Clinical: Schizophrenia Flashcards
What are 4 key positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
-Thought insertion
-Hallucinations
-Delusions
-Disordered thinking
What is thought insertion?
Believing that your thoughts have been implanted by an external source
Define hallucinations
Experiences that don’t correspond with reality
Define delusions
Fixed beliefs that are resistant to change.
Define disordered thinking
Jumbled thoughts leading to incoherant speech
What are the cultural differences linking to hearing voices?
American, Indian and Ghanaian people
American: 70% voices said to hurt others
Indian: family members
Ghanaian: positive
What are the issues with diagnosing schizophrenia?
Cannot be reliably be diagnosed although there is a high degree of consistency (descriptors for schizophrenia are consistent and allow clinicians to distinguish the condition)
However it shares symptoms with other disorders for example hallucinations can be experienced in PTSD and depression.
What are the 3 negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
-Avolition (removal of sensation/ experiences)
-Catatonia (unresponsive)
-Social withdrawal
-Poverty of speech
What is the difference between positive and negative symptoms?
Positive is when a symptom is added and negative is when a usual behaviour is taken away
What factors can increase someone’s risk of developing schizophrenia?
Age
Gender
Culture
What are the features of schizophrenia (age and gender)?
Men= early/mid 20s
Women= late 20s/early 30s
Higher prevalence for men.
What are the features of schizophrenia (Culture)?
2nd generation immigrants are at a higher risk.
More black Caribbean males are diagnosed with schizophrenia than other countries.
What are the features of schizophrenia (life style factors)?
Recreational drugs like cannabis.
Urban dwelling
