Schizophrenia: Analysis & Examples

The disease called schizophrenia was first described by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin in the 1890s (Begley, 2002, 44). Schizophrenia is a common psychotic disorder which affects approximately one percent of the population, which transcends economic status, education level, geographic location, and family structure and functionality (Begley, 2002, 44; Zablocki, 2004, 48). There is no way to accurately predict who will become schizophrenic, and the cause is largely unknown, although there is almost certainly a genetic predisposition for the disorder (Begley, 2002, 44). However, the genetic component is not omnipotent because in identical twins, one can be affected and the other not. Symptoms often begin in late adolescence, and sometimes in childhood, and the disorder affects men and women equally. If the disorder is left untreated, it leads to progressive deterioration in the ability to carry out normal daily functions (Zablocki, 2004, 48).

Schizophrenia is diagnosed if there is persistent presence of at least two of the following symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, frequently incoherent speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, or the absence of feeling or volition (Begley, 2002, 44). However, if the delusions are particularly bizarre, or if the hallucinations consist of multiple voices carrying on a conversation, or a running commentary of what the person is doing or thinking, then this is enough for a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In a form of schizophrenia

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-63). In 1988, Mark Daniel Sallee, discharged from the army for having schizotypal personality disorder, lived with the homeless in Kentucky, where he shot and killed a police officer. He had been diagnosed as schizophrenic in 1978 when he shot and killed his stepfather, and his mother had begged authorities to help him, but after spending just a few months in a mental hospital he was simply allowed to wander around until he killed again. After being arrested for killing the police officer, Sallee spent more than a year in jail without any treatment whatsoever. In 1989, when a psychiatrist went to examine him, he was curled up nude in his cell with a sheet and blanket over his head. For 11 months he sat psychotically motionless and mute, but within weeks of being ordered to begin taking antipsychotic medication at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center, he improved dramatically, and interacted with fellow patients. When he is well enough, he will stand trial for murder. The irony of the story is that the only reason he is being forced to take the medication is to get him well enough to stand trial and face the death penalty. In 1991, Kevin McKiever, a schizophrenic, fatally stabbed a Rockette with a butcher knife I

Category: Psychology - S