Psychological Explanations for Schizophrenia

• Who proposed a psychodynamic explanation for schizophrenia in 1948?

  Fromm-Reichmann
• What characterizes the Schizophrenogenic Mother?

  Cold, rejecting, and controlling
• What family climate does the Schizophrenogenic Mother create?

  Tension and secrecy
• What psychological issues can arise from the Schizophrenogenic Mother?

  Paranoid delusions and schizophrenia
• Who emphasized the role of communication style in families?

  Bateson et al
• What situation does a developing child face in dysfunctional families?

  Fear of doing the wrong thing
• What happens when a child receives mixed messages in a dysfunctional family?

  They feel unable to seek clarification
• What is the consequence of a child being punished with withdrawal of love?

  Understanding the world as confusing and dangerous
• What symptoms can arise from the described family dynamics?

  Disorganized thinking and paranoid delusions
• What does Expressed Emotion refer to in schizophrenia?

  Negative emotion expressed by carers
• What are the components of Expressed Emotion?

  Verbal criticism, hostility, emotional overinvolvement
• How does Expressed Emotion affect individuals with schizophrenia?

  It becomes a source of stress
• What does the diathesis-stress model suggest?

  Stress can trigger schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals
• What indicators of family dysfunction are associated with schizophrenia?

  Insecure attachment and childhood trauma
• What did Read et al (2005) find about adults with schizophrenia?

  They are likely to have insecure attachment
• What percentage of women with schizophrenia have a history of abuse according to Read et al (2005)?

  69%
• What percentage of men with schizophrenia have a history of abuse according to Read et al (2005)?

  59%
• What does the evidence suggest about family dysfunction and schizophrenia?

  It makes people more vulnerable to schizophrenia
• What is a limitation of traditional family-based theories of schizophrenia?

  They lack systematic evidence
• What do the schizophrenogenic mother and double bind theory rely on?

  Clinical observation and informal assessment
• What is a challenge for family explanations of schizophrenia?

  They cannot explain childhood trauma's link
• What types of thought processing are associated with schizophrenia?

  Dysfunctional thought processing
• What is characterized by disruption to normal thought processing?

  Schizophrenia
• What brain region is associated with negative symptoms in schizophrenia?

  Ventral striatum
• Which brain regions are associated with hallucinations?

  Temporal and cingulate gyri
• What does reduced information processing suggest about cognition in schizophrenia?

  Cognition is likely to be impaired
• Who identified two types of Dysfunctional Thought Processing?

  Frith et al
• What is Metarepresentation?

  Cognitive ability to reflect on thoughts
• What happens when there is dysfunction in metarepresentation?

  Disrupts recognition of own actions
• What symptoms can metarepresentation dysfunction explain?

  Auditory hallucinations and delusions
• What is Central Control Dysfunction?

  Issues suppressing automatic responses
• What symptoms could result from Central Control Dysfunction?

  Speech poverty and thought disorder
• What did Stirling et al (2006) compare in their research?

  Cognitive tasks in schizophrenic and control groups
• What was a key finding from Stirling et al (2006) regarding schizophrenia?

  Participants took twice as long on tasks
• What does the cognitive explanation of schizophrenia focus on?

  Current symptoms and cognitive processes
• How are cognitive explanations of schizophrenia categorized?

  As proximal explanations
• What are possible distal explanations for schizophrenia?

  Genetic and family dysfunction explanations
• What limitation do cognitive theories have regarding schizophrenia?

  They provide partial explanations only
• What is a strength for Family Dysfunction as a cause of Schizophrenia?

  Research Support

  • Indicators of family dysfunction include insecure attachment and exposure to childhood trauma, and according to Read et al (2005), adults with schizophrenia are disproportionately likely to have insecure attachment
  • Read et al (2005) also reported that 69% of women and 59% of men with schizophrenia have a history of physical or sexual abuse
  • This strongly suggests that family dysfunction makes people more vulnerable to schizophrenia
• What is a limitation for Family Dysfunction as a cause of Schizophrenia?

  Explanations Lack Support

  • Although there is evidence supporting the idea that family-based stress is associated with adult schizophrenia, there is none to support the importance of family-based theories
  • The schizophrenogenic mother and double bind theory are based on clinical observation of people with schizophrenia and informal assessment of their mothers’ personalities, but no systematic evidence
  • This means that family explanations have not been able to account for the link between childhood trauma and schizophrenia