Schizophrenia

Question 1

What is schizophrenia?

Answer 1

schizophrenia is a psychotic, severe mental disorder characterised by a profound disruption of cognition and emotion

Question 2

What is psychosis?

Answer 2

a severe mental health problem where the individual loses contact with reality

Question 3

How is schizophrenia diagnosed?

Answer 3

using classification system

Question 4

what is classification?

Answer 4

the process of organising symptoms into categories based on which symptoms cluster together in sufferers

Question 5

What are the 2 classification systems used?

Answer 5

ICD 10 and DSM V

Question 6

What are positive symptoms?

Answer 6

atypical symptoms experienced in addition to normal experiences

Question 7

What are all the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 7

hallucinations
delusions
disorganised speech
grossly disorganised
catatonic behaviour

Question 8

What are hallucinations?

Answer 8

sensory sensory experiences of stimuli that have either no basis in reality or are distorted perceptions of things that are there

Question 9

What are delusions?

Answer 9

bizarre/irrational beliefs that seem real to the person with SZ but they are not real

Question 10

What are the 3 types of delusions?

Answer 10

paranoid
grandiose
delusions of reference

Question 11

What is an example of paranoid illusions?

Answer 11

belief that they are being followed or spied on mostly includes the government or aliens

Question 12

What are grandiose delusions?

Answer 12

belief that they are someone very important, famous or powerful
eg. they may be jesus or have super powers

Question 13

What are delusions of reference?

Answer 13

the belief that events in the environment are directly related to themselves
eg. special personal messages are sent through the TV

Question 14

What is disorganised speech?

Answer 14

it is the result of abnormal thought processes where the individual has problems organising their thoughts which presents it self in their speech
they may fliter to one topic to another

Question 15

What is being grossly disorganised?

Answer 15

the inability or motivation to initiate a task or to complete one, leads to difficulties in daily living
decreased interest in personal hygiene
may act or dress in bizzare ways

Question 16

What is catatonic behaviour?

Answer 16

a reduced reaction to the immediate envrionment, rigid postures or aimless motor activity
eg. pacing back and fourth

Question 17

What are negaive symptoms?

Answer 17

behaviours that appear to reflect a loss of or reduction in normal functions

Question 18

What are all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 18

speech poverty
avolition
lack of emotion and mood flattening

Question 19

What are all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 19

speech poverty
avolition
lack of emotion and mood flattening

Question 20

What is speech poverty?

Answer 20

reduced fluency and complexity of speech
will produce fewer words in the same time as a normal person would
very basic speak which could be childlike

Question 21

What is avolition?

Answer 21

a reduction in interests and desired which leads to an inability to do things as they have little energy to do them
poor hygiene, lack of persistence in work and education, lack of energy

Question 22

What is reliability in terms of the classification of SZ?

Answer 22

refers to the consistency of a classification system
to assess particular symptoms consistently

Question 23

What is test-retest reliability in terms of classification of SZ?

Answer 23

a clinician makes the same diagnosis on 2 separate occasions from the same information

Question 24

What did Read et al find on the test-retest reliability of classifying SZ?

Answer 24

test-retest reliability is said to be 37% = this a low figure, so little reliability and something isnt right in the methods of classification of SZ - questions the uesfulness of the ICD and the DSM

Question 26

What finding proved that the DSM has inter-rater reliability?

Answer 26

there was 81% agreement in diagnosis using the DSM
however this should be 100% to be fully reliable

Question 27

What is validity in terms of classification of SZ?

Answer 27

refers to the extent to which a classification system accurately measures what its supposed to measure - does the patient diagnosed with SZ really have SZ
is the diagnosis distinct from other disorders

Question 28

What is the issue of the DSM and ICD in terms of its validity?

Answer 28

they do not always arrive at the same diagnosis for 1 single person

Question 30

What was Cheniaux et al study on the validity of the DSM and ICD for classification of SZ?

Answer 30

2 psychiatrists with 100 cases to diagnose

psych 1 = 26 w/ SZ using DSM
44 w/ SZ using ICD

psych 2 = 13 w/ SZ using DSM
24 w/ SZ using ICD

Question 31

What does Cheniaux et al study show on validity of the uses of the ICD and DSM for diagnosing SZ?

Answer 31

ICD = over diagnosises made
DSM = under diagnosed
lack of validity = lack of similar results of diagnosis

Question 32

What are the 4 issues affecting the reliability and validity of diagnosing SZ?

Answer 32

co-morbidity
culture bias
gender bias
symptom overlap

Question 33

What is Co-morbidity?

Answer 33

the extent that 2 or more conditions co-occur together

Question 34

How does Co-morbidity question the validity of diagnosis of SZ?

Answer 34

it can be hard to distinguish if the person has a single condition or more than 1

Question 35

How does Co-morbidity question the reliability of diagnosis of SZ?

Answer 35

different clinicians may diagnose different problems for the same patient

Question 36

What does the meta-analysis on the co-morbidity of OCD and SZ show of the validity of diagnosis?

Answer 36

both vary rare conditions so would expect only few people to have both conditions
meta-analysis found that 12% of people with SZ displayed significant OCD symptoms
diagnosis are invalid or SZ is likely to be co-morbid with OCD

Question 37

What does the statistic involving the co-morbidity of SZ and depression show of the validity and reliability of diagnosis?

Answer 37

50% of people with SZ also have depression
may be too difficult to distinguish the 2 conditions = better seen as a single condition
could be diff types of SZ

Validity = SZ may not exist as a distinct condition - may have to diagnose 2 conditions
inter-rater reliability = different clinicians may have diff judgements on diagnosis