Psychological Explanations - Family Dysfunction

• schizophrenogenic mother - Fromm-Reichmann (1948)

  • means schizophrenia causing
  • psychodynamic explanations - case study approach from accounts she heard from clients about their childhood
  • mother is cold, rejecting and controlling
  • family climate is tense, no trust characterised by tension and secrecy
  • distrust can lead to paranoia and delusions which can lead to SCZ
• double-blind theory - Bateson (1956)

  • family climate is important in the development of SCZ but emphasised the role of communication style within a family
  • the developing child regularly finds themselves trapped in situations where they fear doing the wrong thing, but receive mixed messages about what this is, and unable to comment on the unfairness of this situation or seek clarification
  • when they get it wrong the child is punished by the withdrawal of love
  • SCZ is caused by external factors, rather than something being biologically wrong
  • he claimed that the symptoms are best understood as a manifestation of socioemotional problems occurring in a family
  • based on theoretical and observational work
• expressed emotion

  • verbal criticism - develops paranoia
  • can get violent of abusive
  • hostile environment
  • family needlessly voice sacrifice/guilt
  • over involvement
  • source of stress
  • explains relapse
  • explains trigger for biological predisposition
  • expressed emotion is the level of emotion particularly negative, that is shown towards a patient by their family and careers
  • it's a communicative style which contains the elements listed above
  • these height levels are directed at the patient and are a severe source of stress
  • SCZ patients may have a lower tolerance for intense environmental stimuli, which overload their coping mechanisms
• evidence for family dysfunction explanation

  • Read et al (2005) reviewed 46 studies of child abuse and SCZ and concluded that 69% of adult women in patients with a diagnosis of SCZ and a history of physical abuse, sexual abuse or both in childhood, for ment it was 59%
  • adults with insecure attachments more likely to have SCZ
  • however information gathered about childhood experiences was gathered after the development of symptoms and the SCZ may have distorted patients recall of childhood experiences - lacks internal validity
  • little evidence of shizophrenogenic mother or double blind
• ethics - parent blaming

  • has led to parent-blaming
  • parents who have observed their child's descent into SCZ and who are likely to bear lifelong responsibility for their care, underwent further trauma by receiving blame for the condition
• applications

  • family therapy originally came about as a response to the double blind and schizophrenogenic mother
  • family therapists are more concerned with reducing stress within the family that might contribute to a person's risk of relapse
  • in particular, family therapy aims to reduce levels of expressed emotion