Non-biological explanation of schizophrenia

Question 1

Describe what the social causation hypothesis states about schizophrenia

Answer 1

Schizophrenia is caused through the relationship of urban living and only acts as a trigger for a direct cause

Question 2

State 5 potential factors that may affect development of schizophrenia according to social causation hypothesis

Answer 2

1) Overcrowding
2) Poor living conditions
3) Unemployment/low income
4) Living in an urban area
5) Poor family relations

Question 3

What is the justification for ethnic minorities to be more at risk of developing schizophrenia according to social causation hypothesis?

Answer 3

Immigrant population tend to be disadvantaged with regard to educational attainment, social class, discrimination, and standard of living.

Question 4

What is the baseline measure for risk of schizophrenia?

Answer 4

In a rural environment, which is given a value of 1

Question 5

What does going above/below the baseline measure involve and what implications does this have for risk of schizophrenia?

Answer 5

Any other environment that has a value higher than 1 increases risk of developing schizophrenia, whilst having anything lower than 1 lowers risk

Question 6

List 3 factors the social causation hypothesis uses to determine risk of schizophrenia

Answer 6

1) Social class
2) Social adversity
3) Immigrant population

Question 7

Describe social class as a factor of developing schizophrenia

Answer 7

People who are in lower socio-economic groups have higher incidences of schizophrenia
4/1000 developing the mental disorder which is higher than the general 1% of the population
This could be due to receiving different standards of health care or having poorer living conditions increasing stress

Question 8

Name a piece of research that supports the idea of social class playing a role in developing schizophrenia

Answer 8

P - Cooper (2005) supports social class as a factor
E - He found that the rate of schizophrenia in unskilled labour workers was 4.1x higher than higher managerial workers
E - This therefore supports the idea that coming from a lower class increases risk of developing schizophrenia

Question 9

Describe social adversity as a factor of developing schizophrenia

Answer 9

Social adversity during childhood is linked to an increased risk of developing schizophrenia
This is especially true in cases of children who come from a lower socio-economic background whereby pressures of life are more intense and immediate
This could be due to stress from the adversity triggering disorder

Question 10

Name a piece of research that supports the idea of social adversity playing a role in developing schizophrenia

Answer 10

P - Hjem et al (2004) supports social adversity as a factor
E - He found that social adversity in childhood relates to the development of schizophrenia later in life
E - Therefore demonstrating that social adversity could be a factor leading to development of schizophrenia

Question 11

Describe the immigrant population as a factor of developing schizophrenia

Answer 11

Higher incidences of schizophrenia have been found in African-Caribbeans and black immigrants
This is due to these minorities being more disadvantaged in education and the workplace that can lead to unemployment or poor living conditions that enhances stress

Question 12

Name a piece of research that supports the idea of the immigrant population playing a role in developing schizophrenia

Answer 12

P - Fearon et al (2004) supports the immigrant population as a factor
E - Found that there are 4x more incidences of schizophrenia in black immigrants than in the white population
E - Therefore demonstrating that the immigrant population are more at risk of developing schizophrenia