[Etiology of Schizophrenia Genetic]

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am most grateful to my family, supervisor and my colleagues, without the support of whom, this project will not have been completed.

DECLARATION

I declare that this thesis represents the work undertaken and executed by me. This work has not been submitted before and the university is not responsible for the opinions presented in this research work.

SIGNED __________________ DATE _________________

ABSTRACT

The research aims to understand the etymology of Schizophrenia keeping in view the genetic causes as the main focus of the study. The interrelation of genes and environment including family factors like stress, and the ill treatment of the child by the parents is also studied. The research employs a qualitative secondary research design because the nature of the study is descriptive and requires the deduction of the key aspects about the topic derived from the existing research, it is found that the genetic factors are not the sole and prominent cause of the Schizophrenia, however there is likelihood that the children are inflicted with Schizophrenia if one of the parents carry the inflicted gene. These studies also suggested that environmental factors like early childhood abuse, ill treatment, and stress can become strong determinant of Schizophrenic symptoms.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT1

DECLARATION2

ABSTRACT3

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION6

BACKGROUND6

STUDY PURPOSE7

Significance of the Study7

RESEARCH VARIABLES8

Theoretical Framework8

Freudian Theory8

Evolutionary Theory of Mental Disorder9

KEY DEFINITIONS10

Schizophrenia10

Etiology10

HPA Axis11

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW12

Etiology14

Theoretical Models Understanding the causes of the disorder16

Family Model by Bateson16

The Genetic Model17

Family Factors19

Environmental Factors20

Neural Diathesis Stress Model of Schizophrenia21

Summary22

Limitations of the Literature23

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY24

Research Design24

Data Collection Procedure: Literature Search24

Internet Search26

Data Analysis28

Validity28

Ethical Concerns29

Genetics of Schizophrenia30

Genes and the Occurrence of Schizophrenia30

Family Factors: Childhood Trauma and Stress32

Gene Environment Interaction33

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION36

Conclusion38

REFERENCES39

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background

Schizophrenia is one of the most complex mental disorders that have spurred interest in psychiatry, and possibly one of the diseases of major public health that has a significant impact worldwide. Although there is talk of schizophrenia like a single entity, the diagnostic category can include a variety of disorders with heterogeneous causes, clinical symptoms, and varying responses to treatment and different evolutions. The development of more effective strategies for treatment and prevention depends on progress in the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms and underlying causes.

In the early twentieth century, there was a unanimous consensus among the founders of modern psychiatry who considered the nature of this disease to be endogenous" among the brain disorder. After the Second World War, with the rise of psychoanalytic theories, the interest shifted to the genetic basis of neurobiological alterations to family relationships and psychosocial stressors. In the 60's it came to the point of considering it as "a healthy response to a sick world".

In recent decades, the paradigm has shifted again (Charmandari,Souvatzoglou,2003,161-179). Schizophrenia is considered a brain disorder and premium research concern biological causes of the disease. This change is due to advances in neuroimaging and neuropathology studies providing evidence of brain abnormalities in schizophrenic patients. Still the timing of these changes is not known, although the data point to a disorder is early brain development rather than a degenerative process (Lopez,Akil,Watson,1999,1461-1471). A fact that has never been questioned is ...