Schizophrenia Flashcards
What is a psychotic disorder?
A severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.
Psychosis can manifest in various forms, including schizophrenia.
What is schizophrenia?
A serious mental illness characterized by incoherent or illogical thoughts, bizarre behaviour and speech, and delusions or hallucinations.
Schizophrenia typically begins in early adulthood.
What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Behaviors that represent excesses in functioning, such as hallucinations and delusions.
Positive symptoms add additional behaviors to the individual’s existing repertoire.
What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Behaviors that represent deficits in functioning, such as avolition and alogia.
Negative symptoms diminish the individual’s existing behavioral repertoire.
Define hallucinations in the context of schizophrenia.
Bizarre, unreal perceptions of the environment, often auditory, but can also be visual, olfactory, or tactile.
Many individuals with schizophrenia report hearing voices that comment on their behavior.
Define delusions in the context of schizophrenia.
Bizarre beliefs that seem real to the person but are not, such as paranoid beliefs or inflated self-importance.
Examples include believing one is being spied on or has special powers.
What is disorganized speech in schizophrenia?
Speech that shows abnormal thought processes, often incoherent and resembling ‘word salad’.
It may involve slipping from topic to topic, making it difficult to follow.
What is avolition?
A negative symptom characterized by a lack of purposeful, willed behavior.
Avolition can significantly affect daily functioning and quality of life.
What is alogia?
A negative symptom characterized by limited speech output with repetitive content.
Alogia reflects a reduction in verbal communication abilities.
What is affective flattening?
A reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression, including body language and voice tone.
Individuals with this symptom show fewer facial movements and smiles.
What is the DSM-V?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which classifies and describes over 200 mental disorders.
It is primarily used in the U.S. for diagnosing conditions like schizophrenia.
What are the criteria for diagnosing schizophrenia according to DSM-IV-TR?
Experiencing two or more positive symptoms for a month, significant impact on functioning, and ruling out other causes.
Symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, and negative symptoms.
True or False: Schizophrenia is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 35.
True
Both men and women are affected equally during this age range.
Fill in the blank: Schizophrenic symptoms are split into two categories: _______ and _______.
positive symptoms; negative symptoms
What is the diathesis-stress model?
An interactionist approach that explains and treats schizophrenia, considering both genetic predispositions and environmental stressors.
This model emphasizes the importance of both biological and psychological factors.
What is the difference between typical and atypical antipsychotics?
Typical antipsychotics primarily target positive symptoms; atypical antipsychotics are claimed to be more effective for negative symptoms.
Atypical drugs are considered superior in addressing negative symptoms.
What is comorbidity?
The extent that 2 or more conditions can occur at the same time.
What is symptom overlap?
When symptoms of different disorders are similar, making diagnosis challenging.
Define reliability in the context of schizophrenia diagnosis.
The consistency of a classification system such as DSM in assessing schizophrenia symptoms.
Define validity in the context of schizophrenia diagnosis.
The extent that a diagnosis represents something real and distinct from other disorders.
What does diagnostic reliability entail?
A diagnosis must be repeatable over time and among different clinicians.
What is inter-rater reliability?
The degree to which different clinicians reach the same conclusions about a diagnosis.
What did Cooper et al (1972) find regarding diagnosis inconsistency?
Inconsistency between New York and London psychiatrists in diagnosing schizophrenia.
What was the concordance rate found by Jakobsen et al. (2005) using ICD-10?
98% concordance rate for diagnosing schizophrenia.
What did Whaley (2001) discover about DSM inter-rater reliability?
Inter-rater reliability correlations as low as +0.11.
What did Mojtabi & Nicholson find regarding distinguishing delusions?
Inter-rater reliability correlations of only +0.40 among US psychiatrists.
What did Copeland (1971) find about cultural differences in schizophrenia diagnosis?
69% of US psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia vs 2% of British psychiatrists.
What did Luhrman et al (2015) discover about experiences of auditory hallucinations?
