double-bind theory

• what did Bateson argue

  that the way the family communicates can have an impact on the development of schizophrenia

  • suggested it could be due to frequent contradictory communication from the parent
• what is double bind

  when a child receives conflicting messages from their parents

  • for example if a parents tells the parent they love them but shouts it in a verbally aggressive and hostile way they are receiving mixed messages
  • the words sound affectionate but are delivered in the opposite way
  • if the child responds in the wrong way to the parent they may be punished by the parent with holding love
• what can double bind lead to

  paranoia and delusions due to seeing the world as unclear and a dangerous place
• what is some evidence to support the theory

  Berger found that schizophrenics reported a higher recall of double-bind statements by their mother than non-schizophrenics

  • but this might not be reliable as their recall might be affected by their mental illness

  Bateson reported a case study - recovering schizophrenic visited in hospital by his mother, he embraced her warmly but she stiffened and when he withdrew his arms she said 'don't you love me anymore'

  = supports odea of double bind statements from parents

  • however its a case study so lack population validity and generalizability
• what's is a contradictory study

  Liem measured patterns of parental communication in families with a schizophrenic child and found no difference compared with normal families

  • another study analyzed previous research and found no difference in double bind communication between families with a schizophrenic member and those without
  • lack validity