Schizophrenia is defined as a psychotic disorder in which people are disturbed by their own thoughts. Whether it be voices or illusions people that suffer from this illness tend to distort reality. Schizophrenia is usually diagnosed between the ages of 16-30, though it is still being researched today, we are not certain how schizophrenia is developed. Some scientists believe that schizophrenia is caused by a gene malfunction; other scientists say it is caused by family genetics. There are three main symptoms of schizophrenia, delusions, hallucinations, and thought disorder.
This problem may affect the part of the brain involved in developing higher functioning skills” (Schizophrenia, 2009). The age of diagnoses for men is in the mid 20’s and women in their late 20’s. “Many environmental factors may be involved, such as exposure to viruses or malnutrition before birth, problems during birth, and other not yet known psychosocial factors” (Schizophrenia, 2009). Environmental factors include prenatal stressors, drug use and living environment. Living in urban areas as a child or as an adult significantly increases the risk of developing schizophrenia.
The first explanation of phobias is the genetic explanation, which argues that phobias are hereditary. Most if the family studies conducted by researchers have found that relatives of those with phobias are more likely to suffer phobias themselves compared with relatives of non-phobic controls. A twin study by Slater and Shields 1969 found 41% concordance in 17MZ twin pairs versus 4% in 28 DZ twin pairs for any type of anxiety disorder. However even though studies have proven to support the genetic problems there are a number of difficulties with family studies. The main problem is that in most cases family members share the same environment so it can be argued that it was the environment that caused them to equally learn the behaviour instead of the genetic relationship.
Adoption studies go one step further in narrowing down a strong correlational link by ruling out the effect of environment on development of schizophrenia to illustrate the genetic link more clearly. They do this by comparing adopted children to their biological parents to determine links with schizophrenia. Kendler found that first degree relatives of individuals with schizophrenia are 18 times more at risk of developing the condition as the general population. Illustrating the genetic predisposition within families who share genes, strongly supporting the genetic explanation as there is such a high concordance rate. However this study can be criticised because of its retrospective analysis after the disorder had developed, thus it may be more conclusive if a prospective study was conducted to show the ‘before and after’ effects within families.
Psychopathy is related to a physiological defect that results in the underdevelopment of the part of the brain responsible for impulse control and emotions. Sociopathy, on the other hand, is more likely the product of childhood trauma and physical/emotional abuse. Sociopath is the term used when the antisocial behavior is a result of a brain injury or belief system and upbringing. Scientists studying how many sociopaths there are in the general population estimate that roughly 4 percent of the population has sociopathic personalities, or one in 26 people. Because sociopathy appears to be learned rather than innate, sociopaths are capable of empathy in certain limited circumstances but not in others, and with a few individuals but not others.
Jordaan (2013) explains that psychosis refers to a cluster of symptoms, among these disruptions in moods, thoughts, perception, language and behaviour. Jordaan goes on to say that Schizophrenia is the most common psychotic disorder with psychosis being the primary and central set of symptoms, although not all symptoms present in all people. These symptoms can be categorised as positive (active symptoms) and negative symptoms (absence or decline of normal functions) (Jordaan,
In fact many factors act together to produce the illness or increase risk. Genetics, yes Bipolar disorder tend to run the family. Some research suggested that people with certain genes are more likely to develop bipolar disorder than others. Children with a parent or sibling who has bipolar disorder are much more likely to develop the illness, compared with children who do not have a family history of bipolar disorder. Also the brains function of people with bipolar disorder may differ from the brains of healthy person.
This is a complicated process, millions of neurons are formed, migrate to different regions of the forming brain, and specialize to perform different functions. To support developmental theories, there are a number of risk factors for schizophrenia related to critical periods in fetal development, such as: Schizophrenia is more common in winter and spring births. Children whose mothers experienced malnutrition during the first trimester are more likely to develop schizophrenia. Pregnancy and birth complications increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. (Catherine Harrison, PhD, January 10, 2008) B.
Therefore emphasising the link between genes and addiction. Further support comes from Blum et al who found a high prevalence of the A1 variant in children born to alcoholics. this suggests that some people may be more vulnerable to addiction than others as they inherit a genetic predisposition. In addition the evidence helps further explain why some some people become addicted and other who share the same characteristic do not. However, research findings within the area of genetics and addiction are inconsistent.
Today I am going to talk to you about Schizophrenia and a closer look into my experiences of being diagnosed with it. When a doctor describes schizophrenia as a psychotic disorder, it means that, in their view, the patient can’t tell their own intense thoughts, ideas, perceptions and imaginings from reality. There are different types of schizophrenia. The most common one is paranoid schizophrenia which if generally a manifestation on multiple symptoms. Different patients will have different symptoms which will indicate what type of schizophrenia they have.