Positive experiences reported by African and Indian subjects vs violent experiences by American subjects.
What does test-retest reliability refer to?
The consistency of a test/tool over time.
What did Wilks et al (2003) find regarding the RBANS test?
Test-retest reliability correlation coefficient of +0.84.
What did Prescott et al (1986) find about cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia?
Stable performance on measures over a 6 month period.
What are the implications of validity in schizophrenia diagnosis?
Is the diagnosis an accurate reflection of the disorder and distinct from others?
What did Heather (1976) find regarding predictive validity of schizophrenia diagnosis?
Only a 50% chance of predicting treatment based on diagnosis.
What did Rosenhan et al (1972) reveal about diagnostic tools?
The process is more subjective than hoped, questioning reliability and validity.
What psychiatric co-morbidities are common among patients with schizophrenia?
- Substance abuse
- Anxiety
- Symptoms of depression
What did Buckley et al (2009) find regarding co-morbidity?
Common occurrence of psychiatric co-morbidities among patients with schizophrenia.
What is symptom overlap in relation to schizophrenia?
Many symptoms found in other disorders, complicating diagnosis.
What did Ellason and Ross (1995) find about DID and schizophrenia symptoms?
People with DID have more schizophrenic symptoms than those diagnosed as schizophrenic.
What did Broverman et al. (1970) find regarding gender bias in diagnosis?
Clinicians equated mentally healthy ‘adult’ behavior with ‘male’ behavior.
What did Loring and Powell (1988) find about gender bias in diagnosis?
56% of male patients were diagnosed with schizophrenia vs 20% of female patients.
What did Cochrane (1977) report about schizophrenia incidence in Afro-Caribbean groups?
Afro-Caribbean origin individuals are seven times more likely to be diagnosed in the UK.
What did Harrison et al find regarding incidence rates of schizophrenia?
8 times higher for Afro-Caribbean groups than for white groups.
What cultural belief is associated with auditory hallucinations in some Afro-Caribbean groups?
Communication with ancestors is considered normal.
True or False: Auditory hallucinations are always considered a symptom of schizophrenia.
False
Fill in the blank: The diagnosis of schizophrenia can be influenced by _______.
[cultural background]
What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Positive symptoms are additions to normal experience, such as hallucinations and delusions.
They contrast with negative symptoms, which reflect a deficit in normal experience.
What cultural belief is associated with Agwe’s experience in Jamaica?
Some Afro-Caribbean groups believe that their ancestors communicate with them.
This belief may lead to different interpretations of symptoms like hearing voices.
What is co-morbidity in the context of schizophrenia?
Co-morbidity is where two conditions co-exist in the same individual at the same time.
For example, a person with schizophrenia might also suffer from depression or a personality disorder.
How can symptom overlap affect the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
Symptom overlap can lead to unreliable or incorrect diagnoses.
For instance, a symptom like delusions might be present in both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Define reliability in relation to the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Reliability refers to the level of agreement on the diagnosis by different psychiatrists across time and cultures.
It also includes the stability of diagnosis over time given no change in symptoms.
What does validity mean in the context of schizophrenia diagnosis?
Validity is the extent to which schizophrenia is a unique syndrome with characteristic signs and symptoms.
It assesses whether the diagnosis accurately reflects the condition.
List some issues affecting the reliability and validity of schizophrenia diagnosis.
- Range of symptoms across individuals
- Comorbidity
- Symptom overlap with other disorders
- Cultural bias
- Labelling effects
True or False: The reliability of major classification systems like ICD and DSM is universally accepted.
False
There are variations in reliability across different clinicians and cultures.
What might be a wider implication of issues in the reliability and validity of schizophrenia diagnosis?
Wider implications include labelling and cultural bias.
Misdiagnosis can lead to stigma and inappropriate treatment.
Fill in the blank: Co-morbidity is when two conditions _______.
[co-exist in the same individual at the same time]
What is an example of a condition that might co-occur with schizophrenia?
Examples include:
* Personality disorder
* Depression
* Alcoholism
