social explanations of schizophrenia Flashcards
Social psychological explanation
Family can be seen as a set of entities, all in which interact with each other. Behaviours of each entity can only be understood by looking at its relationship with others.
- If one person behaves abnormally the problem may not lie within that person, may be a manifestation of a problem occuring withing wider family system.
What are the two theories of family communication and emotion?
- Double blind theory
- Expressed emotion
Who proposed the double-blind theory?
Bateson et al
Explanation: Double Blind Theory
- Communication styles within a family is the development of schizophrenia
- developing child finds themselves trapped in situations where they fear they are doing the wrong thing,but receive mixed messages about what this it and feel unable to seek clarification.
- When they get it wrong=punished iwth withdrawal of love.
- Makes them see the world as dangerous and confusing which can be reflected in symptoms like disorganised thinking and paranoid delusions.
A young man who had fairly well recovered from an acute schizophrenic episode was visited in hospital by his mother. He was glad to see her and impulsively put his arm around her shoulder whereupon she stiffened. He withdrew his arm and she asked “don’t you love me anymore?” He then blushed and she said “dear you must not be so easily embarrassed and afraid of your feelings”.
- What does this show?
It represents the mothers actions do not correlate in what she says, she does not show that she loves him.
3 Sociocultural factors?
- Life events
- Social isolation
- Urbanicity
What does life events represent?
- Major stress factor which is said to be associated with a higher risk of schizophrenic episodes.
- Occurence of stressful life events such as death, job loss could trigger the illness.
Life event evaluation
- Not known how stress may trigger schizophrenia, though high levels of physiological arousal associated with neurotransmitter changes are said to be involved. (Link to the dopamine hypothesis)
Life events: Brown and Birley
Approx 50% of people experienced a major life event in the 3 weeks prior to a schizophrenic episode.
12% of people reported one 9 weeks prior.
Life events: Hirsch et al
- followed 71 schizophrenic patients.
- 48 week period
- life events made a significant collective contribution in the 12 months preceding relapse rather than having a more concentrated effect i the period just prior to the episode.
How may social isolation contribute to sz?
- SZ often socially isolated from others, may have few friends/estranged from family/live alone.
- SZ find contact with others to be stressful so they withdraw.
How may little or no social network contribute to SZ.
thoughts remain unchallenged, and may over time expand and become resistant to change, even when alternative evidence is presented.
What evidence is there to prove social isolation.
Jones et al
Jones et al (1994):
- Longitudinal study of 5,362 people born in a specific week in March 1946.
- Between the ages of 16 and 43 years, 30 cases of schizophrenia were diagnosed.
- Those individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia were more likely to show solitary play preferences at ages at 4 and 6 years old and at 13 years old were more likely rate themselves as less socially confident.
What does urbanicity represent?
It may be possible that this move towards urban living could account for some of the mental illness that we observe. One key finding that has been demonstrated time and time again is that the rate of schizophrenia in urban areas is much higher than in rural areas.
Faris and Dunham (1939):
reported a greater incidence of schizophrenia when comparing densely populated inner city areas with less populated outskirts of the city.
