Outline clinical characteristics of schizophrenia. (5) Flashcards
Type 1 =
positive symptoms - means something is in some way added to the sufferer’s personality
Type 2 =
negative symptoms = means something is taken away from the sufferer’s personality
Type 1 examples
Delusions, Hallucinations, Disorganised thinking (speech)
Type 2 examples
Grossly disorganised or catatonic behaviour, Diminished emotional expression, Avolition
Delusions
Fixed false beliefs resistant to change in the light of contrary evidence - these include delusions of persecution, reference or grandeur, thought withdrawal, thought insertion and delusions of control
Hallucinations
Perception-like experiences without an external stimulus - most commonly auditory, but in other sense modalities e.g. visual or olfactory. They need to be distinguished from normal relies experience
Disorganised Thinking (speech)
Disorganised thought inferred speech - involves switching of topics, irrelevance and incoherence / ‘word salad’
Grossly disorganised behaviour
Disorganised behaviour includes unpredictable agitation or ‘silliness’
Catatonic behaviour
Catatonic behaviour is a marked decrease in reactivity to the environment, including rigid posture lack of verbal or motor responses
Diminished emotional expression
Reduction of eye contact, facial expressions, hand movements
Avolition
decrease in motivated self-initiated purposeful activities
Classification systems
DSM, ICD
Diagnosis criteria for DSM
Two or more {of the following] symptoms, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period. At least one of these must 1, 2 or 3. “Continuous signs of disturbance’ for at least 6 months
(According to DSM 5) the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia is
0.3% - 0.7%
Typical age of onset
15-25 years old
