Therefore, CBT has potential ethical issues. VAT reg no 816865400. This helps improve the quality of life for schizophrenia sufferers. This suggests that understanding the effects of cognitive deficits allows psychologists to create new initiatives for schizophrenics and improve the quality of their lives. [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. This suggests that the dopamine hypothesis does not account for freewill. These refer to the latest editions of the two classification systems. They generally have fewer side effects eg. Treatment: In an interactionist approach, treatments will take more than one form. For example, some patients on typical antipsychotics develop tardive dyskinesia- a condition where there are uncontrollable facial tics. However they do not cure schizophrenia, rather they dampen symptoms down so that patients can live fairly normal lives in the community. CSE aims to teach individuals to develop and apply effective coping strategies which will reduce the frequency, intensity and duration of psychotic symptoms and alleviate the accompanying distress. Therefore, the evidence supporting token economies is very weak. Avolition: Lack of volition (i.e. 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 means that the brains of schizophrenics are lighter than normal. Positive symptoms are an excess or distortion of normal functions, for example hallucinations, delusions and thought disturbances such as thought insertion. Adults with an insecure attachement to their primary carere are also more likely to have schizophrenia (Berry et al 2008). The reason for this is because if the individual does have large ventricles then does it really mean that they will develop schizophrenia? Boston Spa, Pharoah identified examples of how family therapy works: It helps family members achieve a balance between caring for the individual and maintaining their own lives, it reduces anger and guilt, it improves their ability to anticipate and solve problems and forms a therapeutic alliance. This suggests that one needs to be careful when establishing cause and effect relationships in schizophrenic patients. Problems of validity: Are we really testing what we think we are testing? (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. One weakness of the cognitive explanation is that there are problems with cause and effect. The severity of the side-effects is a weakness as patients will be reluctant to take them, or may even die as a result of the effect. Zubin and Spring suggest that a person may be born with a predisposition towards schizophrenia which is then triggered by stress in everyday life. CBT is rarely used without drug therapy, suggesting it is not enough on its own to treat schizophrenia. delusions. Melzer (2012) concluded that Clozapine is effective in 30-50% of cases where other drugs have failed, supporting its use in schizophrenia treatment. Cognitive biases refer to selective attention. (1988) has found a gene located on chromosome 5 which has been linked in a small number of extended families where they have the disorder. It can also reduce positive symptoms by not rewarding them, but rewarding desirable behavior instead. Of these, only 1 study showed improvement in symptoms and behavioural change in patients. [4 marks]. There are serious ethical concerns in blaming the family, particularly as there is little evidence upon which to base this. basis. They act as dopamine antagonists, attempting to reduce dopamine activity. Briefly outline family dysfunction as an explanation for schizophrenia. Get Revising is one of the trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. Token economies raise ethical issues. For the classification system to be reliable, differfent clinicians using the same system (e.g. Combining treatments is most common in the UK, although it is also sometimes used in the USA. Out-dated views that were once accepted are no longer tolerated by families and are now seen as destructive rather than productive, Briefly outline how cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is used to treat schizophrenia and explain one limitation of using CBT to treat schizophrenia. Researchers estimate up to 1 percent of adults worldwide have schizophrenia.. What . They believed that schizophrenia was a result of social pressures from life. They arrest dopamine production by blocking the D2 receptors in synapses that absorb dopamine, in the mesolimbic pathway thus reducing positive symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations. less effect on movement The stress-trigger could be environmental __or biological (for example, smoking cannabis is linked with schizophrenia). Psychomotor Disturbances: Stereotypyical Rocking backwards and forwards, twitches, & repetitive behaviors. Small doses given to people already suffering from schizophrenia tend to worsen their symptoms. However, biological factors must have had a role to play as none of the adoptees with no family history of schizophrenia from disturbed families developed schizophrenia, Boston House, 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. The entire evaluation of Schizophrenia (AQA A-level Psychology) 33.39 5.49. ABC: Get the patients to understand what is really happening in their life: A: Antecedent what is triggering your problem ? Laing believed that schizophrenia was a result of the interactions between people, especially in families. Falloon et al (1996) stress such as divorce or bereavement, causes the brain to be flooded with neurotransmitters which brings on the acute episode. Schizophrenics returning to such a family were more likely to relapse into the disorder than those returning to a family low in EE. A. Refer to one or more types of family dysfunction in your answer. Second, cognitive biases are present when people notice, pay attention to, or remember certain types of information better than other. Credit should be awarded for one type in some detail or for two (or more) done briefly. 