Validity issues concerning the diagnosis of schizophrenia

Disorders similar to schizophrenia: There are individuals who display symptoms similar to those of schizophrenia but don’t meet the criteria e.g. schizoid personality disorder and schizotypal disorder. Validity is affected where these variations exist. It is difficult to diagnose a person displaying schizophrenia-like symptoms. The boundary between the classifications is blurred. This has led to criticisms concerning the portrayal by the diagnostic systems where schizophrenia is depicted as an absolute condition i.e. ‘all-or-nothing’.

Dimensional or categorical disorder: Schizophrenia should be a dimensional disorder where its classification should relate to the degree to which problems are experience not the presence or absence of them e.g. some may experience hallucinations but have found ways to cope with them and so their functioning in life is not affected. 

Schizophrenia as a…