Schizophrenia

• What are the symptoms required for a schizophrenia diagnosis?

  • Two symptoms must be present for at least a month
  • Positive symptoms: hallucinations, delusions
  • Negative symptoms: avolition, speech poverty
• What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

  Experiences additional to normal experiences
• What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

  Loss of normal experiences and abilities
• What is avolition?

  Lack of purposeful work behavior
• How is speech poverty classified as a symptom?

  As a negative symptom with reduced verbal responses
• What is inter-rater reliability?

  Agreement between two observers' diagnoses
• What does low inter-rater reliability suggest?

  Inconsistent diagnoses among different doctors
• What did Back (1963) find about concordance rates?

  54% concordance rate among multiple doctors
• What is comorbidity in schizophrenia?

  Diagnosis of schizophrenia with other disorders
• What are the comorbidity rates found by Bley (2009)?

  Depression 50%, drug abuse 47%
• Why might women be underdiagnosed with schizophrenia?

  Better social coping strategies lead to less treatment
• What cultural bias exists in schizophrenia diagnosis?

  African-Caribbean individuals are overdiagnosed
• What did Loring and Powell (1988) find in their study?

  Overdiagnosis of black clients and underdiagnosis of females
• What is the genetic explanation for schizophrenia?

  Multiple genes associated with higher risk
• What are concordance rates in families for schizophrenia?

  Higher rates in families than general population
• What is the dopamine hypothesis?

  Symptoms due to dopamine imbalance in the brain
• What are the effects of hyperdopaminergia?

  Leads to auditory hallucinations
• What did Gottesman (1991) find about twin studies?

  48% concordance for identical twins
• What did Tsuang (2004) find about adopted children?

  Higher rates of schizophrenia in dysfunctional families
• What is the role of glutamate in schizophrenia?

  Found in low quantities in affected individuals
• What is the diathesis-stress model?

  Interaction of genetic vulnerability and environmental stressors
• What are typical antipsychotics?

  First-generation drugs treating positive symptoms
• What are the side effects of typical antipsychotics?

  Dry mouth, constipation, and confusion
• What are atypical antipsychotics?

  Second-generation drugs addressing negative symptoms
• What did Bagnall find about atypical antipsychotics?

  More effective than typical in treating symptoms
• What is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for schizophrenia?

  Identifies and challenges irrational beliefs
• What is the goal of family therapy?

  To improve the home situation for the patient
• What are token economies?

  Behavior management using positive reinforcement
• What did Sensky find about CBT?

  Reduced positive and negative symptoms significantly
• What is the interactionist approach to schizophrenia?

  Combines biological and psychological factors
• What does the diathesis-stress model suggest?

  Disorder arises from genetic and environmental interactions
• What did Tanari find about children of schizophrenic mothers?

  Higher rates in dysfunctional families
• What is a limitation of the interactionist approach?

  Unpleasant side effects of drug therapy
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of drug therapies for schizophrenia?

  Strengths:

  • Effective in reducing symptoms
  • Cheaper than long-term psychological therapies

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Side effects can be severe
  • Do not address underlying issues
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of psychological treatments for schizophrenia?

  Strengths:

  • No unpleasant side effects
  • Can empower patients

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • High cost of therapy
  • Requires patient engagement
• What is the importance of combining treatments for schizophrenia?

  • Addresses both biological and psychological factors
  • Increases overall treatment effectiveness
  • Reduces risk of relapse