Classification & diagnosis Flashcards
what is schizophrenia?
severe long term mental health issue
inability to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality (psychosis)
suffered by less than 1% of the population
men are more diagnosed than women
What are positive symptoms?
Symptoms a person did not have before the illness
what are the two types of positive symptoms ?
delusions: believing things that aren’t true
hallucinations: seeing things that aren’t there
What are negative symptoms?
Patient lost something that they had before as a result of the illness
What are the two types of negative symptoms?
Avolition: lack of motivation and drive
Speech poverty: alogia and disorganised speech
How do mental illnesses get diagnosed?
using the classification system the DSM-5
used to increase reliability and reduce subjectivity
To be diagnosed with diagnose you need to be:
disturbed for 6 months and have continuous symptoms for a month
symptoms should be negatively effecting at least one aspect of a person’s life
the symptoms can’t be caused by any other factors e.g., drug use or another metal illness (mood disorders)
What does reliability mean?
how consistent something is such as the diagnosis
What is consistency over time?
if the same doctor will come to the same diagnosis a second time when the same symptoms are present
What is consistency between doctors?
if different doctors will come to the same diagnosis of schizophrenia
What is issue one? (differences between clinicians)
Classification systems may be interpreted differently by different psychiatrists
Cultural differences of psychiatrists may see symptoms presented differently
Causes a disagreement in diagnosis= low reliability in diagnosis
what is issue two? (differences between patients)
no two cases of sz look alike
Culture: if the culture of the patient v the psychiatrist differs, misinterpretation of behaviour may occur
Symptoms: symptoms patients display and admit to on day of diagnosis could lead to different diagnosis on each day
what is validity?
whether you are measuring what you are trying to measure- if the results are true
explain symptom overlap
there are no pathognomonic symptoms (exclusive to one disorder)
could be diagnosed with sz but have another disorder
not all symptoms are just sz- they overlap with other disorders
e.g., bipolar share the same positive symptoms
low validity as can cause a wrong diagnosis
what is co-morbidity
individuals suffer with more than one mental illness at a time (they co-exist)
E.g., develop depression as a result of Sz diagnosis
behaviours caused by sz may be wrongly attributed to sz
low validity as it causes under diagnosis
