PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS: FAMILY DYSFUNCTION AO1 & AO3

Question 1

The schizophrenogenic mother theory

Answer 1

• originating from Freudian ideas, claimed that a cold, dominant, and conflict-causing mother could cause schizophrenia in her child.
• Such a mother was said to be rejecting, overprotective, self-sacrificing, and which could lead to distrust, resentfulness, and instability in the child, inducing a schizophrenic reaction

Question 2

double bind

Answer 2

• When a child is presented with contradictory information they experience a ‘double bind’, and the children will become confused and lose their grip on reality.
• Negative symptoms include social withdrawal and flat affect (emotional expressions don’t show outwardly).
• Bateson suggested that if children receive mixed messages from parents For example, being asked for a hug and then being pushed away, then they learn that they cannot trust the messages they receive from others. As a result they do not trust their own feelings and perceptions

Question 3

Expressed emotion (EE)

Answer 3

• is a family communication style that involves a high degree of criticism, hostility, and emotional over-involvement in the life of a schizophrenic patient.
• High levels of EE are extremely stressful for the patient and consequently are likely to increase relapse rates.

Question 4

One limitation of the schizophrenogenic mother theory is that it’s a limited explanation.

Answer 4

• For example, by the 1980s this idea had lost influence, and only a small percentage of women who might arguably fit the criteria of SM had actually produced SZ children.
• Conversely, many schizophrenics were found to have mothers who did not fit the criteria.
• This suggests that the theory is a narrow and inadequate explanation for the development of SZ.
• This is a disadvantage as it casts doubt on the theory and hence decreases the validity of the theory.
• Furthermore, it does not establish a causal relationship, we are unaware if the schizophrenia child is causing the dysfunctional family, or the dysfunctional family causing schizophrenia.

Question 5

One strength of the double bind theory (DB) is that there is supporting research.

Answer 5

• For example, Berger found that schizophrenics reported a higher recall of double-bind statements by their mothers than non schizophrenics.
• This suggests that the schizophrenics would have been affected by their mothers statements resulting in trust issues and ultimately paranoid delusions.
• This is an advantage as it demonstrates the key principles of the DB theory and so increases the validity of the theory .
• However, this evidence may not be reliable due to retrospective data. Patients’ recall may be affected by their SZ and so we’re unable to completely rely on their recall as it may be inaccurate.
• Therefore, this casts doubt
  onto the findings of the theory

Question 6

One strength of expressed emotion is that there is supporting research.

Answer 6

• For example,Hooley et al conducted a meta-analysis of 26 studies and found that schizophrenics returning to a family environment of high EE experienced more than twice the average rate of relapse.
• This shows that families with high EE have a negative impact on SZ patients as the hostility & rejection they receive contributes to their relapse rate.
• This is an advantage as it supports the claim that EE could be responsible for a patient’s relapse.
• Therefore, increases the validity of the key assumptions made