AO1 - Family Dysfunction

• Family dysfunction is the idea that an individual develops schizophrenia because they have been raised in a dysfunctional family environment. The family is dysfunctional in the way that they communicate with each other as they have high levels of tension and arguments. This results in creating risk factors for the development and maintenance (relapse) of schizophrenia
• One type of family dysfunction is schizophrenogenic mother
• N - Schizophrenogenic mother

  E - The idea that sz is caused by the patient's early experience of a schizophrenogenic mother. A schizophrenogenic mother is cold, controlling, rejecting, emotionally unresponsive and builds a family climate characterised by tension and secrecy

  F - This leads to distrust that later develops into paranoid delusions (positive symptom). The father in such families is often passive
• The second type of family dysfunction is double bind communication
• N - Double bind communication

  E - The idea that sz is due to faulty communication patterns that exist within families. This is when the parent communicates a verbal message which is not matched with their non-verbal message so the child receives mixed messages, e.g. mother says "I love you" but when child hugs her, mother pushes them away

  F - The child feels they cannot do the right thing and becomes increasingly anxious, leading to them avoiding social contact (avolition - negative symptom) and the mixed messages result in speech poverty and paranoid delusions
• The third type of family dysfunction is expressed emotion
• N - Expressed emotion

  E - The level of emotion, particularly negative, expressed towards a patient by their family members - e.g. verbal criticism and occasional violence, hostility towards the patient including anger and rejection, and emotional over-involvement

  F - This can cause stress and the constant harassment can trigger onset sz, the stress caused is a primary explanation for relapse in patients with sz as there is a resurgence of positive and negative symptoms