The fifth subgroup of schizophrenics is the residual schizophrenics. These afflicted persons experience a gradual decrease in the symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations or delusions (WebMD, 2013). However, the intermittent episodes that occur over time tend to be more negatively impacting on the persons with this form of schizophrenia (WebMD,
Discuss issues surrounding the classification and diagnosis of schizophrenia. There are two different classification systems in place to diagnose schizophrenia, the ICD-10 and the DCM. The key difference between the two classification systems is that the DCM measures symptoms over the course of 6 months, whereas the ICD-10 measures them over only one month. This poses a question of reliability, as there is a great lack of consistency between the two systems. Beck et al (1961) looked at inter-rater reliability between 2 psychiatrists who both looked at the same 154 patients, and found that the inter-rater reliability was low at 54%, meaning that the two systems may produce different results when it comes to the classification of schizophrenia.
For example, one of the main constituents of a phobia is generally described as being where the ‘anxiety causes interference with the functioning of a normal life’, but what if different doctors had different ideas of what a normal life was? You would be classed as phobic by one and not by the other. Another main issue relating to the classification of phobias is the fact that an anxiety disorder may present differently in different cultures, so it is not universalisable. For example, in Japan people can get diagnosed with phobias of offending people through one’s own awkwardness, but in Western countries this doesn’t exist. This is probably because in Japan there
Origins of Abnormal Psychology The deinstitutionalization movement began in the 1960s where the number of psychiatric hospitals radically decreased and conditions for patients improved drastically (Hansell & Damour, 2008). “The blunt realities of mental illness shatter our most deeply held convictions about the nature of human consciousness and behavior. The mentally ill are more different than us than we can imagine and more like us than we care to admit” (Bosco, p. 131). Past methods of treatment used to help the mentally ill has faced a great deal of controversy in society and was clear during this era the methods previously used had negative results on both society and the patients. While in the early stages of the deinstitutionalization the methods were radical and released patients from hospitals most programs were not well thought out or implemented.
Negative symptoms include deficits of standard emotional responses, such as lack of motivation or inability to experience pleasure. Individuals with paranoid schizophrenia usually do not display negative symptoms. For one to be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, the symptoms must persist for at least one to six months without the influence of any sort of medication or elicit drug. The development of paranoid schizophrenia is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Those with a family history of schizophrenia are more likely to develop the illness than those without a family history.
al., showed that identification of facial expression and emotional prosody is likely to be impaired in those diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The study involved 25 in-patients who had paranoid schizophrenia, 25 normal control participants, and 25 depressive in-patients. Those with paranoid schizophrenia performed worse than the other two groups. The study supported other previously made hypotheses and seemed to be accurate. However, the study could have used more patients to ensure even greater accuracy.
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that is of a very severe and alters the way a person thinks and acts. They tend to perceive reality different than most people. Schizophrenia is seen in all cultures, genders and races. The first signs of schizophrenia are irrational or dangerous behavior, deviant behavior, emotional distress, and significant impairment in functioning (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Nevertheless, these disorders are not always characterized disorders that begin during infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Schizophrenia was first called dementia paradox, and it became part of the DSM over 100 years ago or what was like the DSM. To be clinically diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia, according to the current DSM, you have to have two of the following conditions present for a large portion of the time during a one-month period. Delusions, hallucinations disorganized speech (i.e. frequent incoherence) disorganized or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms such as affective flatting, alogia, or avolition. Some of the symptoms to watch for at home are hearing voices, anxiety, violence, suicidal thoughts, and delusions.
Relapse Prevention by Family Intervention in Schizophrenic Patients There is substantial evidence that Family interventions can reduce the rate of relapse and rehospitalisation of Schizophrenia patients. Research has shown that patients from families that demonstrate high levels of criticism and hostility are more likely to relapse than those whose families who withhold their opinions and express less emotion (Pharoah et al., 2010). Although family interventions differ in their functions and mode of delivery, they still maintain a similar set of characteristics, which are that schizophrenia is regarded as an illness, family environment is not pointed as the cause of schizophrenia, support is provided an family members assume the roles of therapeutic agents and finally family interventions are a part of the whole treatment package alongside routine drug treatment and
Disorganized schizophrenia is when their behavior or speech is much unorganized and could cause inappropriate emotion. Catatonic schizophrenia causes one to repeat another ones behavior or speech purposely. Undifferentiated schizophrenia has many and varied symptoms. Residual schizophrenia has withdrawals. Someone can have an identical twin and only one could have schizophrenia.