Schizophrenia Flashcards
Schizophrenia
A severe psychotic disorder. It involves abnormal thoughts and perceptions. The person loses insight, loses touch with reality and fails to realise they have a problem.
What gender suffers more from schizophrenia?
4 points
- Males
- working class as opposed to middle class
- people who live in cities rather than the countryside
- Many schizophrenics end up homeless or hospitalised due to the interference of symptoms.
What would a clinician use to diagnosis scizophrenia
A clinician would use a diagnostic manual to make a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) is used in Europe.
What test is used in the USA?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) of Psychiatric Disorders
What test is used to diagnose schizophrenia in Europe?
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)
7 Positive symptoms of Schizophrenia
Clinical Characteristics
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Hearing voices
- Disorganised thought and speech
- Thoughts being controlled
- Bizarre behaviour – dressing inappropriately, crying frequently.
- Catatonic behaviour – movement disorders such as rigidity or waxy flexibility.
7 Negative symptoms of Schizophrenia
Clinical Characteristics
- Avolition - lack of or decline in motivation
- Alogia/Speech Poverty - lack of or decline in speech
- Apathy
- Loss of drive and spontaneity
- Stereotyped movements
- Withdrawal
- Isolation
Paranoid Schizophrenia
Powerful delusions and hallucinations but relatively few other symptoms
Hebephrenic Schizophrenia
Involves primarily negative symptoms
Catatonic Schizophrenia
Disturbance of movement, leaving the person either immobile or overactive
Avolition
The reduction, difficulty, or inability to imitate and persist in goal-directed behaviour, often mistaken for apparent disinterest.
Delusions
Firmly held erroneous beliefs, that are caused by distortions of reasoning or misinterpreted of perceptions or experiences
Hallucinations
Distortions or exaggerations of perception in any of the senses, mostly notably auditory hallucinations
Negative Symptoms
Appear to reflect diminution or loss of normal functioning
Postive symptoms
Appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functioning
Speech poverty
The lessening of speech fluency and productivity, which reflects slowing or blocked thoughts
Briefly explain what is meant by the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia [2 marks]
A positive symptom of schizophrenia is symptom to appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal function. An example of this would be Hallucinations which involves exaggerations of perceptions in any of the senses.
A negative symptoms of schizophrenia is a symptom that appear to reflect a diminution or loss of normal functioning. An example of this would be Speech poverty, this involves the lessening of speech fluency and productivity, which reflects slowing or blocked thoughts.
Outline the nature of hallucinations and delusions [3 marks]
Delusions of persecution:
The belief that others want to harm, threaten or manipulate you. Schizophrenics may believe that they are being spied on, that nasty rumours are being spread about them or that people are plotting to kill them.
Delusions of grandeur
The idea that you are an important individual, even god-like and have extraordinary powers. One of the most frequent of this type of delusion is the belief that they are Jesus Christ.
Delusions of control
Individuals may believe that they are under the control of an alien force that has invaded their mind and/or body. This may be interpreted, for example, as the presence of spirits or implanted radio transmitters.
Reliability and validity in diagnosis and classification
Reliability
Refers to the consistency of classificatory system such as DSM, or a measuring instrument.
Biological explanations of schizophrenia
General Genetic Link
AO3 Evaluation
Good reliability
