Schizophrenia Outline

An outline of the causes and effects of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that is most commonly associated with delusion and hallucinations. It has been estimated that 0.4-0.7% of people develop schizophrenia, with the mental health condition being equally prevalent in both men and women (Saha et al., 2005). It is a particularly expensive illness due to its severity, reportedly costing the U.S. around $62.7 billion in 2002, with unemployment the most significant factor causing this staggering figure (Wu et al., 2005).

While there is no known cause for the development of schizophrenia, a number of factors have been attributed to increasing the likelihood of someone developing the mental disorder. Environmental, genetic

In some cases drug use is a trigger for the symptoms of schizophrenia and can lead to exacerbation of these symptoms. Marijuana in particular is now known to significantly worsen symptoms and well as cause signs of psychosis to appear at a much younger age (Foti et al., 2010). Those with schizophrenia are more likely to develop addictive behaviours than those without the disorder and this may be a result of irregular dopamine levels. Dopamine is an important part of the reward system and increased levels are produced as a result of many addictive drugs. Therefore, it is no surprise how those with schizophrenia are much more likely to exhibit addictive behaviour due to the abnormal levels of dopamine that may be present in the brain resulting from the differing chemical structure of the schizophrenic

Many years before any acute episodes are experienced, the negative symptoms are likely to be present. These symptoms are very subtle and can be hard to distinguish as schizophrenia. The negative symptoms are often likened to those of depression, with a lack of motivation and being unsociable common examples. It is not uncommon for people with schizophrenia to suffer from cognitive impairment in addition to these behavioural changes, with concentration an issue for many (Mueser and McGurk, 2004).

In conclusion, despite large amounts of research concerning the disorder, both diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia still proves costly. While research has been able to identify key factors that are seemingly essential for the development of schizophrenia, there remains a vast amount unknown of the causes, making early diagnosis of the disease difficult. Although people living with schizophrenia require a substantial amount of care, treatment has improved over recent years allowing for many suffering from the mental disorder to live fulfilling, meaningful