Heston Flashcards
aim
to develop more evidencee about the role of genes in SZ and to see hie many children with mothers with SZ would go on to develop SZ themselves as adoption studies remove the influence of the environment, therefore potentially providing clear evidence of role of genes
sample
weakness: bias sample, volenteer, not representative of target population ( expand )
strength: although, high control over ppt variables, use matched pairs design on controls and experimentl sample: sex, how long in care, type of care: foster, adoption, institution adding to validity meaning we can make more meaningful/ credible comparison s( link )
procedure
asked by letter and asked to participate in a personal intervew
most of the interviews were taken place in own home to maximise observations
short form of MMPI given after interview
info evaluated blindly by 2 ohsychiatrists and finally by a third researcher
gcontrol group was essential to ensure it wasn’t just adoption itself responsible forSZ
strength: tenderised interview and questionnaire to see if any had gone on to develop SZas adults assessing psychological dimensions in considerable depth, can test for consistency and questioning of ppts was consistent, increasing reliaboloyu ( link )
strength: the MHSRS proved highly reliable, good agreement between raters whenever differences arose 4th psychiatrist asked for an opinion, carried out blind- eliminating researcher bias and subjectivity
results
of the 47 adults interviewd with mothers with SZ 5 had been hospitalised with SZ, 3 chronically ill
10%- which we would expect even when share environment
strong evidence role of genes
non of the control group developed SZ
- demonstrated adoption intself doesn’t cause SZ
application- adoption studies credible and valid maehtod of investigation =g whether a illness is due t biological causes or environmental causes
allowing for avoidance techniques such as drugs to avoid onset or if enviro- avoiding stressors
