Interactionist approach Flashcards
What is a diathesis in terms of the diathesis-stress model?
A biological predisposition
What is a stress in terms of the diathesis-stress model?
An environmental stimulus that can trigger the diathesis
What is the diathesis stress model?
An explanation that says schizophrenia is the result of an interaction between biological and environmental factors
Who proposed a diatheis-stress approach to explainign schizophrenia?
Meehl
What did Meehl say the diathesis of schizophrenia was?
A singular schizogene
What does the schizogene supposedly cause?
A schizotypic personality type
What is a schizotypic personality type?
When an individual becomes more sensitive to environemental stressors
What do twin studies provide evidence of?
A genetic component to schizophrenia
Give two examples of environmental triggers of schizophrenia?
Substance abuse and childhood trauma
What did Varese find?
Children who experienced severe trauma before the age of 16 were 3x more likely to develop schizophrenia
What does the interactionist approach to treating schizophrenia involve?
Combining biological medication with psychological therapy
Why is an interactionist approach to treating schizophrenia effective?
The biological treatment treats the positive symptoms, anf the psychological treatment helsp reduce the negative symptoms
What are the 4 AO3 points of the interactionist approach to schizophrenia?
1) Diatheses may not be exclusively genetic
2) Tienari’s study + limitations
3) Implications for treatment
4) Difficulties in determining causal treatment
What may diatheses be other than genetics?
Brain damage
Individuals that experience what are 4x more likely to develop schizophrenia?
Obstetric complications
Why can obstetric complications lead to schizophrenia?
Because situations such as prolonged labour can lead to oxygen deprivation
What type of study did Tienari conduct?
Adoption study
How many adoptees were included in Tienari’s study?
303
In Tienari’s study, how many adoptees developed schizophrenia?
14
In Tienari’s study, how many of the adoptees who developed schizophrenia had schizophrenic mothers?
11
What did Tienari find to be a significant predictor in the development of schizophrenia ?
Adoptive family stress levels
What is the methodological issue with Tienari’s study?
The stress levels of the adoptive family were measured only at one given time
Which virus can lead to the development of schizophrenia?
Cytomegalovirus
What are the conditions for a child of a mother who contracted cytomegalovirus to develop schizophrenia?
Both the mother and the child must have a particular gene defect
What may able to treat schizophrenia in children whose mothers contracted cytomegalovirus?
Antiviral medicines
