interactionist approach

• interactionist approach

  • acknowledges that there are biological, psychological and social factors involved in development of sz
• diathesis-stress model

  • a vulnerability to sz and a stress-trigger are needed to develop sz
  • many genes increase genetic vulnerability
  • early trauma can also alter the brain e.g hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system can become over-active making the person more vulnerable to stress later on
  • stress is anything that risks triggering sz
  • cannabis increases the risk by up to seven times as it interferes with the dopamine system
• treatment

  • both biological and psychological treatments
  • combines antipsychotics with CBT
  • can believe biological causes of sz and still practise psychological treatments to relieve symptoms
  • not possible to be purely biological and purely psychological
  • britain use both increasingly
• strength

  • investigated combination of genetic vulnerability and parenting style
  • adoptive parents assessed for child-rearing styles and rates of sz compared to control group
  • rearing style of high criticism and conflict with low empathy was associated with sz only for those in the high genetic risk group
  • both genetic vulnerability and family stress are factors
• strength

  • advantages to using combinations of treatments
  • 315 patients with sz randomly allocated to medication + CBT, medication + supportive counselling or control group
  • combination groups showed lower symptoms than control that had medication only
  • effective with a combination
• weakness

  • biological and psychological treatments are more effective on their own
  • does not mean interactionist approach is correct
  • the fact that drugs help does not mean it is a biological cause
  • treatment-causation fallacy