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Abnormality and Schizophrenia

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According to Mathers et al., (1996) “Schizophrenia ranks among the top ten causes of disability worldwide and affects one in one hundred people at some point in their lives.” (Cardwell and Flanagan, 2012). Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder which is commonly diagnosed in 15-30 year old individuals. It disrupts a person’s cognition, perceptions and emotions, making it extremely difficult to diagnose. Bleuler (1911) introduced the term schizophrenia, which translates as ‘split-mind’ or ‘divided self’ and accounts for the earlier interpretations of the disease. These misunderstandings and the ongoing misrepresentations, especially within the media, has stigmatised the illness. This raises the need for better understanding and …show more content…

Ethically there was concern, that the level of deception involved, could have caused detriment to future patients, since the embarrassment from the initial study had a direct affect on the judgements of genuine patients. The reliability of these results may be questioned, as the participant numbers were relatively small; however they were valid as the results showed a strong correlation from each of the hospitals investigated. Rosenhan’s studies have been a catalyst towards further research into schizophrenia, especially since they were ecologically valid.
In addition, cultural relativism must be accounted for in assessments, to ensure that the patient’s social and cultural norms are considered during diagnosis. Harrison et al., (1997) found a higher incidence rate for schizophrenia amongst African-Caribbean groups than for their white counterparts. Whilst various social aspects, could be possible factors, a lack of understanding cultural differences could explain misdiagnosis. Cooper et al., (1972) found that Americans were twice as likely to diagnose schizophrenia as the British and this suggested that Americans had broader concepts of what schizophrenia is. Furthermore, Holmes (1994) found that decision trees, ensuring standardised questioning, brought about a higher correlation of results.
Psychologists, neurologists and biologists have been working to determine the causes and cure

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