P5- (L) Co-morbidity

Question 1

What is a limitation of the diagnosis of schizophrenia?

Answer 1

A limitation of the diagnosis of schizophrenia is it’s co-morbidity with other conditions. As the classification of mental disorders is dependent on symptoms clustering together, conditions frequently occur together.

Question 2

What is an example of this?

Answer 2

For example, Buckley et al (2009) found that 50% of individuals with schizophrenia also had a diagnosis of depression; 47% have a co-morbidity with substance abuse.

Question 3

Why is this an issue for both diagnosis and classification ?

Answer 3

This is an issue for both diagnosis and classification, because it may mean that schizophrenia does not exist as a distinct condition, and that someone may be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia when they are in fact suffering from a different condition.