The Interactionist Approach To Schizophrenia

Question 1

Interactionist Approach

Answer 1

combines both biological and psychological factors in understanding the development of schizophrenia.

Suggests that genetic vulnerability (diathesis) and environmental stressors (stress) interact to trigger the onset of schizophrenia

Question 2

Diathesis-Stress Model

Answer 2

The diathesis refers to a genetic predisposition or vulnerability to schizophrenia.

The stress refers to environmental factors, such as trauma or substance abuse, that may trigger the onset of the disorder in vulnerable individuals

Question 3

Gottesman and Shields (1976) and Genetic Vulnerability

Answer 3

Gottesman and Shields: Found higher concordance rates for schizophrenia in monozygotic (MZ) twins (48%) than dizygotic (DZ) twins (17%).

Supports the role of genetic vulnerability in the development of schizophrenia, though it’s not the sole facto

Question 4

Role of Stress

Answer 4

Stressful life events, like childhood trauma, family conflict, or drug abuse, may trigger schizophrenia in individuals who are genetically predisposed

Question 5

Turkington et al. (2006) on Treatment Based on the Interactionist Approach

Answer 5

Turkington et al. suggested that a combination of biological treatments (e.g., antipsychotics) and psychological therapies (e.g., CBT) leads to better treatment outcomes.

This integrated treatment approach targets both the biological and psychological aspects of schizophrenia

Question 6

How Does the Interactionist Approach Influence Treatment

Answer 6

encourages a multidisciplinary treatment strategy, combining medication (e.g., antipsychotics) with psychological therapies (e.g., CBT, family therapy)

Question 7

Evidence for the Diathesis-Stress Model

Answer 7

Tienari et al. (2004): Studied Finnish adoptees and found that individuals with both genetic predisposition and adoptive family stress were more likely to develop schizophrenia.

This supports the idea that genetic vulnerability and environmental stressors together increase the risk of schizophrenia

Question 8

strengths

Answer 8

✅ Considers multiple factors
→ Example: Combines genetic vulnerability (diathesis) with environmental triggers (stress), offering a holistic view.

✅ Supported by evidence
→ Example: Tienari et al. (2004) found adopted children with a family history of schizophrenia were more likely to develop it if raised in a dysfunctional family

Question 9

limitation

Answer 9

Causality issues: The interactionist model faces challenges in establishing clear cause-and-effect relationships between genetic vulnerability and environmental stressors.
→ Example: It’s difficult to determine how much of the disorder is due to genetics versus environmental stressors, making it hard to predict which individuals will develop schizophrenia