Schizophrenia: Comorbidity | Psychology | tutor2u If family dynamics were the sole cause of schizophrenia, then all children raised in similar environments should be schizophrenic. This suggests that understanding the effects of cognitive deficits allows psychologists to create new initiatives for schizophrenics and improve the quality of their lives. Diathesis-Stress Model - Simply Psychology It is difficult to keep this treatment going once the patients are back at home in the community. Both aspect of diathesis-stress must be present to develop the disorder. Example Answers for Section C Schizophrenia Topic Paper 3 June 2018 (AQA) . For the classification system to be valid it should be meaningful and classify a real pattern of symptoms, which result from a real underlying cause. This is evidence that the higher the degree of genetic relativeness, the higher the risk of getting schizophrenia. Combining treatments is most common in the UK, although it is also sometimes used in the USA. For example, it suggests that schizophrenic behavior is the cause of environmental factors such as cognitive factors. Information transfer teaching the patient and the family the actual facts about the illness, its causes, the influence of drug abuse, and the effect of stress and guilt. Al (2011) suggest many aspects of urban living ranging from life stressors to the use of drugs, can have an effect on human epigenetics. However, Thornley et al carried out a meta-analysis comparing the effects of Chlorpromazine to placebo conditions and found Chlorpromazine to be associated with better overall functioning Drug therapy is an effective treatment for SZ. This weakens the interactionist explanation. (2003) studied DNA from human families affected by schizophrenia and found that those with the disease were more likely to have a defective version of a gene, called PPP3CC which is associated with the production of calcineurin which regulates the immune system. The therapist wins the trust of the patient, so they can work together. Schizophrenia is a severe type of mental illness that affects a person's thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors. Metaanalysis by Crossley Et Al (2010) suggested that Atypical antipsychotics are no more effective, but do have less side effects. A final weakness of the dopamine hypothesis is that it is biologically deterministic. There is a sizeable minority who do not respond to drug treatment. As there is strong evidence that relapse is related to stress and expressed emotion within the family, it seems likely that CBT should be employed alongside family therapy in order to reduce the pressures on the individual patient. It is therefore prescribed when the patient is at risk of suicide. The patients with the most severe symptoms are unable to access the tokens, as they are unable to perform the desirable behaviours. In CBT, patients may be taught to recognise examples of dysfunctional or delusional thinking, then may receive help on how to avoid acting on these thoughts. Schizophrenia 16-marker Plans (AQA A Level Psychology) Description AQA A Level Schizophrenia: 16-marker plans for the explanations and treatments of schizophrenia aqa a level psychology schizophrenia a2 psychology aqa a level psychology- 16-mark question plans as level Note by Grace Fawcitt, updated more than 1 year ago 2915 8 0 Resource summary Token economies are only likely to work in a clinical setting, where patients can be constantly monitored and the system of rewards is closely controlled. Reliability is the level of agreement on the diagnosis by different psychiatrists across time and cultures; stability of diagnosis over time given no change in symptoms. The entire evaluation of Schizophrenia (AQA A-level Psychology) 33.39 5.49 3x sold 11 items 1. Pharoah et al (2010) suggest that the following techniques, in which all of the family are involved, are used: This is a behavioural treatment for schizophrenia, based on operant conditioning (learning through reinforcement). Twenty-six of forty patients (65.0%) were taking haloperidol and 14 (35.0%) chlorpromazine. Comorbidity occurs because the symptoms of different disorders overlap. Diagnosis refers to the assigning of a label of a disorder to a patient. Family therapy is based on the theory that schizophrenia is associated with schizophrenogenic mothers, double bind communication, expressed emotion, or other dysfunction in the family. Broadcasting is a thought disorder whereby a person believes their thoughts are being broadcast to others, for example over the radio or through TV. Her psychiatrist wants to change her medication from typical antipsychotics to one of the atypical antipsychotics and has also suggested cognitive behavioural therapy", What do the data in Table 1 seem to show about the effectiveness of typical and atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia? One weakness of the genetic explanation of schizophrenia is that there are methodological problems. Preliminary analysis: Through interviews and observation the therapist identifies strengths and weaknesses of family members and identifies problem behaviors. If diagnosis leads to successful treatment, the diagnosis can be seen as valid. A final weakness of the genetic explanation of schizophrenia is that it is biologically reductionist. This suggests that there is wider academic credibility for enlarged ventricles determining the likelihood of schizophrenia developing. These include reduced levels of emotional expression, disorganised speech and delusions. However the difference only emerged in situations where the adopted family was rated as disturbed. Schizophrenia: Drug Therapy - A Level Psychology AQA Revision - Study Comorbidity describes people who suffer from two or more mental disorders. [2 marks], Evaluate psychological explanations of schizophrenia [16 marks] and more. A number of researchers have suggested that difficulties