Factors affecting Flashcards
Define co-morbidity
One or more disorders or diseases occur simultaneously with schiz
Creates reliability problem with diagnosis
What do schizophrenics often suffer from alongside schizophrenia?
Depression
What does co-morbidity suggest ?
schizophrenia may not be a separate disorder
issue of descriptive v
Describe Sim et al.
32% of 142 hospitalised schizophrenics had additional mental disorder
2006
Describe Goldman .
1999
50% schizophrenics had co-morbid medical condition, substance abuse or polydipsia(excessive thirst)
Describe Buckley et al.
Explain culture bias.
Concerns the tendency to over-diagnose members of other cultures as sufferers of schizophrenia.
In Britain- afro-Caribbean’s are more likely to be diagnosed with schiz than white people
What experience do classified afro-Caribbean’s have when diagnosed with schiz?
More likely to be placed in secure hospitals
possible heightened stress levels from ethnic minorities (poverty, racism etc)
Describe Cochrane.
1977
Reported the incidence of schizophrenia in West Indies and Britain to be similar- around 1%
Afro-c were 7 times more likely to be diagnosed with schiz living in Britain
Describe Whaley.
2004
believes main reason for incidence of schizophrenia among black Americans (2.1%) being greater than white Americans (1.4%) is culture bias
There are ethic differences in symptom expression.
Explain Gender Bias
Disagreement between prevalence rates in males v females.
Accepted belief that males and females were equally as vulnerable to the disorder.
How many more men have been shown to suffer from schizophrenia than women?
50%
What do clinicians fail to consider within male tendencies?
suffer more negative symptoms
higher levels of substance abuse
poorer recovery rate therefore higher relapse rates
Describe Lewin.
1984
if clearer diagnostic criteria is applied, female sufferers would be lower
therefore there os gender bias in original diagnosis
supported by Castle et al (1993)-> found more restrictive diagnosis criteria showed male incidence of disorder = more than 2x that of females
Explain symptom overlap.
Symptoms of the disorder are often also found with other disorders -> difficult for clinicians to decide the disorder a patient is suffering with
Occurs within bipolar- depression and hallucinations
can also occur in autism, cocaine intoxication etc
