3) Schizophrenia - Interactionist Approach

Question 1

What is the interactionist approach?

Answer 1

An approach to explaining schizophrenia, involving biological and psychological factors.

Question 2

What is the diathesis-stress model?

Answer 2

• To trigger schizophrenia symptoms a person must be genetically vulnerable to developing it but must also encounter stress to trigger it.

Question 3

What is different about the modern understanding of the diathesis-stress model?

Answer 3

• There is not a single schizogene which codes for schizophrenia, there are multiple genes which make u more genetically vulnerable.
• Trauma can be the diathesis part instead as trauma can alter brain development.
• Stressor isn’t only just related to social factors such as parenting, it can be anything that risks triggering schizophrenia such as cannabis.

Question 4

What treatment does the interactionist approach suggest?

Answer 4

Drug therapy and CBT

Question 5

Give a strength for the interactionist appraoch.

Answer 5

P - There is evidence for the role of both the vulnerability and stress in the development of schizophrenia.
E - Tienari et al conducted a follow up study of children adopted from 19,000 Finnish mothers with schizophrenia.
Adopted parents were assessed for their parenting style and the rates of schizophrenia were compared with a control group of adoptees without a genetic risk.
Child-rearing style characterised by high levels of criticism and low levels of empathy was implicated in the development of schizophrenia but only for children with a high genetic risk but not in the control group.
E - This suggests that both genetic vulnerability and family-related stress are important in the development of schizophrenia.
L - This is a strong direct support for the importance of adopting an interactionist approach to schizophrenia.