Interactionist Approach

Question 1

interactionist approach

Answer 1

• acknowledges that there are biological, psychological + societal factors in the development of SZ
• bio factors = genetic vulnerability + neurochemical
• psychological = stress from resulting life events

Question 2

the diathesis stress model

Answer 2

• diathesis = vulnerability
• stress = negative psychological experiences
• model states that both a vulnerability to SZ + stress-trigger are necessary in order to develop the condition
• many genes increase genetic vulnerability, not one single gene
• early trauma e.g. childhood abuse affects brain development = makes the person more vulnerable to stress
• e.g. anything that risks triggering SZ e.g. cannabis –> interferes w/ dopamine system
• although most people don’t take cannabis but develop SZ
  = clearly other stressors

Question 3

treatment according to the interactionist model

Answer 3

• interactionist approach = compatible with biological + psychological treatments
  = combining w/ medication + CBTp

Question 4

disads of interactionist approach

Answer 4

• incomplete understanding
• too simple
• treatment-causation fallacy

Question 5

ads of interactionist approach

Answer 5

• research support
• combination of treatments

Question 6

research support - ads of interactionist approach

Answer 6

• there is evidence for the role of vulnerability + triggers
• research support through Tienari’s study on children adopted away from SZ mothers
• adopted parents’ parenting style was compared to a control group w/ no genetic risk
  = a child-rearing style w/ high levels of criticism, conflict + low levels of empathy = lead to the risk of developing SZ BUT only for children w/ high genetic risk
  = shows very strong direct support for the interactionist approach

Question 7

combination of treatments - ads of interactionist approach

Answer 7

• there is support for the effectiveness of combination of treatments
• study where 315 patients were randomly allocated to 3 groups:
• group 1 = medication + CBT group
• group 2 = a medication + support counselling group
• group 3 = a control group
  = found that groups 1 and 2 showed lower symptoms than in control group
  = shows that there is a clear practical advantage to adopting the interactionist approach in the form of a superior treatment for SZ

Question 8

too simple - disads of interactionist approach

Answer 8

• original diathesis stress model = too simple
• multiple genes increase vulnerability, there is no schizogene
• stress comes in many forces including bio factors
  e.g. found childhood sexual trauma = diathesis + cannabis = trigger
  = shows that the old idea of diathesis as biological + stress as psych = overly simple

Question 9

incomplete understanding - disads of interactionist approach

Answer 9

• we don’t exactly know how diathesis stress works
• we don’t understand the mechanisms by which symptoms of SZ appear
• or how both vulnerability + stress produce them
  = we have an incomplete understanding of the actual medication

e.g. no vulnerability + no stressors = develop SZ
e.g. have vulnerability + have stressors = don’t develop SZ
= comes down to individual differences?

Question 10

treatment-causation fallacy - disads of interactionist approach

Answer 10

• further limitation = treatment-causation fallacy (false)
• psych argued that the combination of bio + psych therapies are more effective than either on their own
  = doesn’t mean the interactionist approach to Z is biological in its origin