Schizophrenia Flashcards
Schizophrenia -
A severe mental disorder where contact with reality and insight are impaired, an example of psychosis.
Classification of mental disorder -
The process of organising symptoms into categories based on which symptoms cluster together in people with mental disorders.
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia -
Atypical symptoms experienced in addition to normal experiences. They include hallucinations and delusions.
Hallucinations -
A positive symptom of schizophrenia. They are sensory experiences of stimuli that have either no basis in reality or are distorted perceptions of things that are there.
Delusions -
A positive symptom of schizophrenia. They involve beliefs.that have no basis in reality, for example, that the person with schizophrenia is someone else or that they are the victim of a conspiracy.
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia -
Atypical experiences that represent the loss of a usual experience such as clear thinking or ‘normal’ levels of motivation.
Speech poverty -
A negative symptom of schizophrenia. It involves reduced frequency and quality of speech.
Avolition -
A negative symptom of schizophrenia. It involves loss of motivation to carry out tasks and results in lowered activity levels.
Co-morbidity -
The occurrence of two disorders or conditions together, for example a person has both schizophrenia and a personality disorder. Where two conditions are frequently diagnosed together it calls into question the validity of classifying the two disorders separately.
Symptom overlap -
Occurs when two or more conditions share symptoms. Where conditions share many symptoms this calls into question the validity of classifying the two disorders separately.
What percentage of the world population experiences schizophrenia?
About 1% of the world population experiences schizophrenia.
Is schizophrenia more commonly diagnosed in men or women?
Schizophrenia is more commonly diagnosed in men than women.
Is schizophrenia more commonly diagnosed in cities or the countryside?
Schizophrenia is more commonly diagnosed in cities than in the countryside.
Is schizophrenia more commonly diagnosed in working-class or middle-class people?
Schizophrenia is more commonly diagnosed in working-class people than middle-class people.
What are the two major systems for the classification of mental disorders?
The two major systems are the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Disease edition 10 (ICD-10) and the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual edition 5 (DSM-5).
How does the DSM-5 differ from the ICD-10 in diagnosing schizophrenia?
In the DSM-5, one of the positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, or speech disorganisation) must be present for diagnosis, whereas two or more negative symptoms are sufficient under ICD-10.
What are the subtypes of schizophrenia recognised by ICD-10?
ICD-10 recognises paranoid schizophrenia, hebephrenic schizophrenia, and catatonic schizophrenia.
What characterises paranoid schizophrenia?
Paranoid schizophrenia is characterised by powerful delusions and hallucinations but relatively few other symptoms.
What characterises hebephrenic schizophrenia?
Hebephrenic schizophrenia primarily involves negative symptoms.
What characterises catatonic schizophrenia?
Catatonic schizophrenia is characterised by disturbances to movement, leaving the person immobile or overactive.
Does DSM-5 recognise subtypes of schizophrenia?
No, DSM-5 has dropped the recognition of subtypes of schizophrenia.
What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Positive symptoms are additional experiences beyond ordinary existence, including hallucinations and delusions.
What are hallucinations in schizophrenia?
Hallucinations are unusual sensory experiences, such as hearing voices or seeing things that are not there.
What are delusions in schizophrenia?
Delusions are irrational beliefs, such as believing one is an important historical figure or being persecuted.
What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Negative symptoms involve the loss of usual abilities and experiences, such as avolition and speech poverty.
What is avolition?
Avolition is difficulty in beginning or maintaining goal-directed activity, often leading to poor hygiene and lack of persistence.
What is speech poverty?
Speech poverty is a reduction in the amount and quality of speech, sometimes accompanied by delayed verbal responses.
How does DSM-5 classify speech disorganisation?
DSM-5 classifies speech disorganisation as a positive symptom, where speech becomes incoherent or the speaker changes topic mid-sentence.
What is reliability in the context of diagnosing schizophrenia?
Reliability refers to consistency, such as inter-rater reliability, where different assessors agree on their assessments.
What did Elie Cheniaux et al. (2009) find about inter-rater reliability in diagnosing schizophrenia?
They found poor inter-rater reliability, with one psychiatrist diagnosing 26 with schizophrenia using DSM and 44 using ICD, and the other diagnosing 13 using DSM and 24 using ICD.
What is validity in the context of diagnosing schizophrenia?
Validity refers to the extent to which a diagnosis measures what it is intended to measure.
What is criterion validity?
Criterion validity assesses whether different diagnostic systems arrive at the same diagnosis for the same person.
What does the Cheniaux et al. study suggest about the validity of schizophrenia diagnosis?
The study suggests poor validity, as schizophrenia is more likely to be diagnosed using ICD than DSM, indicating potential over-diagnosis in ICD or under-diagnosis in DSM.
What did Peter Buckley et al. (2009) find about co-morbidity in schizophrenia?
They found that around half of people with schizophrenia also have depression (50%) or substance abuse (47%), with PTSD in 29% and OCD in 23% of cases.
What is co-morbidity?
Co-morbidity is the phenomenon where two or more conditions occur together.
What is symptom overlap?
Symptom overlap refers to the sharing of symptoms between different conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder both involving delusions and avolition.
What does symptom overlap suggest about the validity of schizophrenia diagnosis?
Symptom overlap calls into question the validity of both the classification and diagnosis of schizophrenia.
What did Julia Longenecker et al. (2010) find about gender bias in schizophrenia diagnosis?
They found that since the 1980s, men have been diagnosed with schizophrenia more often than women, possibly due to gender bias or better functioning in women masking symptoms.
What does possible under-diagnosis of schizophrenia in women suggest about the validity of the diagnosis?
It suggests potential issues with the validity of the diagnosis, as symptoms may be overlooked or misinterpreted in women.
What is cultural bias in schizophrenia diagnosis?
Cultural bias refers to the over-diagnosis of schizophrenia in certain ethnic groups, such as African Americans and English people of Afro-Caribbean origin.
Why might African Americans and Afro-Caribbean people be more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia?
This may be due to cultural differences in interpreting symptoms, such as hearing voices, and potential over-interpretation by psychiatrists from different cultural backgrounds.
What does the over-diagnosis of schizophrenia in Black British and American people suggest about the validity of the diagnosis?
It suggests potential cultural bias and issues with the validity of the diagnosis, as symptoms may be misinterpreted or over-emphasised based on cultural differences.
