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Schizophrenia

Lindsay Roundtree

Salt Lake Community College

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Schizophrenia

In chapter 12 of Experience Psychology by Laura King, we covered psychological

disorders. A few of these included bipolar disorder, anxiety, and antisocial personality disorder.

While there were many more psychological disorders covered in this chapter, I have chosen to

primarily focus on schizophrenia, which has two categories of symptoms: positive and negative

(King, 2016). In this paper, the potential causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments for

schizophrenia will be covered.

Potential Causes

While there are no known exact causes for schizophrenia, doctors do have a few theories

and have done numerous studies trying to pin point the cause. To date, it is believed to be

combination of various elements including psychological, genetic, and environmental factors to

name a few.

Genetics

While having a direct family member who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia

increases a person’s chance of being affected by the disorder by 10 percent it is not a guarantee

that if a family member has schizophrenia, another will inherit the disease. There have been

studies done on identical twins, however, showing that if one twin has schizophrenia, the other

has a 50 percent chance of developing it. Therefore, it is believed that while genetics do play a

role in schizophrenia, it is not a direct cause (Ross, M.).

Infections
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Also noted in Schizophrenia : Medicine's Mystery, Society's Shame, there is some

correlation in contracting illnesses as a child and an increase in development of schizophrenia

and even bipolar disorder. Infections present in those with schizophrenia include rubella,

influenza, and bovine disease. Certain studies done on those suffering from schizophrenia also

show an increase in infections of Toxoplasma Gondii and the Herpes Simplex Virus (Ross, M.).

Marijuana

A debatable study was done in Sweden on the correlation between marijuana and

schizophrenia. In the study, 97% of men in the general population between the ages of 18 and 20

reported their use of marijuana as well as other psychoactive drugs. The numbers were gathered

and then compared to patients who suffered from schizophrenia, where researchers concluded

that there was a causal relationship between marijuana and the development of schizophrenia.

However, researchers debate this finding due to the fact that a large portion of those suffering

from mental illness attempt to alleviate their unpleasant symptoms by self-medicating (Ross, M.,

2011).

Symptoms

There are two categories of symptoms in schizophrenia, “positive” and “negative”.

Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) can be used to characterize symptoms and

assist doctors in providing necessary treatment.

Positive Symptoms

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, thought-disorders,

disorganized behavior, and delusions. Affecting 74% of those with schizophrenia are auditory

hallucinations, or hearing voices inside one’s head (Wible, C., Lee, K., Molina, I., & Hashimoto,
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R., 2005). Some examples of positive symptoms could include someone believing that God or

the Devil is telling them to do something (hallucinations and delusions), speaking in made up

words or incomplete sentences (thought-disorder), or acting out inappropriately (disorganized

behavior).

Negative Symptoms

The negative symptoms of schizophrenia are characterized by a flat effect, social

withdrawal, or refusing to talk. When experiencing negative symptoms, the affected individual

may appear that they simply don’t care about everyday tasks. They may forgo bathing and basic

hygiene, discontinue eating, or keep to themselves and refuse to speak to friends and family

members.

Receiving a Diagnosis

With more research surfacing, there are more and more ways to achieve a diagnosis or be

able to tell if someone is at an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.

Eye movement Study

The eye movement study was done by Aims Studies and showed positive correlation

between three different eye markers and those with schizophrenia. Scan path length, horizontal

position gain, and duration of fixation were the three eye markers used to identify those with

schizophrenia and those without it. The eye movement study was accurate with a rate of 82

percent in distinguishing between healthy individuals and those suffering from schizophrenia

(Morita, K., Miura, K., Fujimoto, M., Yamamori, H., Yasuda, Y., Iwase, M., Kasai, K.,

Hashimoto, R., 2017).

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Doctors

Schizophrenia is considered a severe mental illness, and doctors will rule out other

potential mental illnesses before diagnosing a patient with schizophrenia. However, if the patient

meets the criteria for the diagnosis, it is deemed a positive diagnosis from a doctor. The

symptoms of schizophrenia, listed above include positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions,

etc.) and negative symptoms (flat effect, withdrawal). The diagnosis is made by a psychiatric

doctor, using the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM) rather than a general practitioner, due

to the skill level needed to make the diagnosis (Living with Schizophrenia)

Gender Discrimination

It is important to note that gender discrimination can, and does, occur when diagnosing

schizophrenia. In one study, men were more frequently diagnosed as schizophrenic than women

were. This can be very damaging, as it can cause women to live with untreated symptoms of

schizophrenia for a longer period of time. The study included psychiatrists from Norway and

Russia, who were given written observations of those suffering from early symptoms, potentially

from schizophrenia. The gender-descriptive words “he” and “she” were used in the written

observations and each psychiatrist was given an equal amount of female and male cases (50/50).

