The interactionist approach:

Question 1

how does the interactionalist approach explain SZ?

Answer 1

suggests that the development of schizophrenia is due to the combined effects and interaction of biological and social/psychological effects
diathesis-stress model can be used to explain this: suggests the disorder is due to the interaction between a predisposed vulnerability (diathesis) and an environmental trigger later in life (stressor)

Question 2

what are the diathesis’s in SZ?

Answer 2

genetic vulnerability
e.g. dopamine imbalance, flu in pregnant mothers, birth complications, psychological trauma as a child that influences brain development etc
this creates a diathesis

Question 3

what are the stressors in SZ?

Answer 3

later negative environmental experiences
e.g. family dysfunction, emotional stress, major life event, excessive use of cannabis may interfere with dopamine system
this triggers the disorder

Question 4

research evidence supporting the interactionalist approach

Answer 4

Gottesman reviewed cases of SZ and found a concordance rate of 48% in MZ twins and 17% in DZ twins compared to 1% in general population
suggests a role for biological genetic factors as the concordance rate is higher for MZ twins than DZ twins (as they share 100% of DNA)
and suggests a role for psychological experience as SZ is triggered in one twin but not the other despite having similar experiences growing up

Tienari studied the biological children of SZ mothers who had been adopted
found that 5.8% of children adopted into psychologically healthy families developed SZ compared to 36.8% of children adopted into dysfunctional families
supports the influence of biological factors due to high rate in both sets of adoptees but an even higher rate for dysfunctional family adoptees which suggests a psychological trigger causes SZ e.g. EE

Question 5

how can the interactionalist approach be used to treat SZ?

Answer 5

as it suggests SZ is due to a biological and psychological aspect, treatment of SZ may be most effective with a combination of CBT (psychological) and drug therapy (biological)
biological treatments may allow patients to reduce symptoms so they can better engage with psychological therapies to work on underlying condition

Question 6

research evidence supporting the treatment of SZ using the interactionalist approach

Answer 6

Tarrier conducted research where patients either treated using antipsychotics or a combination of antipsychotics and CBT
combined treatment had a significant improvement in the severity and number of positive symptoms as well as fewer days in hospital receiving care
suggests an interactionalist approach to treating SZ is more effective than the usual treatment plans of antipsychotics alone

Answer 7

+ led to a wider understanding of SZ and how it may develop - model has developed to include early emotional trauma acting as a diathesis by altering neurological brain development - helps to understand risk factors like drug abuse in the development of SZ
+ holistic explanation as it takes into consideration a complex range of causal factors - more valid that reducing the cause to biological or psychological factors only
+ considers nature-nurture debate - highlights importance of hereditary and environmental influences in the development of SZ
- still uncertain how negative psychological events triggers a complex biological response resulting in symptoms - suggests the interactionalist approach is not a full explanation for SZ