Classification of Schizophrenia A01

Question 1

What is the diagnosis?

Answer 1

Positive symptoms - add something additional to normal behaviour
Negative symptoms - take away from normal functioning

Question 2

What are types of positive symptoms?

Answer 2

Hallucinations (signs, sounds and distorted perceptions)
Delusions (beliefs that are not consistent with reality E.g Grandeur and Persecution)

Grandeur = better/more important than you really are
Persecution = worse/less important than you really are

Question 3

What are types of negative symptoms?

Answer 3

Speech poverty (slow, delayed and infrequent speech E.g Alogia)
Avolition (a lack of goal directed behaviour/reduced motivation)

Question 4

What are the two manuals that are used to diagnose schizophrenia?

Answer 4

1. DSM-5
2. ICD-10

Question 5

What do both manuals require to diagnose schizophrenia?

Answer 5

2 out of 5 symptoms on the following list to be present:

1. Delusions
2. Hallucinations
3. Disorganised speech
4. Grossly disorganised or catatonic behaviour
   AND
5. Negative symptoms (e.g decreased motivation and diminished expressiveness)

The DSM: must have at least one positive symptom for a diagnosis (e.g hallucinations and delusions)

The ICD: can have any two symptoms (including two negatives)

Question 6

Explain what Osario (2019) found with his test-retest reliability study

Answer 6

180 individuals
assessment for schizophrenia
found test retest reliability of +0.92 for the DSM 5

Question 7

Explain what Osario (2019) found with his inter-rater reliability study

Answer 7

180 individuals
assessment for schizophrenia
found inter-rater reliability of +0.97 for the DSM 5

Question 8

What is a strength of Flavia Osario’s (2019) research?

Answer 8

He reported excellent reliability for the diagnosis of schizophrenia in 180 individuals using the DSM 5.

This is a strength because we can be sure the diagnosis of schizophrenia is based on the diagnosis criteria, not reliant on subjective interpretation of the clinician.

Question 9

Explain Cheniaux’s (2009) study on validity with diagnosis of schizophrenia?

Answer 9

100 individuals
assessed by one doctor with the DSM and another using the ICD
39 diagnosed with schizophrenia under the DSM and 68 under the ICD

Question 10

What is an issue with Cheniaux’s (2009) study?

Answer 10

It suggests schizophrenia is either under or over diagnosed depending on there system used - validity is low

Criterion validity is the type of validity were are concerned with here = how accurately the ‘test’ used to measure schizophrenia, actually measures schizophrenia

Question 11

Explain Rosenhan’s study on being sane in insane places

Answer 11

• three women
• five men including rosenhan himself
• briefly feigned auditory hallucinations (saying that they heard the word “thud”) in an attempt to gain admission to 12 psychiatric hospitals in five states in the United States
• all were admitted and diagnosed with psychiatric disorders
• after admission all psyudopatients acted normally and told stage they felt fine and had no longer experienced hallucinations
• all were forced to admit to having a mental illness and had to agree to take antipsychotic drug as a condition of their release
• the average time that the patients spent in the hospital was 19 days

In his original study, all but one of the patients were given the label of paranoid schizophrenia with the other patients being labelled as bipolar. This humiliated the hospitals as it showed the the validity of the diagnosis of SZ was extremely poor.

Question 12

What did Buckley find about Co-morbidity?

Answer 12

50% of individuals with Sz also have depression, 47% have substance abuse and 23% have OCD