Schizophrenia

Question 1

Beck et al

Answer 1

Inter-rater reliability

153 patients assessed by 2 different psychiatrists
Only 54% diagnosis agreement
SO there is low inter-rater reliability

Question 2

Read

Farmer

Answer 2

Test retest
Found that test retest reliability as low as 37%

Farmer found that a way to improve this is a standardised interview as it focuses on the frequency and severity of symptoms

Question 3

Buckley et al

Answer 3

Comorbidity
SZ is poorly understood but widely acknowledged

He argued that patients could be subtypes of SZ as following reported with : 15% panic disorder, 47% substance abuse, 23% OCD

Question 4

Konstantaveas & Hewitt

Answer 4

Overlapping symptoms

Compared 14 male autistic patients with 14 males SZ patients

50% autistic patients has same symptoms of SZ
= overlapping symptoms = reduced validity

Question 5

Bleuler

Answer 5

Prognosis & predictive validity
Longitudinal study with 2000 SZ patients

Most severe in early adulthood during first 5 years after on set

1.1% of population has SZ
40% will suffer a relapse
After 10 years 25% will fully recover and 15% will be hospitalised

Question 6

Cochrane

Answer 6

Cultural interpretation of SZ patients symptoms effects diagnosis of disorder

Incidence of SZ in Britain and West Indies at around 1%

Afro-caribbean men are several times more likely to be diagnosed with SZ than in the UK

Question 7

Kim & Berrios

Answer 7

Negative cultural attitudes
Japan - idea of disorganised mind is so stigmatising psychiatrists are reluctant to tell patients they have SZ
*Only 20 % of people with SZ have been formally diagnosed

Question 8

Malgrady

Answer 8

Culture and nationality of clinicians
Hearing voices in Costa Rican culture is interpreted as spirits talking to you which is seen as positive

Whereas in the UK this would be a symptom of SZ

Question 9

Blake

Answer 9

Race discrimination
6x more likely to diagnose a patient where the case summary says ‘African American’ than if the case study referred to as ‘White’

Question 10

Goldstein

Answer 10

Unreported facts when diagnosing SZ in males and females

Men suffer more severe negative symptoms
They are more likely to be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric ward

Question 11

Nasser et al

Answer 11

Biased research
Most early research into SZ was male patients
Androcentrism!!! = lacks generalisability

Question 12

Loring & Powell

Answer 12

Underdiagnosing female patients with SZ

Psychiatrists read 290 males and females cases
When described as :
Male - 56% diagnosed
Women - 20% diagnosed

Question 13

Joseph et al

Answer 13

Genetic explanation
Twin studies
40% concordance rate in SZ for MZ twins
7% concordance rate for DZ twins

Question 14

Randrup & Munkvad

Answer 14

Dopamine Hypothesis

Neuroleptic drugs given to rats that had SZ like behaviours which reversed the effects

Question 15

Lidz et al

Answer 15

Family dysfunction
60% of patients had 1 or both parents with serious personality disorder
= contributes to the onset of SZ

Question 16

Yellowless et al

Answer 16

Cognitive explanation

Developed a machine that produced virtual hallucinations e.g tv telling you to kill yourself

This to show SZs that hallucinations are not real.

This suggests that understanding the effects of cognitive deficits allows psychologists to create new initiatives for szs and improve the quality of their lives.
=helps practical application = CBT

Question 17

Davis et al

Answer 17

Effectiveness of anti-psychotics

Meta- analysis of 100 studies
Compared with a placebo
70% with anti-psychotics improving in condition after 6 weeks
25% with placebo

Question 18

Tarrier et al

Answer 18

Effectiveness of CBT
Using strategies like relaxation techniques
73% sample reported were successful at managing their symptoms

Question 19

Anderson et al

Answer 19

Effectiveness of family therapy
or Interactionist approach

Relapse rates:
Drugs-40%
Family therapy-20%
Drugs and family therapy-5%