SCHIZOPHRENIA studies Flashcards
Tenari et al
Level of schizophrenia diagnosed in adopted children with schizophrenic mothers was 5.8%, if adopted into healthy family environments. Increased to 36.8% when adopted into dysfunctional families. Supports family dysfunction + high genetic vulnerability is more affected by environmental stressors
Vaugh and Leff
Returning from hospitalisation:
- High EE = 51% relapse
- Low EE = 13% relapse.
- Correlation between relapse rate & the amount of time spent around high EE family members.
- Support for role of family dysfunction relapse of those suffering with schizophrenia
Anderson et al
Relapse rate:
- almost 40% when patients had only drugs
- 20% with family therapy or social skills training used
- <5% when both were used with medication
Pharoah et al
- Meta-analysis
- Family therapy help the patient to understand their illness and live with it - developing emotional strength and coping skills, thus reducing relapse rates
- Pharoah said this it because it helps family members achieve a balance between caring for the individual and maintaining their own lives, reduces anger and guilt + improves their ability to anticipate + solve problems and forms a therapeutic alliance.
Stirling et al
- Compared 30 p’s schizophrenia w 18 non-patients on range of cognitive tasks. Including the stroop Test.
- Participants had to name the ink colours of colour words.
- Suppressing impulse to read the words in order to do this task.
- Sufferers took x2 longer.
- Suggest that sufferers are presenting central control dysfunction
- Supports Frith’s theory that dysfunctional thought processing had a role in cause of schizophrenia, supporting cognitive explanation
Tarrier
- Reviewed 20 controlled trials of CBT (739 patients).
- Consistent evidence CBT reduces persistent pos symptoms in chronic patients + modest effects in speeding up recovery in acutely ill patients.
- Suggests CBT = viable treatment, particularly for pos symptoms
Jauhar et al
- Meta-analysis of 34 studies of CBT.
- Concluded CBT has significance but fairly small effective on positive and negative symptoms
- Potential reason for small effect = CBT was a lone treatment
Tarrier et al
- Randomly allocated 315 patients to 3 conditions
1. medication + CBT group
2. medication + supportive counselling group
3. control group (medication only) - Combination groups showed lower symptom levels than control after 18 months
- Although not differences in rates of hospital readmission
- Suggests using only biological treatments or only CBT = lead to less successful outcomes compared to combination
Mcmonagle & sultana
- Meta analysis 110 studies
- Only 3 used random allocation, where a true comparison was made with an experimental and control group.
- Of these, only 1 study showed improvement in symptoms and behavioural changes in patients
- Therefore, the evidence supporting token economies as an effective treatment = very weak.
Thornley et al
- Revised studies comparing chlorpromazine to placebo pill.
- Experiences were identical except the medication given.
- Data from 13 trials (1121 p’s) showed chlorpromazine was associated with better overall functioning and reduced symptom severity.
- Also evidence from 3 trials that relapse rates were also lower when drug was taken
- Supporting the use of typical antipsychotics
Read et al
EXAMPLE OF BIOLOGICAL STRESS-TRIGGER
- Early trauma alters the developing brain.
- Early and severe trauma, such as child abuse, can seriously affect aspects of brain development
> FOR EXAMPLE: the HPA system can become overactive
- Making a person much more vulnerable to stress later on in their life.
