Prenatal And Early Postnatal Periods

American Psychiatric Association (APA). 2000. Schizophrenia. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth Edition, Text

The prevalence of schizophrenia is thought to be about 1% of the population around the world. The disorder is considered to be one of the top ten causes of long-term disability worldwide. Late adolescence and early adulthood are periods for the onset of schizophrenia. In 40% of men and 23% of women diagnosed with schizophrenia, the condition manifested before the age of 19 (Addington, Cadenhead, Cannon, 2007).These are critical years in a young adult’s social and vocational development.

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).

An analysis of the validity, reliability, practicalities and ethical issues will be covered when referring to the diagnostic classification systems and lastly the demographics and statistics surrounding schizophrenia with reference to age, gender and ethnicity will be thoroughly examined

Schizophrenia is also known as split personality disorder and it affects men extra recurrently in contrast to women. A number of aspects play decisive task in aggravating the symptoms of this disorder and these issues are genetic parameters, early environment, neurobiology, physiological and social processes. Some drugs also contribute a petite portion in making the condition of the patient poorer.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that inhibits a person’s ability to think clearly, manage their emotions, make their own decisions, and associate with others. It is a complicated, long term illness that affects one percent of Americans. Even though Schizophrenia can occur at any age, it is more common for men in their early twenties and early twenties to late thirties in women. It is possible to lead a happy, fulfilling life with Schizophrenia. (Nami 2016)

Further research in the nineties (Lindqvist & Allebeck, 1990) used a longitudinal study, looking at the crime rates of individuals with schizophrenia compared to the general population. Their findings revealed that women who are suffering from schizophrenia are twice as likely to become involved in criminal behaviour than the general female population. Whereas men with schizophrenia were no more likely than the general population to become criminals. Furthermore the rate of violence was four times higher in individuals with schizophrenia (men and women) compared to the general

Schizophrenia consists of a broad spectrum of diagnostic criteria (both cognitive and emotional dysfunctions) that cause problems in every day functioning (Barlow et al., 2015). This criteria includes the presence of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behaviour, and/or negative symptoms, such as diminished emotional expression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The prevalence rate of this disorder is estimated to be in the range of 0.2% to 1.5% in the general population (Barlow et al., 2015).

“Male gender, poor premorbid adjustment, poor compliance to treatment, poor cognitive functioning, and greater duration of untreated psychosis were found to be associated with a poorer socio-occupational functioning” (p.423) Some of schizophrenia symptoms are such as depression, low self-esteem and social withdrawal. Also a person would have

The focus of this paper is schizophrenia disorder among male inmate population. There are many unanswered questions about schizophrenia disorder in spite of countless studies. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) estimated the lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia to be between 0.3 - 0.7% (APA, 2013). Inmate population is chosen because psychotic experiences and behaviors often result in criminal charges. The prevalence of schizophrenia in the U.S. prisons is 2 - 6.5% (Prins, 2014). The male inmate population is selected because it constitutes the great majority (93.3%) of inmates (https://www.bop.gov), the incidence rate of negative symptoms is higher, and the duration of symptoms is longer among males (APA, 2013). Thus, examining appropriate assessments, treatments, and multicultural issues within this population presents great interest.

(Szasz,1982, p.4, p.29) In 1900, the term schizophrenia, now used worldwide, was used to describe the condition that one out of every hundred people had. This statistic remains the same today. Through research and years of study, the world has a better understanding of schizophrenia, its forms, characteristics, symptoms, types, possible causes, and treatments, if any. ( Pierce, 1990. p.263 )

Schizophrenia which affects approximately 1 percent of the population, usually begins before age 25 and persists throughout life. The illness is a life long debilitating condition for about 40% of patients and is enormously costly in both social and economic terms. Despite the presence of delusions, hallucinations and cognitive impairment which characterize the illness, overall life expectancy is not altered (although there is a significantly increased risk-of suicide in the early years).

Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous illness that may involve several pathophysiological gender differences. For men and women incidence risk peaks between 20-29 years of age, and women also have a second risk peak between 30–39 years of age. Negative symptoms including low motivation and withdrawal are more frequent in men and appear up to six years before diagnosis (Hafner, 2005; Hafner et al., 1993; Morgan et al., 2008). Women exhibit greater levels of depression and positive symptoms including sexual inappropriateness, impulsivity and delusions (Mendrek et al., 2015; Van der Werf et al., 2014). Sex differences in either age of onset or prevalence of negative symptoms are not as evident in patients that have a family history of schizophrenia (Bergen et al., 2014; Hafner et al., 1998).

Approximately 1 percent of the world’s population is affected by schizophrenia. This illness does not discriminate. The symptoms usually start between ages 16 and 30. Once an individual reaches the age of 45, it is rare that schizophrenia manifests. Schizophrenia seldom occurs in children; however, awareness of childhood-onset schizophrenia is increasing (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). The symptoms tend to effect men more severely than women and those who suffer from schizophrenia are known to have a higher risk of substance abuse and suicide rates. Approximately 10 percent of the schizophrenia communities commit suicide. The most common addiction shared by these individual is (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2009).

A person diagnosed with schizophrenia typically struggles with cognitive, behavioral and emotional, occupational and social dysfunction. The essential features of schizophrenia must include at least two symptoms for a considerable amount of time during one month. These symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, highly disorganized/catatonic behavior and negative symptoms (diminished emotional expression). In conjunction with the symptoms, continuous signs of the disturbance must carry on for at least six months as well, along with the inability to function in one or more major areas (work, self-care, interpersonal relationships). Lastly, the indicators of the disorder is not caused or linked