Classification And Diagnosis Flashcards
What are positive symptoms
Additional experiences beyond those of ordinary existence
What are two positive symptoms
Delusions: involve beliefs that have no basis in reality
Hallucinations: sensory experiences that have no basis in reality/are distorted perceptions of things that are actually there
What are negative symptoms
The loss of usual abilities and experiences
What are two negative symptoms
Speech poverty: reduced frequency and quality of speech
Avolition: loss of motivation to carry out goal orientated tasks resulting in lowered activity levels
What is required for diagnosis by ICD-10
Two or more negative symptoms
What is required for diagnosis by DSM-V
At least one positive symptom
What is co-morbidity
The occurrence of two disorders together
What is symptom overlap
When two or more conditions share symptoms
Expand on weakness of classification system that there is co-morbidity
-around half of patients with SZ also have depression or substance abuse
-reduces validity of classification system as if so many people have multiple disorders, SZ may not exist as a distinct condition
-reduces validity of diagnosis- if displaying several clusters of symptoms for each condition it is difficult to distinguish between them, may lead to inaccurate diagnosis
Expand on weakness of classification system that there is symptom overlap
-considerable overlap between symptoms of SZ and other conditions eg with bipolar both involve positive symptoms like delusions and negative symptoms like avolition
-reduces validity of CS as if many disorders have the same symptoms SZ may not exist as a distinct condition
-reduces validity of diagnosis as difficult to accurately diagnose individuals with correct disorder
Expand on weakness of CS that there is gender bias
-study found men diagnosed with SZ more than women, female patients typically function better than men being more likely to work and have good family relationships so may be able to mask symptoms better/ display different symptoms to males which go unrecognised
-CS androcentric, symptoms male-centred and do not take into consideration the dif ways in which women’s symptoms present which reduces validity
-women may be being under diagnosed and therefore not receiving the relevant treatment
What is the validity of schizophrenia
The extent to which SZ is a unique syndrome with characteristics, signs and symptoms
What is the reliability of schizophrenia diagnosis
When dif psychiatrists reach the same diagnosis in the same individual (inter-rater reliability) and same psychiatrist reaches the same diagnosis for the same individual on two occasions (test-retest reliability)
Expand on weakness that there is cultural bias in CS
-some symptoms have dif meaning in dif cultures eg hearing voices may be deemed as communicating with ancestors, British people with Afro-Caribbean origin are 9x more likely to be diagnosed than British although those living in those are countries are not which rules out genetic vulnerability
-ethnocentric, symptoms reflect western dominant view of SZ and do not take into consideration dif cultural factors
-Afro-Caribbean individuals are being over diagnosed and discriminated against
Expand on weakness of validity in diagnosis
-two psychiatrists independently assessed the same 100 clients using ICD10 and DSM-5 and found 68 diagnosed using ICD and 39 using DSM
-reduces validity as either one is over-diagnosing or other under
