The interactionist approach to explaining and treating schizophrenia Flashcards
What is the interactionist approach to schizophrenia?
The interactionist approach acknowledges that schizophrenia develops due to a combination of biological, psychological, and societal factors.
What is the diathesis-stress model in relation to schizophrenia?
The diathesis-stress model suggests that schizophrenia is caused by a combination of genetic vulnerability (diathesis) and environmental stressors (stress), with stress triggering or worsening the condition.
What are the biological factors that contribute to schizophrenia in the interactionist approach?
Biological factors include genetic vulnerability, neurochemical abnormalities, and neurological abnormalities.
What are the psychological factors that contribute to schizophrenia in the interactionist approach?
Psychological factors include stress, life events, and daily hassles.
What is Meehl’s (1962) original diathesis-stress model?
Meehl’s model proposed that the vulnerability (diathesis) was entirely genetic, caused by a single “schizogene.” If a person had the gene and experienced chronic stress, they were at risk of developing schizophrenia.
How does the modern understanding of diathesis differ from Meehl’s original model?
The modern understanding of diathesis suggests that vulnerability to schizophrenia is not solely genetic but can also include psychological trauma, which can alter brain development (e.g., early trauma, child abuse). Early trauma can make the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system overactive, making the individual more vulnerable to later stress and increasing the risk of developing schizophrenia.
What is the modern understanding of genetics according to Ripke et al. (2014)?
Ripke et al. (2014) found that there is no single “schizogene,” which is a departure from Meehl’s understanding of a single genetic cause for schizophrenia.
How can early trauma affect the HPA system in relation to schizophrenia?
Early trauma can make the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system overactive, making the individual more vulnerable to later stress and increasing the risk of developing schizophrenia.
What is the modern understanding of stress in the diathesis-stress model?
Modern definitions of stress include not only psychological factors like parenting but also environmental triggers, such as cannabis use, which has been linked to an increased risk of schizophrenia.
How does cannabis act as a stressor in the diathesis-stress model?
Cannabis is considered a stressor because it can increase the risk of schizophrenia by up to seven times, especially in individuals with a genetic predisposition. It interferes with the dopamine system.
What does Turkington et al. (2006) say about the interactionist model in treatment?
Turkington et al. (2006) suggest that it is possible to believe in biological causes and still use CBT to relieve the psychological symptoms of schizophrenia. Therefore a combination of drug therapy and psychological treatments, e.g. CBT, used to treat schizophrenia.
What is a strength of the interactionist approach in explaining schizophrenia? (Research support)
Tienari et al. found that children with high genetic risk for schizophrenia were more likely to develop the disorder when raised by adoptive parents with a high level of criticism and conflict, and low empathy. The study shows that both genetic vulnerability and family-related stress are important in the development of schizophrenia, with genetically vulnerable children being more sensitive to negative parenting.
What is a strength of Tienari et al.’s study?
Tienari et al. used a large sample size of 19,000 Finnish adopted children, which enhances the generalizability of the findings.
What is a limitation of Tienari et al.’s study? (sample)
Although the sample is large, it is limited to Finnish participants, which reduces the population validity as the findings may not apply to individuals from other cultural backgrounds.
What is a limitation of Tienari et al.’s study? (control)
Adoption after the age of 2 could have a negative impact on mental health, as early adoption may influence the development of schizophrenia via maternal deprivation (Bowlby claimed that disruption to attachment could cause mental health issues), which could be a confounding factor in the study.
What is a limitation of Tienari et al.’s study? (method of assessment)
The assessment of adoptive family functioning using the OPAS scale failed to account for developmental changes in family dynamics, making it difficult to determine the source of stress. It is unclear whether the stress observed in the family was caused by the family itself or by the adopted child, weakening the support for the interactionist approach.
What is a limitation of the original diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia?
The original model is considered over simplistic because it oversimplifies the causes of schizophrenia by focusing on a single schizogene and schizophrenic parenting style as stress.
What is a strength of the interactionist approach in terms of treatment effectiveness?
There is evidence supporting the effectiveness of combining biological and psychological treatments for schizophrenia, showing better treatment outcomes compared to biological treatments alone.
What is a strength of the interactionist approach to treating schizophrenia? (Research support)
Tarrier et al. (2004) found that patients who received a combination of medication and CBT or supportive counselling had lower symptom levels than those who received medication alone, although there was no difference in hospital readmission rates.
What is the treatment-causation fallacy?
The treatment-causation fallacy occurs when researchers assume that the effectiveness of a treatment (e.g., combining drugs and CBT) directly proves the cause of a condition, such as assuming schizophrenia is entirely biological because combined treatments work.
