Psychological explanations AO3

• One strength of psychological explanationis there’s evidence supporting role of family dysfunction in schizophrenia. For example a researcher reviewed and found that significant proportion of adults with SZ had experienced chile hood abuse or family trauma such as neglect or overly critical parenting. The concept of Expressed Emotions (EE) Characterized by high levels of criticism and hostility in families. Is been linked to relapse in SZ patients. Therefore family dysfunction explanation provides a plausible psychological account of how enviromental factors affect SZ as a whole.
• Another strength is there’s application to treatment like family therapy and CBT. For example Family therapy aims to reduce levels of EE which is shown to decrease relapse rate. A researcher found family therapy improves communication within family and reduces symptoms of SZ. CBT helps patients identify and challenge delusional thinking.TMB shows utility of psychological explanations in developing effective treatment improving Symptoms management and quality of life.Therefore there’s value in psychological explnations as they form direct intervention complementing biological treatments.
• Limitation of family dysfunction is reliance on retrospective evidence.Research into childhood trauma or high level of EE relies on patient recalling past experience may be biased or inaccurate. Individuals with SZ distorted memories due to nature of condition or cognitive impairment.TMB undermines validity of evidence supporting family dysfunction as causal factor and it is difficult to establish clear and reliable link between early experiences and onset of SZ.Therefore reliability of family dysfunction is weakened calling to question its role in explaining SZ.
• Limitation in PE is that its considered reductionist as it overlooks role of biology.FE cognitive explanation focuses on dysfunctional thought processing but ignores biological factos such as genetic vulnerability or dopamine dysregulation. researcher shows biological factors have strong evidence such as concordance rate from twin studies.TMB psychological explanations may provide incomplete account of SZ unlikely to explain all cases of the disorders.Therefore more comprehensive explanation would involve interactionist approach.