An interactionist approach (Diathesis stress) Flashcards
Define the term “diathesis-stress model”
Explains mental disorders as the result of an interaction between biological (the diathesis) and environmental ( the stress) influences.
Outline what is meant by ‘diathesis’ in the interactionist approach?
- schizophrenia caused due to genetic vulnerability.
- Identical twin of a person with schizophrenia = higher risk than a sibling or fraternal twin
- Adoptees don’t share the risk of biological relatives (Tienari et al.,2004)
What suggests that the environment plays a role in schizophrenia?
- About 50% of identical twins where one has schizophrenia the other one doesn’t - discordance suggests environmental factors
What are the two ways in which stress can cause schizophrenia?
- trauma
- highly urbanised environment.
Describe research about the link between trauma and schizophrenia
- Varese et al (2012) - severe trauma before 16 = 3x more likely to develop schizophrenia
Describe research about the link between a highly urbanised environment and schizophrenia
- Vassos et al (2012) - risk for schizophrenia = 2.37x more likely than a rural area.
- densely populated area may be the cause?
- The relationship between urban stress and schizophrenia is conditional on some other factor , i.e a pre-existing genetic risk for the disorder or some other biological vulnerability for schizophrenia.
Explain what is meant ‘the additive nature of diathesis and stress’
- whatever the combination of whether it’s stressors or vulnerability, this idea pre-supposes additivity, i.e. that diathesis and stress add together in some way to produce the disorder
What did Tienari et al (2004) test?
- that genetic factors moderate susceptibility to environmental risks associated with adoptive family functioning.
Outline the procedure of Tienari et al study
- Nearly 20,000 women who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia at least once or another paranoid psychoses.
- Out of these women, they found those mothers who had gave away their offspring
- In total were 303: 145 = the high risk group and 158 = low risk group ( without genetic risk of schizophrenia).
- Both groups of adopts were assessed after a median interval of 12 years, with a 21 year follow up.
- Also families were assessed using OPAS ( measures family environment)
Outline the findings of Tienari et al study
- Of 303 adoptees, 14 = schizophrenia.
- Of the 14, 11 = high risk group, 3 = low risk group.
- High genetic risk adoptees in ‘healthy family’ (Low OPAS rating) = less likely to get schizophrenia compared to high-genetic-risk adoptees reared in families with high OPAS ratings.
In what group (high genetic risk) or (low-genetic risk - control group) was adoptive-family stress a predictor in the development of schizophrenia?
- in adoptees at high genetic risk.
AO3
How is the diathesis explanation reductionist?
P: Reductionist
E: Verdoux et al (1998) - risk of developing schizophrenia later in life for individuals who have experienced complications at birth e.g. prolonged labour - oxygen deprivation = 4x greater
E: contrasts with diathesis (genetic vulnerability) as birth complication = environmental factor.
E: problem with reductionism = oversimplifies point to just genetic ignoring other factors.
E: this matter because few may fail to prepare those families who have experienced birth complications for possible mental issues.
AO3
Does all research agree with the fact that urban environments links to the development of schizophrenia?
P: Vassos et al study - densely populated environment = stress factor = schizophrenia. Not all research agree with this.
E: Romans-Clarkson - found no urban-rural differences in mental health among women in New Zealand.
Other studies = found evidence but differences went away after adjusting the socio-economic differences in the two groups.
E: urbanisation and social adversity = trigger also = oversimplification.
AO3
Does stress differ among individuals and does the way an individual respond to stress make them more or less vulnerable to develop schizophrenia?
P: Stress leads to schizophrenia. However, stress early in life can influence how people respond to later stressful events and increase their future susceptibility to the disorder.
E: Hammen = maladaptive methods of coping with stress in childhood may lead to ineffective coping sills which may increase their vulnerability.
E: ineffective coping skills = make life more stressful for individual and so trigger mental illness.
AO3
What is the limitation of the adoption study conducted by Tienari et al?
P: Research - limitation of study - when assessing family functioning.
E: The use of the OPAS scale was in just one given time period. Doesn’t take into account developmental changes in family functioning over time (progress).
E: Observation of family and adoptees = hard = impossible to determine how much stress was caused by family or adoptees themselves.