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. Family, twin and adoption studies must be considered cautiously because they are retrospective, and diagnosis may be biased by knowledge that other family members who may have been diagnosed. This means it cannot be used to treat schizophrenia by itself. Turkington et al. amphetamines) can produce-schizophrenia like symptoms in non-sufferers. The Diathesis Stress model of schizophrenia is part of the interactionist approach that see's schizophrenia developing due to an interaction between the biological (diathesis) and the environmental (stress) influences. The intention is to show schizophrenics that their hallucinations are not real. Paul and Lentz (1977) Token economy led to better overall patient functioning and less behavioral disturbance, More cost-effective (lower hospital costs). A nationwide Finnish sample of schizophrenics' offspring given up for adoption was compared blindly with matched controls, who were adopted offspring of non-schizophrenic biological parents. Risperidone is another atypical antipsychotic, and is designed to be as effective as Clozapine without the risky side-effects. Comorbidities were also found with epilepsy being the . Cognitive approaches examine how people think, how they process information. 1988) and increased dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen (Owen et al, 1978). Antipsychotic drugs are highly effective as they are relatively cheap to produce, easy to administer and have a positive effect on many sufferers. To teach patients and carers more effective stress management techniques. First, cognitive deficits which are impairments in thought processes such as perception, memory and attention. Since their are problems with the validity of diagnois classification, unsuitable treatment may be administered, sometimes on an involuntary However, one explanation for this is mutation in parental DNA. Ayllon and Azrin (1968) set up a token economy with schizophrenic patients in a psychiatric institution. 2. disputing techniques. These symptoms may leave them fearful and withdrawn. There is other evidence to support difficult family relationships in childhood are associated with increased risk of schizophrenia in adulthood. For example, schizophrenia and depression are often found together. So the stressors of modern living could cause increased schizophrenia in future generations. Another family variable associated with schizophrenia is a negative emotional climate, or more generally a high degree of expressed emotion (EE). How could the researchers modify their study to deal with this problem? However, the fact that these people were on medication and having regular meetings with doctors would be expected to have that effect anyway. Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness where contact with reality and insight are impaired, an example of psychosis. 1. There is evidence that people diagnosed as schizophrenic have difficulties in processing various types of information, for example visual and auditory information. In other words, it doesnt cure schizophrenia, it just helps people get over it. Central idea: Patients problems are based on incorrect beliefs and expectations. Ethical issues Severely ill patients cant get privileges because they are less able to comply with desirable behaviors than moderately ill patients They may suffer from discrimination. Research suggests that these delusions are associated with specific biases in reasoning about and explaining social situations. Often, little or nothing is done to rectify the situation or to alleviate its adverse effects upon the child. A second strength of the research into expressed emotion (EE) is that it has practical applications. Medication can be taken as pills, syrups or injections, and may be taken over a short or long-term. Background: Social dysfunction is an important outcome for schizophrenia and can be measured by the evaluation of social skills. Some people who have been diagnosed as schizophrenic appear to have difficulties with this skill. This suggests that there is wider academic credibility for enlarged ventricles determining the likelihood of schizophrenia developing. Desirable behavior includes self-care, taking medication, work skills, and treatment participation. The Genome Project has increased understanding of the complexity of the gene. desire): in which a person becomes totally apathetic and sits around waiting for things to happen. 