The 467 psychiatrists in the study were not told that they were given 50% male and 50% female

cases. The conclusion of the study showed that “significantly more” diagnoses were given to

males over females (Hoye, A., Rezvy, G., Hansen, V., Olstad, R., 2006).

Treatments for Schizophrenia

Talk therapy, in combination with medication, are the two most commonly used methods

for treating schizophrenia.

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Talk Therapy

Talk therapy can be difficult in treating schizophrenia, but if the patient is committed to

their treatment, it can be a great tool in combination with medication. There is a noted benefit in

improving negative symptoms of schizophrenia, especially lack of drive, in talk therapy or

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (Rubin, E., 2012)

Medication

Antipsychotic drugs, including Risperidone and Quetiapine, are used as medication in

treating schizophrenia. These can also be called “neuroleptics” and work on the areas of the brain

that produce serotonin and dopamine. These medications help to ease the positive and negative

symptoms associated with the disorder. (Rubin, E., 2012)

Application

I chose to research schizophrenia not only because it is largely misunderstood in our

nation, but because I had a friend who was diagnosed and experienced severe schizophrenic

symptoms. He was frequently committed to the psychiatric unit of the hospital due to positive

symptoms associated with his disorder. One of the major ones worth noting was his hallucination

of “ghost chickens” which would lure him out into the road after dark. His family repeatedly had

him committed after finding he would sneak out and play with these “ghost chickens” in the

road. This was obviously concerning for the family and a serious threat to his safety.

After seeing the way that people treated him in society, I propose we make a change to

the way that schizophrenia, and other mental illness, is viewed. People often view schizophrenics

as “crazy” or “dangerous”. In reality, schizophrenics are more of a danger to themselves than

others, but society still hasn’t seen it that way. By raising awareness through political channels,
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college seminars, and including the topic in more social work and psychology classes, I believe

we can start to reduce the stigma surrounding schizophrenia.

Conclusion

I learned so much from this topic and wish I could have gone into even more detail about

the disorder. While much is still unknown about schizophrenia, it seems that the scientific and

medical community is making huge strides in determining the causes and creating more effective

treatments to help those suffering live with their illness.

In the future, I would like to know how various cultures view schizophrenia and would

love to see the day when scientists discover the direct cause of schizophrenia and narrow it down

a bit more. My feelings on this topic are both optimism and sorrow. I find it encouraging that

people will begin to lead more “normal” lives based off of modern medication and it makes me

sad to read how seriously the impact that schizophrenia has on both the person diagnosed with it

and their families. This topic can help others by me being knowledgeable to correct someone

when they say something incorrect or rude about those who suffer from schizophrenia.
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Work Cited

Ross, M. (2011). Schizophrenia: Medicine’s Mystery, Society’s Shame. Dundas, Ontario:

Bridgeross.

Wible, C., Lee, K., Molina, I., & Hashimoto, R. (2005, November 8). FMRI Activity Correlated

With Auditory Hallucinations During Performance of a Working Memory Task: Data From

the FBIRN Consortium Study. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2643958/

Morita, K., Miura, K., Fujimoto, M., Yamamori, H., Yasuda, Y., Iwase, M., Kasai, K.,

Hashimoto, R. (2017). Eye Movement as a Biomarker of Schizophrenia: Using an Integrated

Eye Movement Score. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

How is Schizophrenia Diagnosed? (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from

https://www.livingwithschizophreniauk.org/advice-sheets/how-is-schizophrenia-diagnosed/

Hoye, A., Rezvy, G., Hansen, V., Olstad, R. (2006). The Effect of Gender in Diagnosing Early

Schizophrenia. Social Psychiatry Epidemiology.

Reuben, E., M.D. (2012, April 3). Can Talk Therapy Help Persons with Schizophrenia?

Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/demystifying-

psychiatry/201204/can-talk-therapy-help-persons-schizophrenia
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King, L. (2016). Experience psychology(3rd ed.). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill.