Family Dysfunction AO3

• +Evidence links family dysfunction to schizophrenia. A review by Read reported that adults with schizophrenia are disproportionately likely to have insecure attachment (Type C or D). Also, 69% of women and 59% of men with schizophrenia have a history of physical and/or sexual abuse. This strongly suggests that family dysfunction does make people more vulnerable to schizophrenia.
• -Poor evidence base for any of the explanations. There is almost no evidence to support the importance of traditional family-based theories eg. schizophrenic mother and double bind. Both theories are based on clinical observation of patients and informal assessment of the personality of the mothers of patients. This means that family explanations have not been able to explain the link between childhood trauma and schizophrenia.
• Parent blaming

  Research in this area may be useful, e.g. showing that insecure attachment and childhood trauma affect vulnerability to schizophrenia. However, research is socially sensitive because it can lead to parent-blaming. This creates additional stress for parents already seeing their child experience schizophrenia and taking responsibility for their care. This means that research into family dysfunction and schizophrenia will always be very controversial but worth it for potential benefits.