Psychological Explanations for schizophrenia

Question 1

what are the 2 psychological explanations

Answer 1

• family dysfunction
• cognitive dysfunction

Question 2

what are the 3 theories of family dysfunction (AO1)

Answer 2

• the schizophrenogenic mother
• double-bind theory
• expressed emotion

Question 3

what is the schizophrenogenic mother theory

Answer 3

• Fromm-Reichmann worked with many patients and from their accounts of childhood developed a psychodynamic theory of the Mother’s behaviour as a causal explanation of the development of Sz.
• Schizophrenogenic mothers are cold and rejecting (linked to avoidant parenting)
• they are controlling, create tension and secrecy in the home which later manifests itself in the paranoid delusions the patient will develop.

Question 4

what is the double-bind theory

Answer 4

• Bateman proposed that communication issues within the family during childhood could be a potential risk factor in the development of Sz.
• A child wants to avoid displeasing parents at all costs (self-protection mechanism) but when it is unclear what the right thing is to do, when this changes or is inconsistent across both parents the child is stuck in a “double bind”.
• The subsequent withdrawal of love they experience when they displease a parent (linked to resistant attachment style) makes the world confusing and dangerous, and manifests itself in symptoms of disorganised thinking later on.

Question 5

what is the expressed emotion theory

Answer 5

• This final type of dysfunction concerns a parent having excessive levels of negative emotion towards their child and being excessively involved in their life.
• They are hyper-critical, incredibly hostile, angry and rejecting.
• This style of parenting is also linked to high levels of relapse in patients, but also to the diathesis stress model- I.e. a trigger in patients whose biology already predisposes them for Sz.

Question 6

what is the +ve AO3 point for the family dysfunction explanation for schizophrenia

Answer 6

• Research support for general dysfunction
• What we do know is that certain childhood experiences predispose you to be more vulnerable to the development of Sz.
• Read (2005) carried out a meta-analysis of 45 studies and found that 69% of female patients and 59% of male patients with Sz had a history of childhood abuse (obviously family dysfunction but linked to the secrecy, tension aspects of theory).

Question 7

what are the -ve AO3 points for the family dysfunction explanation for schizophrenia

Answer 7

• Lack of evidence and ethical implications
• validity

Question 8

expand on the -ve AO3 point, Lack of evidence and ethical implications, for the family dysfunction explanation

Answer 8

• Very little evidence exists which lends any validity to these theories.
• Outdated research involved interviewing mothers/parents to see if they fitted the criteria described in these three theories, an idea which modern psychiatrists utterly reject.
• These theories are now considered unethical and impossible to measure experimentally.

Question 9

expand on the -ve AO3 point, validity, for the family dysfunction explanation

Answer 9

• One major issue with any childhood based research evidence is validity.
• The majority of research asks adults to reflect on/draw memories from their childhood (using “retrospective” data) and we already know how flawed this can be.
• Modern studies are attempting to be prospective instead in that they follow up children with particular childhood experiences in order to attempt to draw links between development of Sz and early family dysfunction.

Question 10

what were the 2 c