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ASSIGNMENT 10
1. Review the material discussed in Chapter 10 of your text. Based on this information,
what are the various subtypes of schizophrenia? (3 marks)
Answer: Various subtypes of schizophrenia are:
1. Disorganised Type: This is associated with some features like confused behaviour,
incoherent speech, vivid, frequent hallucinations flattened or inappropriate affect and
disorganised delusions which may involve sexual or religious themes.
2. Catatonic Type: It is characterised by impaired motor behaviour and slowing down of
activity leading to stupor stage but this may lead to agitated phase. People with this
schizophrenia may show some features like mannerism, bizarre behavior, and strenuous
behavior for long hours and waxy flexibility.
3. Paranoid Type: It is characterised by pre-occupation of one or more delusions or auditory
hallucinations. Delusions can be of grandiosity, persecution or jealousy.
4. Undifferentiated Schizophrenia: People with schizophrenia who display active
psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, incoherent speech or confused or
disorganized behavior but who do not meet the specifications of the other types are
considered to be of an undifferentiated type.
5. Residual Type: Person who have no prominent psychotic features at that time of
evaluation but have residual symptoms (e.g. social withdrawal, peculiar behavior, blunted
or inappropriate affect, strange beliefs or thoughts) known as residual schizophrenia
2. Describe the research in the text that discusses the relative contributions of genetics
and environment in the development of schizophrenia (2 marks).
Answer: Meehl suggested that certain people possess a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia
that is expressed behaviorally only if they are reared in stressful environments. Later Zubin, and
spring formulated the diathesis model, which views schizophrenia in terms of the interaction or
combination of a diathesis in the form of a genetic predisposition to develop the disorder with
environmental stress that exceeds the individual’s stress threshold or coping resources.
Environmental stressors may include psychological factors such as family conflict, child abuse,
emotional deprivation or loss of supportive figures as well as physical environmental influences,
such as early brain trauma or injury. On the other hand, if environmental stress remains below
the person’s stress threshold, schizophrenia may never develop.
Ina comprehensive dynamic vulnerability model, which shows that genetic factor and
environmental stressors interact in complex mutually reinforcing ways. According to this model,
genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia influences the person’s ability to cope and affects the way
he/she interprets stressful events. Genetic predisposition leads to odd behavior and thinking
problems which leads to environmental stress.
Research on gene-environment interactions provides support to diathesis stress model.
In this example of cannabis is taken. People who use this may develop psychotic
symptoms if COMT gene is present in the person. This may be sometime lead to
schizophrenia. In many cases if they do not have COMT gene regulation of dopamine,
they may not have any such symptoms. Another research was conducted called adoption
study in which high risk children of one or more biological parents with schizophrenia
were adopted away shortly after birth and reared away from their biological parents. In
this study at Denmark found 39 high risk adoptees reared apart from biological mothers
having schizophrenia. Three of 39 HR adoptees were diagnosed with schizophrenia as
compared to none of reference group of 47 adopted whose biological parents. Another
study showed incidence of diagnosed schizophrenia greater among biological relatives of
control adoptees. It appeared that family linkages in schizophrenia follow shared genes
not environment.