in understanding other peoples behavior might explain some of the experiences of those diagnosed as schizophrenic. tutor2u is the leading support service for A-Level, GCSE, BTEC and IB students and teachers preparing for assessments, mocks and final exams. Toyokawa, Et. Adoption studies of schizophrenia - PubMed Patients can receive different treatments for their SZ which will be more effective. Last chance to attend a Grade Booster cinema workshop before the exams. Interactionist Approach: Definition, Evaluation & Example - StudySmarter US The Genome Project has increased understanding of the complexity of the gene. For example, major depression and schizophrenia both involve very low levels of motivation. The idea of cognitive biases has been used to explain some of the behaviors which have been traditionally regarded as symptoms of schizophrenia. Preconscious thought (thought that occurs without awareness) contains a huge amount of information from our senses that would normally be filtered. THE DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY - Institute Of Counseling EE is a family communication style that involves criticism, hostility and emotional over-involvement. It is more likely These machines take accurate readings of brain regions such as the frontal and pre-frontal cortex, the basil ganglia, the hippocampus and the amygdale. Read et al (2005) reviewed 46 studies of child abuse and schizophrenia and found concluded that 69% of adult women in-patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia had a physical abuse, sexual abuse or both during their childhood. Falloon et al (1996) stress such as divorce or bereavement, causes the brain to be flooded with neurotransmitters which brings on the acute episode. Slater & Roth (1969) say that hallucinations are the least important of all the symptoms, as they are not exclusive to schizophrenic people. Lobban (2013) reports that other family members felt they were able to cope better thanks to family therapy. Visual - Evaluation of neural correlates for schizophrenia 4. Book now . 1988) and increased dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen (Owen et al, 1978). In a follow up study they rejected genuine patients whom they assumed were part of the deception. Credit should be awarded for one type in some detail or for two (or more) done briefly. Diagnosis of schizophrenia is difficult as the practitioner has no physical signs but only symptoms (what the patient reports) to make a decision on. The reason for this is because if the individual does have large ventricles then does it really mean that they will develop schizophrenia? (1990). Evidence suggests that the closer the biological relationship, the greater the risk of developing schizophrenia. One criticism of the dopamine hypothesis is there is a problem with the chicken and egg. For example, some patients on typical antipsychotics develop tardive dyskinesia- a condition where there are uncontrollable facial tics. Here are a series of suggested answers for the Schizophrenia topic questions in AQA A Level Psychology Paper 3 (Section B) in June 2018. Essentially due to . this should enable a less biased/more varied/more representative sample OR this would allow the results to be generalised more widely, Wars of the Roses 6 - Henry VII 1485-1509. Company Reg no: 04489574. Avolition: Lack of volition (i.e. This suggests that there may be problems of demand characteristics. So environment does play a part in triggering the illness. Often, little or nothing is done to rectify the situation or to alleviate its adverse effects upon the child. Inherited factors that make some individuals more likely to develop a certain behaviour or mental disorder. A Level Psychology Schizophrenia exam questions Flashcards Some sufferers only take a course of antipsychotics once, while others have to take a regular dose in order to prevent symptoms from reappearing. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Explain how family dysfunction might be involved in schizophrenia. therefore, it is not appropriate to generalise their language ability to all people with schizophrenia (must be some application here) schizophrenia psychology aqa question help - The Student Room We are committed to engaging with you and taking action based on your suggestions, complaints, and other feedback. Adults with an insecure attachement to their primary carere are also more likely to have schizophrenia (Berry et al 2008). Schizophrenia: Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia | Psychology - tutor2u Families can help minimize the damage to self of the schizophrenic that this entails. Many people who experience feelings of persecution have a general tendency to assume that other people cause the things that go wrong with their lives. These may be risk factors for the development and maintenance of schizophrenia. Family therapy for families of adolescents or young adults who have developed schizophrenia tends currently to emphasize psychoeducation (guidance about schizophrenia and its treatment) and aims at enhancing recovery rather than the discovery of pathogenic patterns of child-rearing (McFarlane 2016 ). Vasos (2012) Found the risk of schizophrenia was 2.37 times greater in cities than it was in the countryside, probably due to stress levels. The family dysfunction explanation is an explanation that sees maladaptive relationships and patterns of communication as a source of stress which influences the development of schizophrenia 214 High Street, Yellowless et al. Newer drugs, called atypical antipsychotics attempt to target D2 dopamine activity in the limbic system but not D3 receptors in other parts of the brain. Some people who have been diagnosed as schizophrenic appear to have difficulties with this skill. The ICD-10 (only negative symptoms need to be present) is used worldwide and the DSM-5 (only positive symptoms need to be present) is used in