sociocultural factors

• intro

  - RO society + culture > cause SZ + believe it's the result of social + biological interactions + stress related to certain factors

  >sociocultural factors = aspects of society + culture an individual lives in which affects their behaviour

  > environmental triggers interact with other biological / psychological vulnerabilities to cause SZ
• URBANICITY

  > high SZ rates in urban / inner city areas than rural > growing up in urban environment > SZ risk factor

  > stress of urban living could account for some SZ cases

  > environmental triggers / stressors more common in inner city areas:

  - poverty and what it could lead to, stress, pollution, stimulation
• URBANICITY - SZ + URBANICITY STUDIES

  } Faris + Dunham (1939) - higher incidents of SZ in densely populated areas of inner city Chicago > compared to less populated outskirts

  > findings repeated in many studies
• URBANICITY - SZ + URBANICITY STUDIES

  } Krabbendam + Van Os (2010) - several factors of urban living may lead to SZ :

  • poverty - contributes to stressful home life for families
  • environmental pollution - affect B development in children + adolescents
  • higher levels of drug + substance abuse > Zammit et al (2002) = cannabis use doubled risk of SZ in 40,000 swedes
  • children in poverty - may be more likely to suffer abuse
• ETHNICITY + DISCRIMINATION

  > consistent findings = rates of SZ diagnosis = higher with immigrants (particularly of african descent)

  >higher SZ rate in migrant community may be due to increased stress bc of discrimination / racism

  - caused by being an immigrant / ethnic minority > may be trigger that leads to disorder
• ETHNICITY + DISCRIMINATION

  > other causes of stress : adjusting to cultural norms, stress of prejudice + discrimination, and discrimination in diagnosis

  > not due to genetic differences > as same increased diagnosis rates not found in other parts of the world for Afro-Caribbean people
• ETHNICITY + DISCRIMINATION - Studies

  } Cochrane + Sashidharan (95) = black Afro-Caribbean male immigrants in UK = 7 times more likely to be diagnosed with SZ than white british people

  } Singh = high rates of psychosis amongst Greenlanders living in Denmark

  > suggests - being part of minority group = risk factor