Classification

Question 1

DSM-5

Answer 1

One positive symptom needs to be present.

Question 2

ICD-10

Answer 2

Two negative symptoms are sufficient.

Question 3

Positive symptoms

Answer 3

In addition to normal experiences.
Hallucinations and delusions.

Question 4

Negative symptoms

Answer 4

The loss of usual experience such as emotion or motivation.
Avolition (the reduction of goal directed behaviour) and speech poverty (reduction in amount and quality of speech).

Question 5

• P - Significant co-morbidity between schizophrenia and other disorders

Answer 5

E - Buckley suggests that this includes OCD and PTSD.
E - found that 29% of their SZ patients suffered from PTSD whilst 50% suffered depression. This suggests that if schizophrenia is so frequently diagnosed with other psychiatric disorders, then these two disorders may actually be the same, and so a more accurate and valid method of diagnosis would be to combine these two.
L - Therefore, there are issues of validity in the diagnosis of SZ and attempting to differentiate its symptoms from that of other disorders.

Question 6

• P - Gender bias

Answer 6

E - Longenecker et al could not find an explanation for the sudden increase in the number of male SZ diagnoses made after 1980s.
E - Cotton et al suggests that because there are no differences in genetic susceptibility for men and women in terms of SZ, then gender bias must be to blame. Dispositional traits of most women, such as high interpersonal functioning and being able to work even when suffering, means that such traits may mask the symptoms of schizophrenia or distort their severity so that they are not serious enough to call for a diagnosis.
L - This means that the current system
of the diagnosis of SZ does not account for these biases or differences in functioning between men and women, increasing the likelihood of inaccurate diagnoses.

Question 7

• P - Cultural bias

Answer 7

E - African Americans are far more likely
to be diagnosed with SZ compared to patients belonging to Western cultures, due to their increased openness about admitting to certain SZ symptoms which may appear normal in their respective
cultures.
E - For example, the phenomenon of hearing voices may be considered a desirable sign of increased spirituality and connectedness with ancestors, and so may even be encouraged.
L - However, both classification systems would view this as a hallmark characteristic of SZ and, combined with the potential distrust in African Americans that white psychiatrists may have, could increase the likelihood of false diagnoses.