Social Drift Theory

Question 1

Prevelence of schizophrenia

Answer 1

1% of the population

Question 2

Key statistics: age

Answer 2

Before the age of 40

Question 3

Key statistics: ethnicity

Answer 3

Caribbean and African origin are more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia then white people

Asian people have lower rates of schizophrenia

Question 4

Social drift theory

Answer 4

Schizophrenia is linked with social class
Many diagnoses are from people in the lower class
When people from other classes get schizophrenia they move to the lower social class

Question 5

Why do schizophrenic move down social classes

Answer 5

They lose a sense of reality and they begin to opt out of society because it doesn’t make sense to them.

They army interested in normal activities like getting an education or holding a job

Question 6

Criticism of social drift theory

Answer 6

Problem establishing cause and effect. Rather than schizophrenia driving people into lower classes an alternative is that being in lower classes drives people to develope schizophrenia

There may be bias with the diagnosis. Psychiatric may be more likely to diagnose lower class people with schizophrenia because they assume things

Ignored biological factors. Even if society makes it worse by rejecting those with schizophrenia the disorder needs to start from some where and there is a lot of evidence that it starts with genes