America. This causes the neurons that use dopamine to fire too often and transmit too many messages. Family dysfunction refers to the workings of dysfunctional families, and the effects of being brought up in one, contributing to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia: Genetics - A Level Psychology AQA Revision - Study Rocket Tokens are secondary reinforcers, which are exchanged for rewards (primary reinforcers), for example food, being allowed to watch a film, and so on. People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. Research in Hampshire, by Kingdon and Kirschen (2006) found that CBT is not suitable for all patients, especially those who are too thought disorientated or agitated, who refuse medication, or who are too paranoid to form trusting alliances with practitioners. If there is more than one individual in the scenario you must mention all of the characters to get to the top band. family dysfunction schizophrenia tutor2u Requires self-awareness and willingness to engage Held back by the symptoms schizophrenics encounter It is an ineffective treatment likely to lead to disengagement. Having attempted to dispute faulty beliefs, patients may also be set behavioural assignments with the aim of improving their general level of functioning. For example, about 50% of people with schizophrenia are also diagnosed with depression. Once the patient has had several sessions (often between 5 and 20), they should be able to recognise the fact that their beliefs are not based on reality. Eg. Social behavior depends, in part, on using other peoples actions as clues for understanding what they might be thinking. This makes it more difficult to confidently diagnose schizophrenia. The reason for this is because if the individual does have excessive amounts of dopamine then does it really mean that thy ey will develop schizophrenia? Alogia aka speech poverty is a thought disorder were correct words are used but with little meaning. Schizophrenia 16-marker Plans (AQA A Level Psychology) | Note - GoConqr Clozapine, Olazapine and Risperidone. Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. Last chance to attend a Grade Booster cinema workshop before the exams. holes) in the brain that supply nutrients and remove waste. She has been taking a typical antipsychotic drug and there have been improvements in her positive symptoms. Therefore, CBT has potential ethical issues. Positive symptoms are an excess or distortion of normal functions, for example hallucinations, delusions and thought disturbances such as thought insertion. They did not believe that schizophrenia was a disease. Those who do not have the schizogene would not develop schizophrenia, even if they experienced a chronically stressful upbringing. VAT reg no 816865400. Antipsychotic drugs are used to reduce the intensity of symptoms (particularly positive symptoms). A weakness of the family relationsships appraoch is that there is a problem of cause and effect. Copyright Get Revising 2023 all rights reserved. A co-operative, trusting relationship with the family is established, Therapist provides information about schizophrenia, Family members contribute, all contributions valued, Family is provided with practical coping skills to help deal with the disorder (to anticipate and solve problems), More constructive ways of interaction and communication encouraged (to avoid expressed emotion), Training to detect any signs of relapse in the patient. They block dopamine receptors on post-synaptic neurons, meaning that less dopamine is transmitted across the synapse. David Rosenhan (1973) famous experiment involving Pseudopatients led to 8 normal people being kept in hospital despite behaving normally. Results. [8 marks] The fact that jack could never talk to his mum shows a symptom of schizophrenia, that fact that he displays lack of speech. This means it cannot be used to treat schizophrenia by itself. Get Revising is one of the trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. In addition, they can then predict the outcome of the disorder and suggest related treatment to help the patient. Support for family research, Tienari et al (1994) adoption study found those adopted children who had schizophrenic parents were more likely to become ill themselves than those children with non-biological parents. It could be that the problems caused by low neurotransmitters creates the cognitive deficits. That said, please be assured that question paper development involves a rigorous and robust process during which experienced colleagues determine whether or not, for any specific content, within a . [2 marks], - Characteristics of dysfunction eg difficulties in communication, high levels of interpersonal conflict, Evaluate psychological explanations of schizophrenia [16 marks], Briefly discuss two limitations of the family dysfunction explanation for schizophrenia. Their get up and go has got up and gone! The biological basis for schizophrenia is therefore not addressed at all in the therapy, limiting its use. This suggests that there is wider academic credibility for the idea of contradictory messages causing schizophrenia. This has the effect of reducing dopamine production, and reduces positive symptoms such as hallucinations. The intention is to show schizophrenics that their hallucinations are not real. Heather (1976) there is only a 50% chance of predicting what treatment a patient will receive based on diagnosis, suggesting that diagnosis is not valid. Is it the cognitive deficits which causes the schizophrenic behavior or is the schizophrenia that causes the cognitive deficits? These refer to the latest editions of the two classification systems. In the 1950s and 60s nurses often rewarded patients with cigarettes. an excess or distortion of normal functions: including hallucinations and The commonest diagnosis was schizophrenia (n = 23, 57.5%) followed by epileptic psychosis (n = 4, 