2. Translate the following words and word combinations into Russian. Make up 5 sentences using these words:

to classify into several subtypes, a waxy flexibility, unusual position, apparent reason, generally disorganized motor behavior, to be shared by all types, long-term treatment, institutionalization, to function normally in society, the reappearance of symptoms, no real cure for schizophrenia exists.

3. Complete the sentences:

1. Psychologists classify schizophrenia into…

2. People with the catatonic type may remain…

3. Symptoms of the disorganized type include…

4. The remission type is applied to…

5. The undifferentiated type encompasses…

6. Schizophrenia is a very complex condition…

4. Answer the questions to the text:

1. What types of schizophrenia do you know?

2. Can they be clearly differentiated?

3. How is schizophrenia treated?

4. Is it possible to cure for schizophrenia?

5. What does long-term institutionalization lead to?

5. Group discussion: Imagine you are a psychotherapist working with schizophrenic patients. Differentiate types of schizophrenia and describe the most interesting case.

6. Make a summary of the text using the following phrases:

I wonder about…..

In connection with….. I’d like to say that…..

I’d like to add that…..

I have doubts about….. because…..

As far as I know…..

I’d like to add in connection with…..

I am puzzled by…..

I’d like to stress the fact that…..

The following conclusions are…..

Without going into details I should say that…..

Text Causes of schizophrenia, Understanding Psychology, 2003, p 468

1. послетекстовые упражнения: упр. 5, р. 473

1. Read the text using the vocabulary and express the main idea of the text in Russian:

likelihood – вероятность

ultimate – первоначальный, исходный, основной

sibling – брат или сестра (потомство одних родителей)

heredity – наследственность

precisely – точно, строго, определенно

to upset – расстраивать, огорчать

synaptic transmission – передача импульсов по синапсам

to tend to – склоняться

onward – продвигающийся

unhealthful – нездоровый; вредный для здоровья

verge – край, грань

Causes of Schizophrenia

What is the actual cause of schizophrenia? There are many theories, and just as certainly, there is

disagreement among practitioners. In all likelihood, the ultimate cause is an interaction of environmental, genetic, and biochemical factors.

Biological Influences

Genetics is almost certainly involved in causing schizophrenia. One psychologist (Gottesman, 1991) summarized the results of more than 35 studies conducted in Western Europe from 1920 to 1987. As confirmed by others, he found that there is 1 percent likelihood that anyone in the general population will develop schizophrenia. These odds, however, increase to 10 percent if schizophrenia is already in the family. Yet, even among identical twins, if one twin develops schizophrenia, only 48 percent of the twin’s siblings will develop it. This finding implies that other factors in addition to heredity also have a role in the development of schizophrenia. In trying to define the role of genetics more precisely, researchers have studied children born into families where either parent or a parent’s sibling was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Across several studies, if one or more siblings are diagnosed with schizophrenia, other children in the family will later be diagnosed with the condition less than 2 percent of the time. That probability rises to 5.5 percent if a parent or sibling is diagnosed (Mortensen, et al., 1999). Even where both parents were later diagnosed as having schizophrenia, about 50 percent of the children show no signs of schizophrenia.

Biochemistry and Physiology

The proper working of the brain depends on the presence of right amounts of many chemicals, from oxygen to proteins. Some psychologists believe that psychosis is due largely to chemical imbalances in the brain. According to some theorists, occasionally people are born with a nervous system that gets aroused very easily and takes a long time to return to normal. Such people might be particularly likely to get upset when they are stressed.

Chemical problems may also be involved in the occurrence of schizophrenia. A number of researchers believe that the basic problem in schizophrenia is that too much or too little of certain chemicals has upset the brain’s mechanisms for processing information, perhaps interfering with normal synaptic transmission.

The dopamine hypothesis suggests that an excess of dopamine at selected synapses is related to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. One psychologist (Carlsson, 1988) notes that correlational studies are not enough to demonstrate a direct role for dopamine in schizophrenia. It seems likely that chemicals play a role, but it is hard to tell whether these chemicals are the cause of schizophrenia or the result of it. Symptoms of schizophrenia may even be caused by the fact that people with schizophrenia tend to live in hospitals, where they get little exercise, eat institutional food, and are usually given daily doses of tranquilizers. Living under such conditions, anyone might develop chemical imbalances and abnormal behavior.

Family and Interactions

From Freud onward, it has been tempting to blame the family situation in childhood for problems that develop during adulthood. Paul Meehl (1962, 1989) suggests that bad experiences during childhood are not enough, in and of themselves, to lead to schizophrenia; being part of a pathogenic, or unhealthful, family may contribute to problems in the adult years. Studies show that families of individuals who later develop schizophrenia are often on the verge of falling apart. Another frequent finding is that family members organize themselves around—or in spite of—the very unusual, demanding, or maladaptive behavior of one member of the family. Communication, too, often seems disorganized in the early family life of people who later develop schizophrenia.