social causation hypothesis : schiz Flashcards
what is the social causation hypothesis
schizophrenia may be caused by factors in the eviroment eg social adversity,urbanicity,social isolation,immigration and minority status and family dysfunction
what is social adversity
if a child grows up where physical and emotional needs arent met- vulnerable to mental health eg affected by poverty, stress
lower socio-economic status means less access to treatment
what is urbanicity
living in cities/urban areas increases chances of dev as eg Eaton suggested long term exposure to stressors like noise and air pollution and increased population density life more competitive meaning social defeat
evidence supporting urbanicity
vassos et al meta analysis and anaylsed 4 studies from sweden,netherlands and denmark inc 24,000 cases of schizophrenia and correlated to urban eviroment risk
evidence against urbanicity
uses correlation data, no extraneous variables controlled, so cannot prove it ot be true + sociaol dirft hyupothesis schiz may cause people to move to urban enviroments as they find it harder to hold a job
what is social isolation?
faris cultural isolation cut off from clsoe contact with friends and family and lead to symptoms of schizo as they dont get feedbakc on orrect behaviours so act strangely. he supported this idea with prisoners in solitary confinement and re-establihing social contracts show success
what is immigration and minority status?
higher risk eg census shows higher incidence of schizophrenia in afro-caribean and black immigrant people maybe due to their increased stress from discrimination and poorer living conditions eg overcrowding
2nd more risk as adapted norms and values are different to family so more stress
evidence for immigration and minority status?
veling data gathered through self-reported questionnaire data to suggest schizophrenia may be reaction to long term prejudice of an outgroup
what is family dysfunction and childhood trauma
popovich childhood trauma makes individuals more likely to dev schizophrenia and interacts with pre-existing risk factors
strength of social causation hypothesis as an explanation for schizophrenia
explains some features of schizophrenia eg why blakc immigrants likely to be diagnosed and diathesis stress model enviromental factors
supported by research eg vassos
scientific credibility- useful applications draws attention to social factors which affect mental health
weakness of s c h
vassos correlational research so cause and effect links cant be made
cant isolate environmental factors like air pollution