10.0%) and general psychosis (n = 4, 10.0%) with one of psychotic depression and one psychosis secondary to general medical condition. Found that changes in behavior achieved through token economies do not remain when tokens are withdrawn, suggesting that such treatments address effects of schizophrenia rather than causes. They did not believe that schizophrenia was a disease. Gottesman reports that while the rate of schizophrenia in the general population is 1%, if one parent has schizophrenia there is a 12% likelihood their child will develop it and if both parents have schizophrenia, it increases to 40%. Additional communication skills are taught, such as compromise and negotiation, and requesting a time out . It is also important to note that two-thirds of people with schizophrenia have no relative with a similar diagnosis and therefore have no one to inherit it from. BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester. Another form of CBT: Coping Strategy Enhancement (CSE). Evaluation of family therapy as a treatment for schizophrenia - Stuvia High dopamine activity leads to acute episodes, and positive symptoms which include: delusions, hallucinations, confused thinking. Neural correlates are patterns of structure or activity in the brain that occur in conjunction with schizophrenia. Without this knowledge a person displaying overt emotional behavior in a Western culture might be regarded as abnormal. Weak evidence for family based explanations, there is no evidence that supports the importance of double bind theory. However, the fact that these people were on medication and having regular meetings with doctors would be expected to have that effect anyway. DSM) should arrive at the same diagnosis for the same individual. There have also been ethical concerns as such a process is seen to be dehumanising, subjecting the patient to a regime which takes away their right to make choices. Company Reg no: 04489574. Family Dysfunction refers to any forms of abnormal processes within a family such as conflict, communication problems, cold parenting, criticism, control and high levels of expressed emotions. Another family variable associated with schizophrenia is a negative emotional climate, or more generally a high degree of expressed emotion (EE). Genetic Explanations of Offending Behaviour | Psychology | tutor2u A final strength is that it takes on board the nurture approach to the development of schizophrenia. Culture One of the biggest controversies in relation to classification and diagnosis is to do with cultural relativism and variations in diagnosis. Imagined stimuli could involve any of the senses. [4 marks], a) this study is about differences between two conditions/groups so the Mann-Whitney is appropriate it is not about correlation/relationship between two variables so Spearman's is not appropriate. This helps improve the quality of life for schizophrenia sufferers. RWA Offering drugs can lead to an enhanced quality of life as patients are given independence Positive impact on the economy as patients can return to work and no longer need to be provided with institutional care. Response. When desired behavior is displayed eg. Validity the extent to which schizophrenia is a unique syndrome with characteristics, signs and symptoms. Tienari Et. A second explanation developed, which suggests that it is not excessive dopamine but that fact that there are more dopamine receptors. More receptors lead to more firing and an over production of messages. In order to diagnose Schizophrenia the Mental Health Profession developed the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) still used today as a method of classifying mental disorders (particularly in the USA). Briefly outline family dysfunction as an explanation for schizophrenia. Noll (2009) also argues around one third of patients do not respond to drugs which block dopamine so other neurotransmitters may be involved. Drug therapy is a biological treatment for schizophrenia. In a token economy, tokens are given to reward people in psychiatric institutions for performing socially desirable behaviours, the aim being to encourage self-care. Group As scores suggest a normal distributed as the mean, median and mode are all almost the same (22). Of these, only 1 study showed improvement in symptoms and behavioural change in patients. Let the patient develop their own alternatives to their previous maladaptive behavior by looking at coping strategies and alternative explanations. Schizophrenics returning to such a family were more likely to relapse into the disorder than those returning to a family low in EE. The Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia Chronic schizophrenics achieved 3lbs of weight loss a week. There are serious ethical concerns in blaming the family, particularly as there is little evidence upon which to base this. 11 Explain how family dysfunction might be involved in schizophrenia. Family dysfunction - the double-bind theory Bateson et al. They are effectively discriminated against (in this case, denied rewards) for being more severely ill. However, the concordance rate for MZ twins is not 100% which suggests that other factors must also be involved. Medications reduce positive symptoms particularly hallucinations and delusions; and usually allow the patient to function more effectively and appropriately. The legality of this has been challenged, and the use of token economies has declined as a result. Boston House, Education and rapport training: therapist and client work together to improve the effectiveness of the clients own coping strategies and develop new ones. In CBT, schizophrenia patients are encouraged to trace back the origins of their symptoms in order to get a better idea of how the symptoms might have developed. They involve modifying/interfering with the action of neurotransmitters, in order to increase (agonists) or decrease (antagonists) their activity.