¨ is a chronic, severe, debilitating mental illness that affects about 1% of the population.
¨ Usually begins before 25, persists throughout life and in all social classes.
¨ It is considered one of the psychotic mental disorders and is characterized by symptoms of thought, behavior, and social problems.
¨ HISTORY
¨ BENEDICT MOREL- “demence precoce”
¨ LUDWIG KAHLBAUM- “catatonia”
¨ EWOLD HACKER- “hebephrenia”
¨ EMIL KRAEPELIN- “dementia precox”
¨ EUGEN BLEULER- “schizophrenia”
- four A’s of Schizophrenia
¨ Diagnosis is usually in people aged 17-35 years with the illness appearing earlier in men (in the late teens or early 20s) than in women (who are affected in the 20s to early 30s).
¨ What Causes of Schizophrenia?
1. There is no single cause for schizophrenia. Rather, it is the result of a complex group of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors
¨ Types of Schizophrenia
1. Paranoid schizophrenia
2. Disorganized schizophrenia
3. Catatonic schizophrenia
4. Undifferentiated schizophrenia
5. Residual schizophrenia
¨ Diagnostic Criteria for Schizophrenia
A. Characteristic symptoms: Two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully treated):
¨ delusions
¨ hallucinations
¨ disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
¨ grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
¨ negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition
Note: Only one Criterion A symptom is required if delusions are bizarre or hallucinations consist of a voice keeping up a running commentary on the person's behavior or thoughts, or two or more voices conversing with each other.
B. Social/occupational dysfunction: For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care are markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset (or when the onset is in childhood or adolescence, failure to achieve expected level of interpersonal, academic, or occupational achievement).
C. Duration: Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least 6 months. This 6-month period must include at least 1 month of symptoms (or less if successfully treated) that meet Criterion A (i.e., active-phase symptoms) and may include periods of prodromal or residual symptoms. During these prodromal or residual periods, the signs of the disturbance may be manifested by only negative symptoms or two or more symptoms listed in Criterion A present in an attenuated form (e.g., odd beliefs, unusual perceptual experiences).
C. Schizoaffective and Mood Disorder exclusion: Schizoaffective Disorder and Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features have been ruled out because either (1) no Major Depressive Episode, Manic Episode, or Mixed Episode have occurred concurrently with the active-phase symptoms; or (2) if mood episodes have occurred during active-phase symptoms, their total duration has been brief relative to the duration of the active and residual periods.
