psychological explanations for schizophrenia Flashcards
family dysfunction
Abnormal processes within a family such as poor communication, cold parenting and high levels of expressed emotion, which can be risk factors for the onset and/or maintenance of schizophrenia.
family dysfunction-the schizophrenogenic mother
Frieda Fromm-Reichmann proposed a psychodynamic explanations based on accounts she had heard from her patients about their childhood.
• The schizophrenogenic mother
• “Schizophrenia Causing”
• Cold, rejecting and controlling.
• Family climate marked by tension and secrecy.
• Leads to distrust and later paranoid delusions.
family dysfunction-the double bind hypothesis
Bateson et al. (1972)
A double bind is a dilemma in communication in which an individual receives two or more conflicting messages, with one negating the other
• Children who frequently receive contradictory messages from the parents are more likely to develop schizophrenia
For example, saying “I love you whilst turning away in disgust”.
Two conflicting messages - affection and animosity.
Bateson et al. (1972) Communicative style marked by contradictory or unclear messages from the parents.
• Trapped in situations where they fear doing the wrong thing
• Receive mixed messages about what right thing is
• Can’t seek clarification on what right thing is.
• Getting it wrong results in the withdrawal of love.
→ Creates an understanding of the world as dangerous
and confusing.
→ Paranoid delusions and disorganised thinking.
family dysfunction-expressed emotion
Negative expressed emotion is the level of negative emotion expressed towards the patient by the carer.
• Verbal criticism inc. violence
• Hostility, anger, rejection
• Emotional over involvement.
Serious source of stress
Can trigger a schizophrenic episode in someone who is vulnerable (e.g. genes) or can lead to relapse.
cognitive theory-dysfunctional thinking
• Schizophrenia is associated with dysfunctional thought processing.
• Frith et al. (1992) identified 2 types of dysfunctional thought processing.
• Metarepresentation
• Central Control
dysfunctional thinking
Metarepresentation
• The ability to reflect on thoughts and behaviour → allows us insight into our own intentions and goals.
• Dysfunction → failure to recognise actions and thoughts as being our own Auditory hallucination & Thought insertion.
Frith et al. also identified issues with the cognitive ability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions. Speech poverty and thought disorder could result from the inability to suppress automati thoughts and speech triggered by other thoughts. For example, people with schizophrenia tend to experience derailment of thoughts because each word triggers associations, and the person cannot suppress automatic responses to these.
6 marker
Research into psychological explanations for schizophrenia focus on the role of the family (family dysfunction) and the role of faulty information processes (cognitive explanations) as risk factors for developing schizophrenia.
One theory of family dysfunction emphasises the impact of negative expressed emotion. This refers to a high level of negative emotion expressed towards the patient by the carers who are often family members. For example verbal criticism, physical violence, hostility, anger and rejection. This is a serious source of stress for the patient which can lead to relapse in patients with schizophrenia, but can also cause the onset of schizophrenia in people who are already vulnerable, for example, due to their genetic makeup.
In terms of cognitive explanations, Frith et al. (1992) suggested faulty meta-representation and central control may be the cause of schizophrenia. Central control, refers to our ability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions. Symptoms like speech poverty, speech disorder and thought disorder could result from this inability because each thought triggers other thoughts and speech. For example, people with schizophrenia tend to experience what is known as the derailment of thoughts because each word triggers associations and the person cannot suppress automatic responses to these.
