Schizophrenia: interactionist approach

Question 1

summarise the interactionist approach to schizophrenia

Answer 1

• Acknowledges biological, psychological and societal factors in the development of schizophrenia.
• Biological = genetic vulnerability and neurochemical and neurological abnormality.
• Psychological = stress resulting from life events and daily hassles, including poor quality interactions in the family.

Question 2

what is the Diathesis-stress model

Answer 2

• A genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia and a stress-trigger are necessary to develop schizophrenia.
• One or more underlying factors make a person vulnerable but the onset of the condition is triggered by stress.

Question 3

what is Meehl’s Model on Schizophrenia

Answer 3

• believed schizophrenia was the result of a single ‘schizogene’.
• if a person doesn’t have the schizogene then no amount of stress would lead to schizophrenia.
  -> However, in carriers of the gene, chronic stress through childhood and adolescence, particularly a schizophrenic mother, could result in schizophrenia.

Question 4

What is the Modern Understanding of the Diathesis Stress Model (Read)

Answer 4

• there is no single ‘schizogene’.
• Read et al. (2001) -> proposed a neurodevelopmental model in which early trauma alters the developing brain.
  -> E.g. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system (HPA) becomes over-active and the person is more vulnerable to later stress.

Question 5

Explain how schizophrenia would be treated with the interactionist approach

Answer 5

• acknowledges both biological and psychological factors and is compatible with both types of treatment.
• Model combines antipsychotics with psychological therapies such as CBT.

Question 6

(+) Provide evidence for the role of vulnerability and triggers (Tienari)

Answer 6

• Tienari (2004) investigated combination of genetic vulnerability and parenting style (the trigger).
• child-rearing style of high levels of criticism and conflict and low levels of empathy was implicated in the development of schizophrenia but only for the children with high genetic risk.
• suggests both genetic vulnerability and family stress are important in development of schizophrenia.

Question 7

(-) Explain how the original diathesis-stress model is over simplistic (Houston)

Answer 7

• Houston (2008) childhood sexual trauma emerged as a vulnerability factor whilst cannabis was a trigger.
  -> shows the old idea of diathesis as biological and stress as psychological is over-simple.
• Stress can come in many forms not just dysfunctional parenting.

Question 8

(+) give evidence which supports the combination of different treatments (Tarrier)

Answer 8

• Tarrier (2004) 315 patients were randomly allocated to a medication + CBT group, medication + supportive counselling or a control group.
• Patients in the two combination groups showed lower symptom levels than control.
• This and other studies suggest there is clear advantage to adopting an interactionist approach.

Question 9

(-) what is the treatment-causation fallacy (Turkington)

Answer 9

• Turkington argued there is a good logical fit between the interactionist approach and using combining treatments.
• However -> combining psychological and biological treatments is more effective, but it does not necessarily mean that the interactionist approach is correct.