Schizophrenia psychodynamic approach

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  • Created by: Jack
  • Created on: 21-05-15 10:13
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  • Psychodynam-ic explanation for schizophrenia
    • AO1
      • Freud claims we go through 5 psychosexual stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital)
        • Harsh overbearing parents (particularly mother) cause problems at the oral stage.
          • This leads to fixation at the oral stage. (but still carry on through the other stages).
            • Stress/trauma in later life leads to regression to fixated stage.
              • The oral stage occurs between 0 and 2 years old, so regression is to a weak, pre-ego state
                • The ego is the reality principle
                  • So regression to oral stage explains some symptoms of schiz (e.g.delusion, hallucinations - no reality)
    • AO2
      • STUDIES
        • FROMM-REICHMANN - compared childhood experiences of schiz/non-schiz children.
          • Found difference in quality of mothering (mother of schiz child was cold, harsh, etc).
          • (SCHOFIELD AND BALIAN found the same thing using an observation)
          • WARING AND RICKS - contradicto-ry as found mothers of schiz children to be anxious and shy.
        • GOTTDIEN-ER - meta-analysis of 37 studies
          • Found twice as many patients improved following psychotherapy, compared to those who didn't have it.
      • DEBATES
        • Nature (with a little nurture)
          • Nature for id, ego and superego, nurture for upbringing.
            • Can't explain why high dopamine activity leads to schiz
              • Oral fixation will lead to schiz
        • Determinist-ic
          • Oral fixation will lead to schiz
          • No gender or cultural variations, so theory can be considered universal.
      • ISSUES
        • No gender or cultural variations, so theory can be considered universal.
      • CAN/CAN'T EXPLAIN
        • This approach CAN'T explain:
          • The late onset of schiz (surely childhood stress should lead to regression too?)
          • Negative symptoms (e.g. flat effect)
          • Can't be tested scientifically due to circular argument and based on unconscious processes (so can't make a hypothesis)
          • If regression is to oral stage, then why  isn't the behaviour of schiz more childlike?
        • This theory CAN explain:
          • Very good at explaining positive symptoms, as out of touch with reality.
          • Why schiz is episodic (regression only happens at times of stress/upset, which isn't always occurring).
    • RESEARCH METHODS
      • Observed bias in some studies (observer wants to see specific behaviours)
      • Retrospective report as oral stage is at 2 years, but schiz develops in late teens, early twenties.
      • Success of psychothera-py could be due to extra attention.
      • Correlational
        • Unusual parental behaviour cause of schiz, or because of schiz?

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