the social drift theory of schizophrenia Flashcards
What is the social drift theory ?
Explain why there is a relationship between social class and this particular MHP. Schizophrenia most strongly linked to class, with WC 5x more likely to be diagnosed than higher social group . Many people belonging to the middle and upper classes who develop schizophrenia do not stay in the social class they were born into. By the time they have contact with psychiatric services, patients have often moved into a lower social class.
Social drift theory straightforward explanations
When people begin to develop schizophrenia and lose touch with reality, they begin to opt out of society because it does not necessarily make sense to them in the same way that it does to other people. This means that they are not interested in ‘normal’ activities such as getting a decent education, being promoted or even holding down a job. They may not be motivated by the things than an income is needed for - paying mortage, pay rent , buy clothes.
Even if a person wants to remain part of society it may be hard due to the diagnosis. For example: find it hard to keep a job due to being ill a lot. Diagnosis of schizophrenia = chance of not recovering = hard to find new unemployment.
People with the label of schizophrenia may experience stigma and discrimination = hard to feel part of their communities
Why may people with schizophrenia get caught in a cycle ?
What does it involve and lead to ?
leads to downward spiral into poverty and loss of status. Cycle involves disengagement f individuals who do not feel part of society, possibly because of the symptoms they are suffering. as individuals begin to ‘drop out’ and stop following social norms then experience rejection by society = leads to further disengagements = further rejection and so on. Difficult for anyone to recover if at the bottom of society = hard to get better.
State 2 criticisms of sdt
- There are problems with establishing cause and effect in social drift theory. Rather then schizophrenia driving people into the lower social classes, an alternative theory is that being in the lower social classes drives people to develop schizophrenia. In other words, factors associated with being at bottom of society - poverty, living in deprived area = more likely to become victim of crime = further discrimination - lead to stressors that trigger schizophrenia
- Physical factors associated with low social classes may be the cause of schizophrenia. Factors such as complications in pregnancy and childhood can increase a child’s chances of developing schizophrenia. So can poor diet, nutrition as a child grows up. These are more likely to be issues for LC families, which may explain why many people with schizophrenia are found in this class - especially as most people end up in the same position in society as their parents
State 2 criticism of sdt
There may be bias in diagnosis. Rather than more people with schizophrenia ending up in the Lower social classes, it may be that psychiatrists and other professionals are more likely to diagnose this group of people with the disorders. For example, they may assume that people from LC are more likely to be suffering from schizophrenia because of everyday stress, whereas a person from higher classes may just be seen as ‘eccentric’ if their behaviour is bizarre. Not help that psychologists often belong to higher classes and so may not relate to WC people enough to understand their problems properly.
- There is too much focus on the role of society. Critics say that rather than just looking at wider societal factors, theories should focus ‘closer to home’ to look at family as a cause of schizophrenia. Evidence that family conflict and express high levels of emotion could contribute to the disorder
State criticism of sdt
Focusing on the interaction between the sufferer and society tends to ignore biological factors involved in schizophrenia. Even if society matters worse by rejecting people with schizophrenia. Even if society makes matters worse by rejecting people with schizophrenia, the fact is that the disorder still needs to start somewhere and there is a lot of evidence that it starts with genes that affect the way the brain works.
