week 6 forum post responses 4

In need of a 250 word response/discussion to each of the following forum posts. Agreement/disagreement/and/or continuing the discussion.

Original forum discussion/topic post is as follows:

Your textbook readings this week focus on one of the most fascinating categories of psychological disorders: schizophrenia. While straight-forward in many ways, this diagnosis is markedly influenced by multicultural factors and plagued with diagnostic problems. In your post this week, using the textbook readings as a platform but doing your own library research as needed, discuss some of the multicultural components relevant to this condition and some of the diagnostic issues also at play.

Class:psychopathology

Forum post response #1

Schizophrenia is a disorder often associated with poor living conditions and economic status, which is why Comer addresses the biases in diagnosing the disorder. According to the text, he states that African Americans as well as Hispanic Americans are far more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder if they are poor and living in lower socioeconomic community because they do not have the accessibility to seek treatment for schizophrenia.

It is important to understand the difference among the different countries battling the disorder. It is also found that schizophrenia patients in “developing” countries are far more likely to recover from their schizophrenic symptoms than patients in countries like the United States. Comer says one of the more likely reasons for these findings has to do with the genetic makeup of the different populations. This argument also addresses the potential of superiority or inferior genetical makeup, which other theorists argue is an inappropriate way of looking at the issues. They have rebuttal the argument and looked at the potential therapeutic practices. Which those in developing countries tend to be more supportive and helpful than those in the United States.

I do have to say I agree with all these multicultural components as a leading factor in diagnosing schizophrenia and any other mental disease. People who are from lower socioeconomic communities are less likely to seek treatment and help because they are financially unable to do so. They are more concerned with survival than seeking mental health assistance. Unfortunately, we live in a society where minority groups are considered victims of their environmental surroundings because areas like Los Angeles, Detroit, Harlem, and etc are poorer socioeconomic communities. When look at white Americans who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia—they too are from lower socioeconomic communities.

I think social labeling plays a massive role in the treatment of schizophrenia. Nobody wants to have the label of being a schizoid because of the negative stigma that goes along with the disease. I do like the theorists who argue those people who are most likely to recover from their symptoms and schizophrenia disease in developing countries have a supportive network. If the United States did not have just a negative perspective of the disorder, there may be more support groups for people with the disorder to help them overcome the disease. The United States versus other countries tend to be very superficial and rigid in their treatment of people who have a mental illness that is potentially linked with violent and aggressive behaviors.

Forum post response #2

I thought that it was interesting that since I just registered for a multicultural issues class that this was the topic for this week. After reading the reading for this week, I found it interesting that there was a difference in this disorder depending on racial and ethnic groups. I guess I always assumed that the disorder did not discriminate and any individual group could have be prone to it. I have always heard about the disorder but I don’t believe that I have ever conducted any in depth research to be able to feel comfortable speaking about the disorder.

After conducting future research, there were more supporting details that made this more accurate. In lesson 6, I read that psychosocial environments of developing countries are more supportive than the developed countries to the disorder. This then results in better outcomes for people with the disorder. I also learned that an explanation for these multicultural factors may be due to certain ethnic groups being less likely to be economically stable, so they will then have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed than those who have more money. According to Barrio (2001), research on ethnic identities suggested that overtime, core elements of culture (values and attitudes) would be more resistant to change faster than the visible components of culture such as behaviors and knowledge. Since stated that people with schizophrenia experience a loss of contact with reality, this could explain the change of attitude and values that they believe in.

Since social labeling plays an important role in this disorder, it may seem as if people who have schizophrenia in lower social economic countries that they are not educated on exactly what the disorder is. This could also mean that they are not aware of the symptoms that go hand in hand with this disorder, so they would never be able to assume that they might have this disorder. According to Comer (2015), schizophrenia’s financial costs are enormous, and the emotional cost is even greater. This can be one of the most important reasons that people who are displaying symptoms of schizophrenia in a poverty living setting are likely to never get the help that they need. The text book reading also mentions that the stress of poverty alone can be a sole cause of the disorder. It was found that many people who have schizophrenia are ignored in our country as it is. I can imagine that people who comes from third world countries who do not have the medication or the treatment needed to manage the disease would then be ignored at an even higher rate.

Forum post responses #3

The word schizophrenia is derived from the Greek words that mean split mind (Comer, 2015). Schizophrenia disorder is a part of the classification of schizophrenia spectrum disorders which also include an array of psychosis contained within other psychotic disorders. These other psychotic disorders are similar to schizophrenia which is why they are all in one category; however, schizophrenia is the most prevalent. Schizophrenia disorder is primarily characterized by a deterioration into an isolated wilderness of unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and minor abnormalities (Comer, 2015). Persons with schizophrenia have a loss of contact with reality, an inability to respond to the environment to the point of not being able to function at home, hallucinations or false sensory perceptions, or delusions or false beliefs. The symptoms are grouped into three categories which are positive symptoms or excessive thoughts, emotions, and behavior; negative symptoms or deficits of thoughts, emotions and behavior; and psychomotor symptoms or unusual movements and gestures (Comer, 2015).

Regarding the prevalence of schizophrenia, 1 in every 100 people in the world is diagnosed with this disorder with an equal number of men and women receiving the diagnosis. The average onset is 23 years old for men and 28 years old for women. It appears in every socioeconomic status, but is often among people of the lower status which is why some theorists believe that the stress of poverty can cause schizophrenia. Interestingly, about 3 percent of those divorced or separated will suffer from schizophrenia at some point. Overall, those effected by schizophrenia usually have about a 20 year shorter life-span than the average person.

Diagnostic approaches to schizophrenia are dependent on the theoretical perspective, depending on which one you subscribe to. Biologically, the disorder could be caused by genes, biological abnormalities, or viral problems. Psychologically, the disorder could be the result of a person having issues with forming an integrated sense of self, or a result of severe trauma and stress. Based on the cognitive view, the disorder could be the result of individuals drawing incorrect and bizarre conclusions about experiences which are support by cognitive bias. They form a rational sense of unusual experiences which results in madness and they yield to a belief that they are being persecuted. Socioculturally, the disorder could be caused by several explanations that consist of (1) multicultural factors, (2) a result of society applying labels to one’s behavior which lead to further assumptions, (3) family dysfunction, or (4) a constructive process known as the R. D. Lang process which posits that an individual may attempt to cure him/herself of the confusion caused by family or societal dysfunctions.