diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia Flashcards
what is a diagnosis?
identify a cluster of symptoms that occur together and classify it as a disorder
DSM
to diagnose someone with SZ at least ‘one positive symptom’ needs to be present
ICD
need ‘two negative symptoms’
what is a positive symptom?
excess of usual functioning
-an ‘added’ behaviour
positive symptoms
-hallucinations (hearing voices, seeing things etc)
-delusions (irrational beliefs)
-delusions of persecution (think being watched, monitored or controlled)
-delusions of grandeur (thinks they are an important figure e.g. Jesus)
negative symptoms
-avolition (lack of motivation and drive, difficult to go to work to maintain personal hygiene)
-speech poverty (changes in speech patters - reduction in amount and quality)
-speech disorganisation (changing topic mid sentence)
strength
point - good reliability
evidence - inter rater reliability was +.97 (97% of the time 2 people agreed on the same diagnosis)
- test retest reliability was +.92 (92% of time a clinician will reach the same conclusion on 2 separate occasions
explain - confident that the diagnosis is consistent
weakness
point - poor validity
evidence - Cheniaux et al (2009) had 2 psychiatrists diagnose 100 with DSM + ICD and found that 68 were diagnosed using ICD and 39 with DSM
explain - SZ is either under or over diagnosed
weakness
point - SZ is co-morbid (2 different disorders at the same time) with other conditions and has symptom overlap
evidence - Buckley (2009) found that 50% of SZ also had depression - 29% has PTSD - 23% has OCD
- symptom overlap ( SZ + bipolar experience delusions and avolition)
explain - difficult to diagnose appropriately
gender bias
-men are more likely to be diagnosed
-women are under diagnosed as they are able to cope better with symptoms and utilised support
-this then leads to a lack of treatment
