SZ - psychological explanation(?): social causation hypothesis (20)

Question 1

para 1

Answer 1

AO1 - social adversity
->all human beings have the same basic needs: physical needs such as nutrition,
warmth & shelter, but they can also be intellectual, emotional, and social.
->some children grow up in more
deprived areas than others, which can make them more vulnerable to mental health disorders in the future.
->furthermore, people from lower socioeconomic groups may not have access to necessary treatment, making their condition worse.

AO3: strength
(research to support)
->Vassos (2012)
->looked at studies from sweden, the Netherlands, & Denmark, Studying 24,000 cases of SZ
->they found that the risk of developing
SZ was 2.37x higher for people living
in more urban areas compared to rural
living
->therefore supporting the urbanicity part of the SCH

AO3: weakness
(problems with research)
->research into SCH tends to be correlational
->this means that the findings of research into SCH cannot provide cause
& effect as it’s not possible to say with certainty that any of the 4 concepts (social adversity, urbanicity, social isolation, a immigration/minority status) are directly involved in causing SZ, therefore decreasing validity of findings

Question 2

para 2

Answer 2

AO1 - social isolation

->Robert Faris (1934) has suggested that people with SZ withdraw because they feel that contact with others is stressful. ->such self-imposed isolation cuts the individual off from feedback about what behaviours or thoughts are inappropriate, & in the absence of corrective feedback, they begin behaving strangely

AO3: strength
(research to support)
->Tienari
->looked at adopted kids whose
mother’s had SZ
->none of the children adopted into heathy families developed
SZ, however 37% of children when adopted into mentally disturbed families
were classified as “severely mentally disturbed” themselves
->therefore supporting that living conditions (Social adversity)
can contrbute to SZ

AO3: weakness
->adoption studies are not generalisable to the wide population.
->only certain types of families are accepted as adopters of children, meaning adoptive families are likely to be similar groups of people
->therefore making the research less representative

Question 3

para 3

Answer 3

AO1 - urbanicity
->many researchers have commented on the association between urban living & SZ
->eg. William Eaton (1974) suggested that city life is more stressful than rural life, & long time exposure to stress may cause a SZ episode.
->There are many stressors linked
to city life, including : noise, light, pollution, faster pace and greater anonymity.
->collectively, these factors make a person more vulnerable to SZ

AO3: strength
->lederbogen et al (2011)
->used fMRI scans to reveal a link between growing up in an urban environment and later sensitivity to social stress
->ppts had to solve challenging arithmetic whilst receiving negative feedback
->those who grew up in cities showed greater activity in the amygdala compared to those from rural locations
->therefore showing the effect social stress has on the brain.

AO3: weakness
->the use of fMRI scans decreases the accuracy of results.
->fMRI scans require the ppt to remain as still as possible or the picture will not come out clearly. This means that the tiniest movement can cause the scan to be inaccurate
->therefore decreasing the validity of the results.

Question 4

para 4

Answer 4

AO1 - immigration/minority status
->research in many countries has shown that 1st and 2nd generation immigrants are at greater risk of SZ than the general population
->this indicates that it is a minority or out group status that is key, as opposed to belonging to a particular ethnic group may leave people vulnerable to SZ.
->further, second gen immigrants may be at greater risk than first gen immigrants because they have weaker cultural identity

AO3: strength
(application)
-> social causation hypothesis has application as it allows us to understand how to prevent SZ
->eg. housing projects can reduce overcrowding & encourage neighbourhood diversity, which can help communities arm themselves against mental breakdowns
->this is an example of how to prevent social adversity as a cause of SZ

AO3: weakness
(alternative theory)
->the dopamine hypothesis provides an alternative theory for the cause of SZ
->this theory suggests that SZ is caused by excess dopamine activity or under active glutamate activity
->this is a better explanation as it considers biological factors, whereas
SCH does not