Schizophrenia: Description of Symptoms and Features

Question 1

Prevalence

Answer 1

1% worldwide

Question 2

Age of Onset

Answer 2

Men: late teens to early 20s
Women: Late 20s to early 30s

Question 3

Definitions and 3 examples of positive symptoms

Answer 3

an excess or distortion of normal functions: including hallucinations and delusions.
eg. Hallucinations, Delusions, Thought insertion

Question 4

3 AO1: Hallucinations

Answer 4

• usually auditory or visual perceptions of things that are not present.
• Imagined stimuli could involve any of the senses.
• Voices are usually heard coming from outside the person’s head giving instructions on how to behave.

Question 5

3 AO1: Delusions

Answer 5

• Delusions are false beliefs.
• Usually, the person has convinced him/herself that he/she is someone powerful or important, such as Jesus Christ, the Queen (e.g. Delusions of Grandeur).
• There are also delusions of being paranoid, worrying that people are out to get them.

Question 6

AO1: Thought Insertion

Answer 6

It includes the delusional belief that the mind or “ego” has been intruded upon and that thoughts have been inserted from external sources, i.e. the person feels that certain thoughts that they are experiencing…
…do not belong to them
…they do not accept responsibility for having created them
…these thoughts originated in the minds of others, yet have been implanted in their minds.

Question 7

Definitions and 3 examples of negative symptoms

Answer 7

where normal functions are limited

eg. including disordered thinking, lack of pleasure, withdrawal

Question 8

4 AO1: Disordered thinking (Alogia)

Answer 8

Thought disorder in which there are breaks in the train of thought and the person appears to make illogical jumps from one topic to another (loose association).

• Words may become confused and sentences are incoherent
• Broadcasting is a thought disorder whereby a person believes their thoughts are being broadcast to others, for example over the radio or through TV.
• Alogia - speech poverty – is a thought disorder where correct words are used but with little meaning.

Question 9

AO1: Lack of pleasure (Anhedonia)

Answer 9

• The person may not seem to enjoy anything anymore.

- They also don’t have a libido.

Question 10

AO1: Withdrawal/Apathy

Answer 10

• This might include no longer making plans with friends or becoming a hermit.
• Talking to the person can feel like pulling teeth: If you want an answer, you have to really work to pry it out of them. Doctors call this apathy.

Question 11

AO3: Applicability

Answer 11

Classification and diagnosis do have advantages as it allows doctors to communicate more effectively about a patient and use similar terminology when discussing them. In addition, they can then predict the outcome of the disorder and suggest related treatment to help the patient.

Question 12

AO3: Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 12

Scheff (1966) points out that diagnosis classification labels the individual, and this can have many adverse effects, such as a self-fulfilling prophecy (patients may begin to act how they are expected to act), and lower self-esteem.

Question 13

AO3: Importance of Symptoms

Answer 13

Slater & Roth (1969) say that hallucinations are the least important of all the symptoms, as they are not exclusive to schizophrenic people.

Question 14

AO3: Ethical issues

Answer 14

• Ethics – the benefits of classification (care, treatment, safety) may not outweigh the costs (possible misdiagnosis, mistreatment, loss of rights and responsibility, prejudice due to labelling).