Evaluations and Criticisms of Schizophrenia Explanations and Treatments Flashcards
Q:What did Copeland’s (1971) study reveal about the reliability of schizophrenia diagnoses?
A: Copeland’s study showed poor reliability, with 69% of US psychiatrists diagnosing schizophrenia compared to only 2% of British psychiatrists.
Q: What did Whaley (2001) find about inter-rater reliability for schizophrenia diagnosis?
A: Whaley found inter-rater reliability correlations as low as 0.11, indicating poor reliability in diagnosing schizophrenia.
Q: What did Rosenhan’s (1973) study demonstrate about the validity of schizophrenia diagnoses?
A: Rosenhan’s study showed that ‘normal’ individuals could be diagnosed with schizophrenia, questioning the validity of such diagnoses.
Q: Why is predictive validity low in schizophrenia diagnoses?
A: Because the course of schizophrenia is highly variable and not predictable.
Q: What did Fernando claim about race and schizophrenia diagnosis?
A: British psychiatrists may hold stereotypes about race affecting diagnosis, leading to overdiagnosis in ethnic minorities.
Q: What did Loring (1988) find about the influence of race on schizophrenia diagnosis?
A: Black males were more likely to be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia compared to white males based on the same symptoms.
Q: How does gender bias affect the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
A: Males are more likely to be involuntarily committed, while females may self-commit due to social acceptability of seeking help.
Q: How does co-morbidity affect the reliability of schizophrenia diagnoses?
A: Co-morbidity with disorders like depression and substance abuse complicates diagnosis and questions its validity.
Q: What is the issue with symptom overlap in schizophrenia?
A: Symptoms like delusions of grandeur overlap with other disorders, making it difficult to distinguish schizophrenia from conditions like bipolar disorder.
Q: What are the limitations of family and twin studies in schizophrenia?
A: They fail to separate the influence of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture).
Q: What did adoption studies by Heston find about schizophrenia?
A: A 10% concordance rate for adopted children of schizophrenic mothers, suggesting a genetic link.
Q: What is a major criticism of the dopamine hypothesis in schizophrenia?
A: It is unclear whether increased dopamine activity causes schizophrenia or is a result of the disorder.
Q: What challenge exists with linking abnormal brain structures to schizophrenia?
A: Cause and effect relationships cannot be established; it’s unclear if structural abnormalities cause schizophrenia or vice versa.
Q: What did Linszen find about expressed emotion (EE) and schizophrenia relapse?
A: High EE families increase the likelihood of relapse by four times compared to low EE families.
Q: What is a major criticism of the EE studies?
A: They are correlational and may reflect the impact of living with a schizophrenic family member rather than causing the disorder.
