Schizophrenia - Diagnosis & Classification

Question 1

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia

Answer 1

Atypical symptoms experienced in addition to normal experiences. They include hallucinations and delusions.

Question 2

Hallunications

Answer 2

A positive symptom of schizophrenia. They are sensory experiences of stimuli that have either no basis in reality or a distorted perceptions of things that are really there.

Question 3

Delusions

Answer 3

A positive symptom of schizophrenia. They involve beliefs that have no basis in reality, for example, that the sufferer is someone else or they are a victim of a conspiracy

Question 4

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Answer 4

Atypical experiences that represent the loss of a usual experience such as clear thinking or ‘normal’ levels of motivation

Question 5

Speech poverty

Answer 5

A negative symptom of schizophrenia. It involves reduced frequency and quality of speech.

Question 6

Avolition

Answer 6

A negative symptom of schizophrenia. It involves loss of motivation to carry out tasks and results in lowered activity levels.

Question 7

Co-morbidity

Answer 7

two illnesses or conditions together, for example a person has both schizophrenia and a personality disorder. Where two conditions are frequently diagnosed together it calls into question the validity of classifying the two disorders separately

Question 8

Symptom overlap

Answer 8

Occurs when two or more conditions share symptoms. Where conditions share many symptoms this calls into question the validity of classifying the two disorders separately.

Question 9

+ Diagnosis of Schizophrenia Good Reliability

Answer 9

Reliability means consistency. psychiatric diagnosis is consistent when different doctors reach the same diagnosis. Inter rater reliability
and Test-retest reliability

Osario 2019 excellent reliability of +.97 (irr) +.92 (trtr) for 180 people using DSM5
this means we can be sure diagnosis of schizophrenia consistent.

Question 10

• Low validity of diagnosis of schizophrenia

Answer 10

one way to assess valid in psychiatric diagnosis is criterion validity.
Cheniaux 2009 had 2 psychiatrists diagnose 100 people same, one used icd10 other dsm IV
icd - 68 dsm - 39
this suggest under or overr diagnosed schizphrenia
criterion valid low

however osario reported excellent irr when using DSM
so suggest critieron valoidiity is acc high assuming we stay within same diagnostic system.

Question 11

• schizophrenia has co-morbidity with other conditions

Answer 11

if conditions occur together lots this calls question validity of diagnosis and classification cuz it might acc just be 1 disorder
schizo commonly with depression
Buckley 48% also had depression if had schizo
This can result in classification issues with schizophrenia cuz it might not be one distinct disorder. (e.g. some people just get schizo some get s + depression could be a diff variant ugm.)

Question 12

• gender bias

Answer 12

men diagnosed more than women 1.4: 1 (Fishcer 2017)
cotton says its cuz women have closer relationships and hence get support so women who might acc have schiz function better than men who haev i
Then wopmen underdiagnosed
this mean women not receiving treatment that might bernefit them this is gender bias

Question 13

Culture Bias

Answer 13

Pinto and Jones 2008 found that African Caribbean up to 9x more likely diagnosis as white British people
even though people in African Caribbean countries are not, ruling out genetic vulnerability.
This means it has to be culture bias.
Overinterpretation of symptoms in black British people

this means that British African-Caribbean discriminated by culturally biased diagnostic system