schizophrenia - classification Flashcards
SPEC: classification & diagnosis of schizophrenia
what is schizophrenia?
a severe mental illness where contact with reality and insight are impaired
what is psychosis?
-schizophrenia is a cluster of symptoms - it doesn’t have a single feature that every sufferer experiences
-the two major systems for the
classification of mental disorder are
the DSM-5 and ICD-11
what does classification involve?
the identification of groups or patterns of behaviour or mental symptoms that reliably occur together to form a type of disorder
what does diagnosis involve?
determining the condition that is causing the symptoms that a person is currently experiencing
how do classification and diagnosis link?
in order to diagnose a specific disorder, we need to distinguish one disorder from the another
what is schizophrenia?
(according to the DSM)
a psychosis, as the sufferer has no concept of reality
usually, when is the onset of schizophrenia?
typically in late adolescence and early adulthood
men: 18–25 years
women: 25–35 years
how is schizophrenia diagnosed?
-schizophrenia is a cluster of symptoms - it doesn’t have a single feature that every sufferer experiences
-the two major systems for the
classification of mental disorder are
the DSM-5 and ICD-11
what are the two key symptoms for schizophrenia?
-positive symptoms
-negative symptoms
what are positive symptoms?
symptoms are an excess or distortion of normal functions
examples of positive symptoms:
-hallucinations
-delusions
-catatonic/disorganised behaviour
what is a hallucination?
a sensory experience that has no basis in reality / distorted perceptions of real things that can affect all of the senses
examples of different types of hallucinations:
auditory: hearing voices that others can’t (often critical)
Visual: seeing lights, objects or faces others can’t
Olfactory: smelling things others can’t
tactile: feeling things others can’t (e.g. bugs crawling over your skin)
what are delusions?
irrational beliefs that seem real to the person with schizophrenia but have no basis in reality
examples of the delusions that schizophrenic people often experience:
-paranoid delusions
-delusions of grandeur
what are paranoid delusions?
an individual believes that they are being persecuted (e.g.something, or
someone, is deliberately trying to spy on, mislead, hurt or kill them
what are delusions of grandeur?
an individual believes that they have some imaginary power or authority
what is catatonic/unpredictable behaviour?
an individual behaves in ways that seem inappropriate or strange to the norms of society
what are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
a diminution or loss of functioning
examples of negative symptoms;
-avolition
-speech poverty
-social & physical anhedonia
what is avolition?
a reduction in self initiated involvement in interests and desires & the inability to begin and persist with tasks
examples of avolition:
-schizophrenics will often sit for hours doing nothing → they have a lack of motivation to follow through any plans and neglect household chores, such as washing the dishes or cleaning their cloth
what is speech poverty?
deficits in verbal fluency and productivity, it may be difficult to produce words or coherent sentences
what is speech poverty thought to reflect?
thought to reflect slowing or blocked thoughts
diagnosis of schizophrenia through the DSM vs ICD:
DSM: one of the positive symptoms must be present for diagnosis
ICD: two or more negative symptoms are sufficient for a
diagnosis to be made, signs of disturbance must’ve persisted for at least 6 months
what is social anhedonia?
social withdrawal, where they find it hard or become reluctant to speak to people.
what is physical anhedonia?
an inability to enjoy things that they used to enjoy, food or physical contact
Note the symptoms of schizophrenia and their examples:
Mr X believed that other people could read his thoughts through telepathy. This belief started when a
woman looked at him in a supermarket and said to her companion ‘I can read his thoughts’. Mr X was convinced that other people had this power but would not admit to it. He was afraid that people would attack him because of what he was thinking, and tended to avoid situations that would bring him into contact with others (Kuipers et al. 1996).
Delusions - ‘believed that other people could read his thoughts through telepathy.’
Paranoid Delusions - ‘He was afraid that people would attack him because of what he was thinking,’
Social anhedonia - ‘tended to avoid situations that would bring him into contact with others’
Note the symptoms of schizophrenia and their examples:
Damien has alienated a lot of his friends by telling them that he is working as a spy for the government. After they stopped speaking to him, he grew suspicious and wondered if they actually were foreign agents who were actually checking up on his movements for his enemies. He sits at his window at night and claims that he can see them all hiding behind the bushes even though his mother regularly con rms to him that there is nothing there. His mum tells him to stop but he prefers to listen to the voices in his head that tell him to ‘continue to look out for enemy threats’.
Delusions of grandeur - ‘Damien has alienated a lot of his friends by telling them that he is working as a spy for the government.’
Paranoid delusions - ‘he grew suspicious and wondered if they actually were foreign agents who were actually checking up on his movements for his enemies’
Auditory hallucinations - ‘he prefers to listen to the voices in his head’
Note the symptoms of schizophrenia and their examples:
Richard has problems with his speech. Take the example of his mum asking him if he wants a drink. The first time she asks him he replies with the phrase ‘clink, dink, link’. She tries again a few minutes later and the sentence is more coherent until the last word where he accuses her of being a real ‘plebspurrer’. She tries one final time later on again but this time the right words are said ‘drink, a, want, don’t, I’ but are given in the wrong order
Speech Poverty - he accuses her of being a real ‘plebspurrer
Note the symptoms of schizophrenia and their examples:
Nick has a different type of schizophrenia. It is as if the person he once was has disappeared. He no
longer smiles when his favourite cartoon is on or cries or gets unhappy at sad things (e.g. when his pet cat died). He makes no effort to go outside and play with his friends like he used to and has no desire to get out of bed. He does not brush his hair or wash his face and clearly does not care for his own appearance. Lately he has taken to standing in the same position for hours on end, like a statue.
Psychical anhedonia - ‘He no
longer smiles when his favourite cartoon is on or cries or gets unhappy at sad things’
Avolition - ‘has no desire to get out of bed. he does not brush his hair or wash his face’ / ‘he has taken to standing in the same position for hours on end, like a statue.’
Note the symptoms of schizophrenia and their examples:
A patient complained that communists were flying over his house in planes, shooting him with invisible rays that caused abdominal churning, tension and heart palpitations
(Turkington and Kingdon 1996)
Paranoid delusions - ‘communists were flying over his house in planes, shooting’
Tactile hallucinations - ‘abdominal churning, tension and heart palpitations’
