Interactionalist Approach - Explaining

Question 1

What factors does internationalist approach acknowledge contribute to SZ

Answer 1

Biological, psychological, environmental

Question 2

Diathesis stress model

Answer 2

Made the first attempt at explaining how different factors might interact to contribute to sz

Question 3

Diathesis stress model formula

Answer 3

Diathesis (vulnerability) + stress trigger (negative psychotic experience) = schizophrenia

Question 4

Def internationalist approach to treating sz

Answer 4

Examines how the combination of biological, psychological and social factors explains the development of schizophrenia

Question 5

Who introduced original diathesis stress model

Answer 5

Meehl 1962

Question 6

Def diathesis stress model

Answer 6

Is a psychological concept that holds that schizophrenia is due to diathesis (an internal vulnerability) and an environmental trigger (stressor)

Question 7

Internal vulnerability or diathesis is predisposed meaning

Answer 7

According to meehl it was due to a single szhizogene

Question 8

Meehl believed schizophrenia only caused by

Answer 8

Having a schziogene and external stressors, without one no trigger of schizophrenia

Question 9

What’s the modern undertaking of developing diathesis

Answer 9

It is a polygenic disorder in which dopamine imbalances, external and environmental factors cause predisposition of the disorder

Question 10

Read research into diathesis

Answer 10

Developed idea that vulnerability might be related to nervous system development, early trauma leads to biological abnormalities altering neurological development

Question 11

2 examples of stressors

Answer 11

Chronic stress through childhood and adolescents

Presence of schizophrenogenic mother

Question 12

How is cannabis related to stress

Answer 12

Cannabis increases risk by 7% by interfering with dopamine
Not everyone who smokes gets schizophrenia
So must be other vulnerability factors

Question 13

4 evaluation points

Answer 13

Strength - supportive evidence
Weakness - original model too simplistic
Weakness - problems establishing how they react
Strength - helps us understand nature nurture interaction

Question 14

Elaboration strength - supportive evidence

Answer 14

Tienari studied biological children of schizophrenic mothers

• 5% of children developed sz in healthy family environment
• 36% children developed sz in dysfunctional family environment
• suggest biological diathesis is triggered by psychological stress or

Question 15

Elaboration strength - useful application

Answer 15

• tarrier found significant benefits to combined therapy over 18 months compared to treatment with antipsychotic medication alone
• patients had fewer positive symptoms, were less severe and spent fewer days in hospital
• internationalist approach more effective than antipsychotic treatment alone

Question 16

3 external factors that may affect internal vulnerability to schizophrenia

Answer 16

Substance abuse, early childhood trauma and academic failure

Question 17

Elaboration weakness - oversimplisric

Answer 17

• idea that single gene combined with certain parenting style cause schizophrenia is too simplistic
• multiple genes have been found to increase risk of developing illness
• indicating no single schizogene
• research by Houston found vulnerability isn’t limited to biology
• therefore proposing stress and vulnerability had a sungke cause is outdated

Question 18

Elaboration weakness - problems establishing how diathesis and stress interact

Answer 18

How do biological, environmental and psychological and social factors contribute to the internation

• as causes differ between different schizophrenics
• don’t fully understand mechanisms in which illness develops