Classification and Diagnosis

• positive symptom:

  • delusions are irrational beliefs that are not based on reality
  • there are 3 types of delusions:
  • persecution - others want to harm you
  • grandeur - think they are really important
  • control - controlled by an external force
• positive symptom:

  • hallucinations are sensory experiences that are not real but are perceived as real
• schizophrenia is a mental illness that usually occurs in late adolescence or early adulthood
• the disorder usually starts between 25-30 years, both men and women are diagnosed equally
• DSM-5

  • requires symptoms to be present for a period of six months
  • one of the positive symptoms must be present
• ICD 10

  • requires symptoms to be present for one month
  • two or more negative symptoms must be present for diagnosis
• negative symptom:

  Avolition

  • severe loss of motivation to carry out everyday tasks
• negative symptom:

  Speech poverty

  • reduction in amount and quality of speech
  • delays in verbal response
• negative symptom:

  absent social functioning

  • hard to do things they enjoy
• symptom overlap


  when two or more conditions share the same symptoms

  this calls into question the validity of classifying the two disorders separately

  most people diagnosed with sz are commonly diagnosed with another disorder
• symptom overlap AO3 -

  
  

  serper et al - studied patients with schizophrenia and cocaine abuse, despite symptom overlap diagnosis was possible

  • suggests that symptom overlap doesn't impact diagnosis validity
• symptom overlap AO3 +

  Ketter - misdiagnosis from symptom overlap can cause significant delays in getting the right treatment leading to an increase suffering and risk of suicide
• Gender bias


  some diagnosable categories may be biased towards making one gender seem abnormal to another

  the term mentally healthy adults is heavily associated with men in the USA
• Gender bias AO3 +

  Longenecker - since the 1980s men have been diagnosed more than women

  cotton et al - women were less likely to be diagnosed as they function better
• co morbidity


  the occurrence of two disorders or conditions together, when two conditions are diagnosed together it calls into question the validity of classifying the two disorders separately
• co morbidity AO3 +

  Buckley - around half of patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia are also diagnosed with depression (50%) or substance abuse (47%)