Diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia

Question 1

How do you diagnose mental disorders ?

Answer 1

• DSM-5 - an American manual where at least one positive symptom has to be shown
• ICD-11 - international classification of diseases - 2 negative symptoms

Question 2

What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia ?

Answer 2

Provide an additional experience to everyday functioning beyond ordinary experience

Question 3

What are examples of positive symptoms of schizophrenia ?

Answer 3

Delusions - Bizarre beliefs that a person believes to be real.
Paranoid delusions = they are going to get me
Delusions of Grandeur = I am god

Hallucinations = false perceptions which can affect the senses.
These can be auditory, visual, tactile

Question 4

What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia ?

Answer 4

Results in the loss of a usual experience/ everyday process

Question 5

What are examples of negative symptoms of schizophrenia ?

Answer 5

Avolition = a reduction to engage in goal-directed behaviours
E.g. hygiene, work, social

Speech poverty = A loss of speech fluency - slowing or block thoughts

Question 6

How is the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia reliable ?

Answer 6

Osorio:
- found that both inter-rater and tes-retest reliability scores were above +0.9
- shows high levels of significance and positive correlation
- this means that the diagnosis is consistent
- research occurred in 2019 which means that consistency of diagnosis has improved

Question 7

How is the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia not reliable ?

Answer 7

Cultural relativism
- Copeland
- found that 69% US clinicians gave a diagnosis to the same description that only 2% in the UK gave
- classification of symptoms is different through cultures
- different norms in different societies

Question 8

How is the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia not valid ?

Answer 8

Criterion validity:
- Cheniaux
- two psychiatrists independently diagnosed 100 patients using both ICD and DSM
- DSM = 30
- ICD = 68
- ICD is diagnosing more patients than the DSM
- either over or under diagnosing

Comorbidity:
- the occurrence of two or more conditions being diagnosed together
- Buckley said 50% of schizophrenia patients
suffer with depression
- being diagnosed with a second disorder questions the uniqueness of SZ
- not an independent disorder as it is usually paired with others

Gender bias:
- inaccurate diagnosis of women
- androcentric symptoms - conditions classified off males based symptoms
- women present with other symptoms
- therefore there is an under-diagnosis of women with schizophrenia