Psychological Explanations of Schizophrenia Flashcards
Psychological Theories
Psychodynamic
Cognitive
Socio-cultural Factors
Life events + Sz
Family relationships:
Double-bind theory
EE
Labelling theory
Psychodynamic
Freud
Result of regression to pre-ego state + attempts of re-establish ego control
If world = harsh = indi may regress to early stage of development before ego was properly formed + before they had developed realistic awareness of external world
Seen as infantile state with symptoms reflecting attempts to re-establish ego control (hallucinations)
Cognitive
Acknowledges role of bio factors causing initial sensory experiences of Sz but claims further features appear as indi attempts to understand experiences
Begin to reject feedback from others + develop delusional beliefs that they are being manipulated + persecuted by others
Life events + Sz
Occurrence of stressfull LE = major stress factor associated with higher risk of Sz episodes
Prior to episode, P’s who had previously experienced Sz reported 2 x stressful LE compared to healthy control group
High levels of physiological arousal associated with neurotransmitter changes are thought to be involved
Double-bind theory
Children who frequently receive contradictory messages from their parents = more likely to develop Sz
Child’s ability to respond to mother = incapacitated by such contradictions because 1 message invalidates the other
Interactions prevent development of an internally coherent construction of reality + in long-term manifests itself as Sz symptoms
Expressed emotion
A family communication style that involves criticism, hostility + emotional over-involvement
P returning to fam with high EE = 4 x more likely to relapse
High EE in Iranian culture = main cause of Sz relapse
-ve emotional climate in such families arouses patient + leads to stress beyond his or her already impaired coping mechanisms = triggers Sz episode
Labelling Theory
Scheff
Social groups construct rules for members of their group to follow
Symptoms of Sz = deviant from the rules
If person displays these unusual forms of behaviour = seen a deviant + label of Sz applied
One label applied = becomes self-fulfilling prophecy that promotes the development of other symptoms of schizophrenia
Evaluation of Psycodynamic explanations
No research evidence
Except that psychoanalysts claim, like him that disordered family patterns are cause of disorder
Schizophrenogenic mother = important contributory influence in development of Sz
Evaluation of Cognitive explanantions
Evidence in suggestion of treatment: Yellowlees et al
Developed machine that produces virtual hallucinations
Intention = show Sz that their hallucinations are not real
Evaluation of LE + Sz
Research: no link tween LE + onset of Sz
Infact found P’s who had experienced LE went on to have lower likelihood of relapse
Evidence that does show link is only correlational = could be that onset of disorder were the cause of major LE
Evaluation of Family relationships
Support: Adopted children who had Sz biological parents = more likely get Sz but only if adopted family was rated as disturbed
Illness only manifested itself under appropriate environmental conditions
Genetic vulnerability alone was not sufficient
Evaluation of double-bind theory
Sz = reported higher recall of double-bind statements by their mothers than non-Sz
Evidence may not be reliable as patients recall may be affected by Sz
Evaluation of EE
Issue whether it is a cause or effect of Sz
Lead to effective therapy = high EE relatives shown how to reduce levels of EE
Shown to be effective but not sure whether EE intervention was the key element of the therapy or whether other aspects of family intervention helped
Evaluation of Labelling Theory
Rosenhan found that once the ‘label’ of Sz had been applied, the ‘diagnosis’ continued to influence the behaviour of staff toward patient, even when it was no longer warranted
