Schizophrenia- Diagnosis and Classification

Question 1

Schizophrenia

Answer 1

A severe mental disorder where contact with reality and insight are impaired

Question 2

Positive symptoms

Answer 2

Additional experiences beyond those of ordinary existence. They include hallucinations and delusions.

Question 3

Negative symptoms

Answer 3

Loss of usual abilities and experiences. Examples include speech poverty and volition.

Question 4

Delusions

Answer 4

(Irrational) beliefs that have no basis in reality, for example, a person believes that they are someone else or that they are the victim of a conspiracy

Question 5

Hallucinations

Answer 5

Sensory (auditory, visual etc.) experiences that have either no basis in reality or are distorted perceptions of things that are there

Question 6

Speech poverty

Answer 6

Reduced frequency and quality of speech

Question 7

Avolition

Answer 7

Loss of motivation to carry out tasks and results in lowered activity levels

Question 8

Classification of mental disorders

Answer 8

The process of organising symptoms into categories based on which symptoms frequently cluster together

Question 9

Co-morbidity

Answer 9

The occurrence of two disorders or conditions together,

Question 10

Symptoms overlap

Answer 10

Occurs when two or more conditions share symptoms.

Question 11

DSM-5

Answer 11

One positive symptom must be present

Question 12

ICD-10

Answer 12

Two or more negative symptoms must be present

Question 13

Good reliability

Answer 13

A strength of the diagnosis of schizophrenia is that it has good reliability. Prior to the DSM-5, inter-rater and test-retest reliability was low. Osório et al. (2019) report excellent reliability for the diagnosis of schizophrenia in 180 individuals using the DSM-5. Pairs of interviewers achieved inter-rater reliability of + 97 and test-retest reliability of + 92. This means that we can be reasonably sure that the diagnosis of schizophrenia is consistently applied.

Question 14

Low validity

Answer 14

A limitation of the diagnosis of schizophrenia is that it has low validity. Cheniaux er al. (2009) had two psychiatrists independently assess the same 100 clients using ICD-10 and DSM-5 criteria and found that 68 were diagnosed with schizophrenia under the ICD system and 39 under DSM. This suggests that schizophrenia is either over or underdiagnosed according to the diagnostic system

Question 15

Co-morbidity

Answer 15

A limitation of the diagnosis of schizophrenia its co-morbidity. Schizophrenia is commonly diagnosed with other conditions. For example, one review found that about half of those diagnosed with schizophrenia also had a diagnosis of depression or substance abuse (Buckley et al). This is a problem for classification because it means schizophrenia may not exist as a distinct condition, and is a problem for diagnosis as at least some people diagnosed with schizophrenia may have unusual cases of conditions like depression.

Question 16

Gender bias

Answer 16

A limitation of the diagnosis of schizophrenia is the existence of gender bias. Men have been diagnosed with schizophrenia more commonly than women (a ratio of 1.4:1, Fischer and Buchanan 2017). Women are underdiagnosed because they have closer relationships and hence get support (Cotton et al. 2009). This underdiagnosis is a gender bias and means women may not therefore be receiving treatment and services that might benefit them.