schizophrenia - social causation hypothesis Flashcards
4 key factors which contribute to the onset of schizophrenia
social adversity
urbanicity
social isolation
immigration and minority status
examples of social adversity
unemployment
homelessness
poorer living standards
urbanicity
city life is deemed more stressful than rural life
e.g. noise and crime rates
social isolation
withdrawal due to schizophrenia symptoms can worsen prognosis
immigration and minority status
second generation immigrants at risk of out-group status, weaker cultural identity and exposure to prejudice and discrimination
Eaton (1974)
city life is more stressful than rural life, so it may trigger an episode of schizophrenia
poor social conditions create stresses that can trigger schizophrenia in some people
Veling et al. (2008) - immigrants and schizophrenia
when immigrants were in neighbourhoods where their ethnic groups did not predominate, increased rate of psychotic disorders compared to in neighbourhoods where they did.
Pedersen and Mortenson (2001) - relative risk of schizophrenia in different types of environment
correlational study using secondary data - created a graph
the relative risk of schizophrenia increases as urban density increases
5 years after moving to a higher population density increased a persons risk by 0.4, giving a total of 1.4. risk is compared to that of in a rural environment, which is given a value of 1. risk 5 years after moving to a rural area had decreased by 0.2.
lowest social class and schizophrenia
experience a different course of the illness and receive different treatment
more likely to be brought for medical help by police or social services
Cooper (2005)
Robert Faris (1934) - social isolation
people with sz withdraw because they feel that contact with others is stressful
self imposed isolation cuts off feedback about what behaviours/ thoughts are inappropriate
absence of corrective feedback leads to strange behaviour
weakness of data used for the hypothesis - correlational
not possible to say whether sz is caused by urbanicity or adversity (social drift hypothesis suggests it is caused by neither)
weakness - biological argument
social causation hypothesis may not be a full explanation
sz is one condition which is deemed as universal (experienced across cultures in similar ways) although the environments and social norms it occurs in are not the same.
social drift hypothesis
as people develop sz, their personal and occupational functioning deteriorate, so they drift down the social ladder, moving into lower classes
not social class having the impact
social defeat hypothesis - Jean Paul Selten & Elizabeth Cantor Gracie (2005)
when a person is exposed to hostile confrontations from other individuals (e.g. abuse or bullying)
