Schizophrenia: Classification And Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia Flashcards Preview

A2 Psychology: PSYA4 > Schizophrenia: Classification And Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia > Flashcards

Flashcards in Schizophrenia: Classification And Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia Deck (19)
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1
Q

Name two issues of classification and diagnosis of Schizophrenia

A

> Reliability

> Validity

2
Q

Name two measures of reliability

A

> Inter-rater Reliability

>Test-retest Reliability

3
Q

Define Inter-rater reliability

A

This measures reliability of questionnaires or scales which assess the severity of schizophrenic symptoms, by seeing whether two independent assessor a give similar diagnoses.

4
Q

Define test-retest reliability

A

This is a method used to check external reliability. The same test or interview is given o the same participants on two occasions to see if he same results are obtained

5
Q

Name two types of validity

A

> Comorbidity

> Prognosis

6
Q

Define Comorbidity

A

Comorbidity is the presence of two or more co-existing conditions or diseases. Such Comorbidity creates difficulties in the diagnosis of a disorder and also in deciding what treatment to advise

7
Q

Define Prognosis

A

People diagnosed as schizophrenic rarely share the same symptoms, nor is there evidence that they share the same outcomes. A diagnosis of schizophrenia, therefore has little predictive value and some people never appear to recover from the disorder by end up doing so.

8
Q

Evaluate inter-rater reliability

A

Despite the claims for increased reliability in DSM, over 30 years later there still little evidence that DSM is routinely used with high reliability by mental health clinicians.

9
Q

Name a study which backs the evaluation of inter rater reliabiity

A

Whaley

10
Q

What did Whaley find?

A

Whaley carried out a recent study which found that inter rater reliability correlations in the diagnosis of schizophrenia as low as +.11.

11
Q

Evaluate Test-retest reliability

A

Measures of cognitive functioning are vital in the diagnosis of schizophrenia, therefore must have test-retest reliability to be useful in this role.

12
Q

Name a study which supports the evaluation of test-retest reliability

A

Prescott et al.

13
Q

What did Prescott et al. find?

A

Prescott et al. analysed the test retest of several measures of attention and information processing in 14 chronic schizophrenics. Performance on these measures was stable over a 6-month period.

14
Q

Describe the issue of cultural differences in diagnosis

A

The reliability of diagnosis in schizophrenia is further challenged by the finding that there is massive variation between countries.

15
Q

Name a study which supports cultural differences in diagnosis

A

Copeland

16
Q

Describe Copeland’s findings

A

Copeland gave 134 US and 194 British psychiatrists a description of a patient. 69% of US psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia but only 2% of the British psychiatrists gave the same diagnosis.

17
Q

Evaluate Comorbidity and suicide risk

A

Persons with schizophrenia pose a relatively high risk for suicide with comorbid depression being the major cause for suicidal behaviour.

18
Q

Name a study which supports the evaluation of Comorbidity and suicide risk

A

Kessler et al.

19
Q

Describe Kessler’s findings

A

Kessler et al. found that among patients in the National Comorbidity Survey the rate of attempted suicide rose from 1% for those with schizophrenia alone to 40% for those with at least one lifetime comorbid mood disorder.