Schizophrenia is one of the most complex and severe mental health disorders. Globally 1 percent of the population is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and roughly 1.2 percent of Americans have the disorder (Nemade & Dombeck, 2009). Schizophrenia is a lifelong progressive brain disorder, which is characterized by periods of psychosis. Currently, schizophrenia can be treated but not cured. No single factor is thought to cause schizophrenia; rather multiple factors contribute to the development of this disorder (Atchison & Dirette, 2012). These factors include: genetic vulnerability, perinatal risk factors, environmental triggers, and structural/functional neuroanatomical differences (Atchison & Dirette, 2012; Brown, Stoffel, & Munoz, 2011; Tandon,
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Some of the most common perinatal and environmental risk factors include: maternal malnourishment during pregnancy, obstetric complications, maternal or individual drug use, and maternal illness during pregnancy (Atchison & Dirette, 2012; Brown, Stoffel & Munoz, 2011; Frankenburg, 2016; Tandon, Keshavan, & Nasrallah, 2008). Individuals are most often diagnosed with schizophrenia between the ages of sixteen and thirty. During this time period individuals are often facing environmental stressors including role and routine changes. This increased environmental stress is often associated with the onset of schizophrenia (Brown, Stoffel & Munoz, …show more content…
Symptoms and behaviors that are commonly exhibited by an individual with schizophrenia include: positive symptoms (hallucinations (auditory or visual), disorganized thought/speech (loose associations, tangential, and incoherent), and delusions (persecutory, referential, somatic, religious, and grandiose)), negative symptoms (flat affect, alogia, avolition, anhedonia, and associality), cognitive symptoms (memory, attention, language, and executive function), and affective symptoms (flat affect, and depression) (Atchison & Dirette, 2012; Tandon et. al, 2013). However, not all individuals will exhibit the same symptoms. For this reason there are specific diagnostic criteria, which are used to diagnosis an
Some of the most common perinatal and environmental risk factors include: maternal malnourishment during pregnancy, obstetric complications, maternal or individual drug use, and maternal illness during pregnancy (Atchison & Dirette, 2012; Brown, Stoffel & Munoz, 2011; Frankenburg, 2016; Tandon, Keshavan, & Nasrallah, 2008). Individuals are most often diagnosed with schizophrenia between the ages of sixteen and thirty. During this time period individuals are often facing environmental stressors including role and routine changes. This increased environmental stress is often associated with the onset of schizophrenia (Brown, Stoffel & Munoz, …show more content…
Symptoms and behaviors that are commonly exhibited by an individual with schizophrenia include: positive symptoms (hallucinations (auditory or visual), disorganized thought/speech (loose associations, tangential, and incoherent), and delusions (persecutory, referential, somatic, religious, and grandiose)), negative symptoms (flat affect, alogia, avolition, anhedonia, and associality), cognitive symptoms (memory, attention, language, and executive function), and affective symptoms (flat affect, and depression) (Atchison & Dirette, 2012; Tandon et. al, 2013). However, not all individuals will exhibit the same symptoms. For this reason there are specific diagnostic criteria, which are used to diagnosis an