part of the family dysfunction explanation

Answer 4

• Expressed emotion (EE) is the level of negative emotion expressed to someone with SZ by their carers who are often family
• EE contains: verbal criticisms of the person (may be accompanied by violence), hostility towards the person (including anger and rejection), emotional overinvolvement in the life of the person
• High levels of EE directed to the person is a source of stress, which mainly explains relapse for those with SZ. But it has also been suggested to be a source of stress that trigger the onset of SZ for someone with a vulnerability in the diathesis-stress model

Question 5

Give evaluation for the family dysfunction explanation (research support for the importance of family relationships in SZ)

Answer 5

• Tienari et al found that adopted children who had schizophrenic biological parents were more likely to be schizophrenic themselves than those with non-schizophrenic biological parents. But this difference emerged only in situation where the adopted family itself was rated as disturbed
• Suggests that SZ only manifests under the appropriate environmental conditions, such as disturbed family relationships

Question 6

Give evaluation for the family dysfunction explanation (evidence to support double-bind theory)

Answer 6

• Berger found that schizophrenics reported a higher recall of double dins statement by their mothers than non-schizophrenics. Suggests that particular family relationships may lead to SZ.
• But Liem measured patterns of parental communications in families with a schizophrenic child and found no difference when compared to ‘normal’ families
• So, these inconsistencies in research support suggests double bind theory isn’t fully understood

Question 7

Give evaluation for the family dysfunction explanation (individual differences in vulnerability to EE)

Answer 7

• Not all patients who live in high EE families relapse, and not all patients who live in low EE homes avoid relapse
• Altorfer et al found a quarter of patients studies showed no physiological responses to stressful comments from their relatives
• Shows that not all patients are equally vulnerable to high levels of EE in the family environmental