214 High Street, Hallucinations are usually auditory or visual perceptions of things that are not present. Participants in Group A were a volunteer sample of people from a self-help group for people with schizophrenia. For men the figure was 59%. Economic Benefits: Family therapy is highly cost effective because it reduces relapse rates, so the patients are less likely to take up hospital beds and resources. Patients went from performing 5 chores a day to around 40. It is very difficult to separate out the influence of nature-v-nurture. Tel: +44 0844 800 0085. The modern understanding of diathesis-stress is slightly different. Clozapine targets multiple neurotransmitters, not just dopamine, and has been shown to be more effective than other antipsychotics, although the possibility of severe side effects in particular, loss of the white blood cells that fight infection. (1991) found a relapse rate of almost 40% when patients had drugs only, compared to only 20 % when Family Therapy or Social Skills training were used and the relapse rate was less than 5% when both were used together with the medication. To form identical twins, one fertilised egg (ovum) splits and develops two babies with exactly the same genetic information. In application questions, examiners look for effective application to the scenario which means that you need to describe the theory and explain the scenario using the theory making the links between the two very clear. Boston Spa, A number of researchers have suggested that difficulties in understanding other peoples behavior might explain some of the experiences of those diagnosed as schizophrenic. 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. This suggests that there is wider academic credibility for the idea of contradictory messages causing schizophrenia. Diagnosis of schizophrenia is difficult as the practitioner has no physical signs but only symptoms (what the patient reports) to make a decision on. double-bind, high expressed emotion - . CBT may involve challenging the validity of beliefs, which may interfere with freedom of thought. These might include things as simple as turning up the TV to drown out the voices they were hearing! As the drugs block dopamine activity, they tend to have (sometime severe) side-effects. They also have some effect on other neurotransmitters such as serotonin . Family studies find individuals who have schizophrenia and determine whether their biological relatives are similarly affected more often than non-biological relatives. This suggests that there may be problems of demand characteristics. Bentalls meta-analysis (2012) shows that stress arising from abuse in childhood increases the risk of developing schizophrenia. 2002-2023 Tutor2u Limited. Gender bias is also an issue as the mother tends to be blamed the most, which means such research is highly socially sensitive. One biological explanation for schizophrenia is that it is passed on through the genes. A final weakness of the genetic explanation of schizophrenia is that it is biologically reductionist. AQA maintains that 16-mark questions, or indeed, extended writing questions of other tariffs, could be asked on any part of any topic. Noll (2009) also argues around one third of patients do not respond to drugs which block dopamine so other neurotransmitters may be involved. C: Consequences what impact does that have on your relationships with others? Comorbidity describes people who suffer from two or more mental disorders. This limits the usefulness of token economies in treating schizophrenia. The therapist wins the trust of the patient, so they can work together. This weakens the interactionist explanation. It is, therefore, very important to offer the most appropriate and effective type of treatment. For example, major depression and schizophrenia both involve very low levels of motivation. There is no such thing as a normal schizophrenic exhibiting the usual symptoms. In other words the illness only manifesters itself under appropriate environmental conditions, genetics was not enough on its own. A second weakness of the neuroanatomical explanations is that it is biologically deterministic. Families can help minimize the damage to self of the schizophrenic that this entails. It is more likely A final strength is that it takes on board the nurture approach to the development of schizophrenia. (2003) meta analysis found family interventions help the patient to understand their illness and to live with it, developing emotional strength and coping skills, thus reducing rates of relapse. A second explanation developed, which suggests that it is not excessive dopamine but that fact that there are more dopamine receptors. 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. This has the effect of reducing dopamine production, and reduces positive symptoms such as hallucinations. The rate of relapse was particularly high if returning to a high EE family was coupled with no medication. Make sure you know which is which, for example do you understand the difference between genetic explanation and neural correlates explanation, and do you have a model essay for each? 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. These include reduced levels of emotional expression, disorganised speech and delusions. Gottesman (1991) has found that schizophrenia is more common in the biological relatives of a schizophrenic, and that the closer the degree of genetic relatedness, the greater the risk. Even after stopping the use of the drug, this condition can persist. Tokens are secondary reinforcers, which are exchanged for rewards (primary reinforcers), for example food, being allowed to watch a film, and so on.
1973 Speedy Gonzales Glass,
Openstax Psychology 2e Apa Citation,
Articles F