Theories of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric illness characterized by intermittent or constant episodes of psychosis attacks. The major clinical manifestations of schizophrenia include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, and abnormal fear (McCutcheon et al., 2020). Other symptoms may include anergia, apathy, decreased expression of emotions, and social withdrawal. There is no specific diagnostic technique for schizophrenia. However, scientists use four theories to explain the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Do you need urgent assignment help ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com.
The theories include genetic theory, biochemical theory, bio-psycho-social theory, and environmental theory. The genetic theory explains that schizophrenia is a problem of the genetic makeup and that it is inherited from parents. However, this theory is not scientifically proven because the occurrence of schizophrenia varies and may not be necessary to be genetically inherited. The environmental theory, on the other hand, argues that schizophrenia is caused by environmental factors such as stress (McCutcheon et al., 2020). The majority of researchers, however, dispute this theory because stress alone has not been proven to cause schizophrenia but is a precipitating factor. The third theory, which is the biochemical theory, states that schizophrenia arises as a result of mixed-up signals going to the brain (Soldatkin et al., 2019). In this theory, it is believed that schizophrenia patients have a higher level of brain chemicals such as dopamine than a normal person, and that is responsible for the features seen in schizophrenia.
Lastly, is the theory of Bio-psycho-social theory, which suggests that schizophrenia occurs as a result of a biochemical abnormality in addition to other factors such as environmental, social, and biological. Among these four theories, the theory that best explains schizophrenia is the bio-psycho-social theory because it constitutes all the other theories in explaining the etiology of schizophrenia (Soldatkin et al., 2018). It is also evident that the management of schizophrenia involves the use of medications and cognitive behavioral therapy, hence supporting bio-psycho-social theory because schizophrenia is a multifactorial illness.
References
McCutcheon, R. A., Marques, T. R., & Howes, O. D. (2020). Schizophrenia—an overview. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(2), 201-210. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3360
Soldatkin, V. A., Mrykhina, V. V., & Mrykhin, V. V. (2018). THEORIES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA ETIOLOGY AT THE PRESENT STAGE. Neurology Bulletin, 50(4), 82-84. https://doi.org/10.17816/nb14159
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Question
How do theorists explain schizophrenia?
Which theory do you think best explains the disorder and why?