Clinical Characteristics Flashcards
What are the 2 types of symptoms of SZ?
Positive and negative
What are positive symptoms of SZ?
Those that appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions - things ‘normal’ people don’t do
What are negative symptoms of SZ?
Those that appear to reflect a diminution or loss of normal functions which often persist during periods of low (or absent) positive symptoms - things ‘normal’ people do
Under the DSM, how does someone become diagnosed with SZ?
Requires at least a one-month duration of 2 or more positive symptoms
What is the main classificatory system for SZ?
The DSM
Name the 4 main positive symptoms of SZ
1) Delusions
2) Experiences of control
3) Hallucinations
4) Disordered thinking
Outline delusions for SZ
They are bizarre beliefs that seem real to the person but they are not real - sometimes they can be paranoid in nature - may also involve inflated beliefs about person’s power and importance
Name 3 different types of delusions for SZ
1) Persecutory delusions
2) Thought insertion
3) Grandiose delusions
Outline experiences of control for SZ
May believe they’re under the control of an alien force that has invaded their mind and/or body
Outline hallucinations for SZ
Bizarre, unreal perceptions of the environment that are usually auditory (hearing voices) but may also be visual (seeing lights, objects or faces), olfactory (smelling things) or tactile (feeling that bugs are crawling on or under the skin)
Outline disordered thinking for SZ
Feelings thoughts are inserted or withdrawn from mind - some cases may believe thoughts being broadcast so other can hear them - tangential, incoherent or loosely associated speech is used as an indicator of thought disorder
Name 5 negative symptoms for SZ
1) Affective flattening
2) Alogia
3) Avolition
4) Anhedonia
5) Asociality
Outline affective flattening for SZ
Reduction in range and intensity of emotional expression, including facial expression, voice tone, eye contact and body language
Outline alogia for SZ
Lack of language - poverty of speech, characterised by the lessening of speech fluency and productivity - thought to reflect the slowing or blocking thoughts
Outline avolition for SZ
Lack of motivation - reduction of or inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed behaviour - for example, sitting in the house for hours every day, doing nothing - often mistaken for disinterest
