schizophrenia Flashcards
(44 cards)
family therapy
-based on idea that family dysfunction can play a role in development of Sz
-due to altering relationships and communication patterns within dysfunctional families
-works by reducing expressed emotion and stress levels which may contribute to patients risk of relapse
how does family therapy work
MAIN AIM TO REDUCE LEVELS OF EXPRESSED EMOTIONS/STRESS BY:
-improving families beliefs about and towards Sz
-reducing the stress of caring for a relative with Sz
-decreasing feelings of guilt
-helping family members achieve balance between caring for individual and living their own life
what is positive symptoms on Sz
an additional experience beyond those of ordinary existence
what is negative symptoms of Sz
a loss of usual abilities and experiences
example of positive symptoms of Sz
hallucinations and delusions
what are hallucinations
-unusual sensory experiences that have no basis in reality
-can effect any sense eg auditory/visual hallucinations
what are delusions
-irrational/false beliefs that have no basis in reality
-e.g delusions of persecution (beliefs you are being harassed by government)
-e.g delusions of control (beliefs that you are being controlled by something external)
what is avolition
-severe loss of motivation to carry out everyday tasks
-andreason identified 3 signs of avolition: poor hygiene, lack of persistence in work and lack of energy
what is speech poverty
reduction in amount and quality of speech, usually accompanied by a speech delay or lack of fluency
diagnosis
-identification of a disorder through symptoms
-e.g hearing voices
classification
-criteria that is used to make a diagnosis
-e.g symptom of Sz is hallucinations
symptom overlap
-two or more conditions share similar symptoms e.g Sz and depression both involve negative symptoms
co-morbidity
-two illnesses occur at the same time e.g Sz and OCD diagnosed at same time as they share similar symptoms
-lead to misdiagnosis
genetic theory ao1
-suggests Sz is hereditary and passed on generations through genes
-a person is born with genetic predisposition for Sz
-believed several maladaptive ‘candidate’ genes e.g PCM1 are involved in increasing individual’s vulnerability to Sz
-Gottesman studied 40 twins and found the concordance rate for monozygotic twins was 48% but 17% for dizygotic twins.
-THEREFORE CLOSER THE GENETIC LINK, HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF DEVELOPING SZ
brain structure or function
-enlarged ventricles
-meta analysis by raz and raz found over half of individuals with Sz had enlarged ventricles
-associated with damage to pre frontal cortex which leads to negative symptoms of Sz e.g schizophrenia
dopamine hypothesis
-neurotransmitters appear to work differently in the brain of a patient with Sz
-dopamine is widely believed to be involved as individuals with Sz release too much dopamine
-or have large amounts of D2 receptors on post SN
hyperdopaminergia in subcortex
-high dopamine activity in central areas of brain e.g broca’s area (responsible for speech production)
-associated with auditory hallucinations
hypodominergia in cortex
-low dopamine activity in prefrontal cortex
-associated with negative symptoms of Sz such as avolition
biological explanation ao3
-biological determinism
-scientific methods
-alternative explanation (family dysfunction)
family dysfunction
-idea that an individual develops Sz because they’ve been raised in a dysfunctional family environment
-dysfunctional in the way they communicate with each other as they have high levels of tension and arguments
-results in risk factors for development and maintenance of Sz
schizophrenogenic mother
-idea that Sz is caused by individuals early experience of a schizophrenogenic mother
-a Sz mother is cold, controlling, rejecting and emotionally unresponsive
-builds a family environment based on tension and secrecy
-leads to distrust that later develops into paranoid delusions in Sz
double bind communication
-bateson et al argues Sz is due to faulty communication patterns that exist within families
-occurs when parent communicates a verbal message which is not matched with physical behaviour
-child receives mixed messages
-conflicting, confusing forms of communication can lead to development of Sz
-child feels they can’t do the right thing, increasing anxiety, loses motivation leads to negative symptoms of Sz e.g avolition
high expressed emotion
-high levels of expressed emotion towards Sz patient such as verbal criticism, hostility e.g anger and rejection and emotional over involvement
-cause stress in patient and can trigger onset Sz
-the stress caused is a primary explanation for relapse in patients with Sz as they’re placed back in a stressful environment causing relapse of positive/negative symptoms
family dysfunction ao3
-RTS schizophrenogenic mother conducted by Mednick et al
-RTS double bind communication by Berger (DISCUSSION: retrospective data)
-practical applications: family therapy
