A social explanation of schizophrenia
The Environmental Breeder hypothesis (AKA: Social Causation)
- A link between low socio-economic status and schizophrenia has been well established since the 1960s.
- Research in Denmark and the Netherlands has reawakened an interest in the importance of environmental factors in triggering schizophrenia.
- Features of big-city life may be causally implicated (Eaton et al, 2000) in schizophrenia, i.e. being born or brought up in such areas is in itself a risk factor for the condition (Harrison et al, 2001)
- Data from an ongoing national cohort study in Sweden (Hjern et al, 2004) show convincingly that social adversity in childhood is associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.
- Interest in environmental causes has also been reignited by the high rates of psychotic illness found among Afro-Caribbean and other black immigrants groups in the UK and abroad, (see Veling, 2008: The Dutch Study)
- Risk factors include unemployment, poverty, social isolation, poor housing, overcrowding, lack of defensible space, high levels of crime and illicit drug use
This information was referenced from:
Cooper (2005). Immigration and schizophrenia: the social causation hypothesis revisited. The British Journal of Psychiatry 186: 361363 retrieved 29 March 2010 from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/186/5/361
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social-explanation: Another excellent presentation by Aidan Sammons
env-breeder-ao1-sheet: The AO1/3 can be difficult to disentangle with regard to the social causation hypothesis; this sheet prompts you to describe the environmental factors that have been linked to schizophrenia and use a piece of linked research t illustrate the problem. The studies here are used as elaboration not as support as such and therefore can cunt as AO1.
ethnic-minority-status-and-schiz-dutch-study
evaluating-env-breeder-hypothesis
introducing-social-explantions-of-schiz
pedersen-and-mortensen-2001-full-text
psychologyrocks 