Evaluations Of Schizophrenia

Question 1

evaluations Of diagnosing schizophrenia

Answer 1

> poor reliability and validity
symptom overlap can occur
bias can occur in diagnosing sufferers

Question 2

poor reliability and validity

Answer 2

• EX Cheniaux study had 2 psychiatrists to diagnose the same patients independently using both the DSM-5 and the ICD-10
  -findings shown that one psychiatrist diagnosed 26 according to DSM and 44 on ICD and the other diagnosed 13 and 24
• shows that theres a lack of inter rater reliability and consistency within the criteria
• also shows that the ICD criteria diagnoses more people compared to the DSM
  -shows people are either being over or under diagnosed
• questioning the internal validity of these methods
  LIMITATION
  economic implications on both the sufferer and psychiatrist if they have been diagnosed wrong

Question 3

symptom overlap can occur

Answer 3

> many symptoms of disorders overlap
EX schizophrenia and bipolar disorder involve positive symptoms and negative symptoms such as delusions and avolition
can lead to co-morbidity where 2 conditions are diagnosed together
Buckley found that in schiz suffers half of them are also diagnosed with depression or substance abuse
means different criteria diagnose people differently
makes it hard for psychiatrists to be certain of the condition of an ill person
- meaning deciding treatment is difficult and has risks of being wrongly prescribed
many may waste time doing treatment that don’t actually benefit them
but many may actually benefit from it
LIMITATION
questions whether conditions are actually different or not

Question 4

bias can occur in diagnosing sufferers

Answer 4

> gender and culture
EX longenecker reviewed studies of prevalence of schizophrenia and concluded since the 1980’s men had been diagnosed more ( prior to this it was seen to be the same)
could be due to genetic vulnerability or gender bias in diagnosis
female patients are seen to be able to function better with the disorder because they have networks of friends that help them cope compared to men
psychiatrists may under diagnose as they assume women will cope better
furthermore African Americans and English people of afro Caribbean origin are several times more likely than white people to be diagnosed
but there been no rates of genetic vulnerability in Africa,
suggesting beta cultural bias has occurred because psychiatrists use methods used on western cultures on people from other cultures (imposed etic) and judge people on the standards set by western cultures ( ethnocentrism) which means people from other cultures are seen as abnormal
EX some cultures believe hearing voices in your head is sacred but to western societies it would be seen as “ill”
means psychiatrists over diagnose people
LIMITATION
both show how the process of diagnosing people lacks validity