SCHIZOPHRENIA: SYMPTOMS AND THEORY Definitional

A. At least two of the following symptoms lasting for at least one month in the active phase (exception: only one symptom if it involves bizarre delusions or if hallucinations involve a running commentary on the person or two or more voices talking with each other):

3. Disorganized speech (incoherent or frequent derailment)

4. Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior

5. Negative symptoms (flat affect, avolition, alogia, or anhedonia)

B. During the course of the disturbance, functioning in one or more areas such as work, social relations, and self-care has deteriorated markedly from premorbid levels (in the case of a child or adolescent, failure to reach expected level of social or academic development)

C. Signs of the disorder must be present for at least six months

D. Schizoaffective and mood disorders with psychotic features must be ruled out

E. The disturbance is not substance-inducted or caused by organic factors.

According to Sue, Sue and Sue (1994), differentiating between schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders is somewhat difficult because many other psychoses share at least some of the symptoms; however the authors report that of the most common symptoms, the m

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uce behavior similar to paranoid schizophrenia in nonschizophrenic subjects (Nielsen, Lyon & Ellison, 1983). However, while there is some support for the dopamine hypothesis, there is also research that does not support it. For example, treating schizophrenia with phenothiazines is only effective in reducing the symptoms of about one-quarter of patients (Van Putten, Philip, May & Marder, 1984). Further, schizophrenics given amphetamines do not experience worse symptoms (Angrist, Rotrosen & Gershon, 1980). These negative studies and others have led to behavioral scientists calling for a modification of the dopamine hypothesis, a modification that can explain the discrepant findings (Davis, Schaffer, Killian, Kinard & Chan, 1991). Another set of explanations as to the etiology of schizophrenia postulate psychological determinants. For example, one psychological theory of the disorder holds that dysfunctional family interaction is central to the development of the disorder; this is the "double-bind theory" developed by Gregory Bateson (Bateson, 1978). The double-bind theory of schizophrenia postulates that he development of the condition is related to a set of experiences a child has with close relatives or parents, very fr
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1470
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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