Psychological Explanations - Family Dysfunction

Question 1

3 types of family dysfunction

Answer 1

Schizophrenogenic mother
Double binds
Expressed emotion

Question 2

Who found out about schizophrenogenic mothers causing schizophrenia

Answer 2

From-reichmann 1948

Question 3

What does schizophrenogenic mean

Answer 3

Schizophrenia causing

Question 4

Characteristics of a schizophrenogenic mother

Answer 4

Cold, rejecting and controlling

Question 5

Process of schizophrenogenic mother

Answer 5

Mother is cold rejecting and controlling

• creating tension and secrecy within the family climate
• leading to distrust and symptoms such as paranoia, delusions and eventually developing schizophrenia.

Question 6

Who was associated with double binds

Answer 6

Bateson 1956

Question 7

What did Bateson emphasise

Answer 7

Though family climate is important, he emphasised communication style in the family

Question 8

Did Bateson believe double bind communication always led to schizophrenia

Answer 8

No, it’s a risk factor thought not everyone with schizophrenia had this communication style

Question 9

What is double bind communication

Answer 9

Child receives mixed messages

Question 10

Example of double bind

Answer 10

‘Well done for passing your test for once’

Question 11

How does double bind lead to schizophrenia

Answer 11

• child fears of doing anything wrong
• feeling unable to comment on situation
• effects child by being punished by withdrawal of love
• leading to schizophrenia symptoms

Question 12

Schizophrenia symptoms double binds causes

Answer 12

Flattened expression of emotions and feelings

• withdrawal
• disorganised thinking
• paranoid delusions due to feeling the world is confusing and dangerous
• difficult to create coherent construction of reality because contradictions in communication

Question 13

Who came up with 2 types of double binds

Answer 13

Lidz 1973

Question 14

The two types of double binds

Answer 14

Martial schism

Martial skew

Question 15

Marital schism def

Answer 15

Parents are emotionally distant, neither mother or father compromise and there may be competition for children’s attention

Question 16

Def marital skew

Answer 16

One parent dominates and the other is submissive and yell ding to over bearing dominance of other

Question 17

Expressed emotion refers to

Answer 17

Refers to the level of emotions shown to a parent by their caregivers

Question 18

High levels of negative expressed emotion act as

Answer 18

As serious cause of stress for the patient

Question 19

3 aspects of negative expressed emotion

Answer 19

Verbal criticism sometimes with violence
Hostility towards patient including anger and rejection
Emotional over involvement including needless self sacrifice

Question 20

How does expresses emotion cause schizophrenia

Answer 20

• source of stress for patient

- they can act as a trigger for someone with genetic predisposition to schizophrenia and reason for relapse

Question 21

4 evaluation points

Answer 21

Strength - supportive evidence
Weakness - incomplete explanation
Weakness - led to parent blaming
Strength - supportive evidence

Question 22

Elaboration strength - supportive evidence

Answer 22

• teinari carriers out prospective study
• when adopted family rated as disturbed, adopted children whose biological parents had schizophrenia were more likely to develop symptoms than those who had no family history
• generic vulnerability only showed when family was disturbed
• adds to accuracy

Question 23

Elaboration weakness - incomplete explanation

Answer 23

• fuller understanding when considering biological aspects
• eg genes as well as family dysfunction and the interaction eg diathesis stress
• needed to explain why not everyone wirh a dysfunctional family develops schizophrenia

Question 24

Elaboration weakness - led to parent blaming

Answer 24

• parents with schizophrenia child experienced stress
• blame eg schizophrenogenic mother and double binds is inappropriate
• parent blaming harmful and has bad consequences
• eg bad stereotypes
• poor ethics

Question 25

Elaboration strength - supportive evidence 2

Answer 25

• read reviewed 46 studies of child abuse and schizophrenia
• 69% of adult female prison inpatients ans 59% makes experienced abuse in childhood
• clear link shown between dysfunctional families and symptoms of schizophrenia
• reliability