M.Cur. / Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness and probably the most distressing and disabling mental disorder. It is not the condition of the ill person alone but also of the family which is placed in a crucial and pivotal role and which must take care of the ill relative with schizophrenia. This is so because of the disillusional thinking, altered thought process and distractions of internal stimuli that may interfere with the planning, commitment and rationale for actions, making it difficult for everyone involved. The effects of the illness may be confusing and shocking to families. Parents suffer from great disruptions to their lives and children can struggle with the implications of having a parent suffering from schizophrenia. Siblings of the ill person suffering from chronic schizophrenia are not spared, they even suffer because issues of their own survivorship. The family becomes case managers and primary carers. Family caregivers are vulnerable to emotional manipulation by their mentally ill relative. They are rarely trained/helped to manage difficult circumstances. The family members are called upon for provision of psychological and social therapies, occupational and recreational therapy and attendant care for which they are not trained. The family is also seriously affected and distressed because of the effect schizophrenia has on their relative and the burden of caring. Coping with schizophrenia can especially be difficult for relatives who remember their relative before he or she became ill, giving rise to chronic grieving and sorrow and because of the cyclic nature of schizophrenia giving no definite end point or lengthy respite to complete mourning. The reminders of the "might have been" can be distressing. There is an obvious need for research on the family's experience. It is essential to understand their emotional tones and specific needs in relation to living with a member suffering from chronic schizophrenia as well as to formulate guidelines. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe family member's experiences and to formulate guidelines of care for families living with a member with chronic schizophrenia. The research design was based on qualitative research because of its explorative descriptive and contextual nature. Data were collected by means of indepth phenomenological interviews and naïve sketches. Field notes were written for reflecting upon methods used and the personal notes for the researcher's personal inflections. Literature was used to compare and complement the results. Guba's model on trustworthiness ensured the trustworthiness of the research.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

The purpose of this study was to describe family members' influence on medication adherence rates for schizophrenic clients following an educational program presented simultaneously to both client and family member. Three chronic schizophrenic clients participated in this study, two were females, and the other was male. The two family members who provided data were husbands of the two female clients. The obtained scores and responses of two questionnaires was indicative of improved medication adherence for clients and family members. The level of adherence was similarly perceived by the clients and their family members as obtained scores and responses were similar across both time periods. However, family members' attendance at the program presentation did not influence the level of reported medicated adherence behaviors of their wives as compared to the client who attended the program alone because the greatest increase in obtained scores was reported by the client who attended the program alone.

No description available.

The present study was conducted to clarify and expand knowledge of cognitive functioning in chronic schizophrenia patients (N=21) as compared to a bipolar group (N=20) and a normal group (N=20).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 10, 2009). Advisor: Nancy Docherty. Keywords: schizophrenia, paranoia, emotion recognition, posed expressions, spontaneous expressions, cognition. Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-144).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-145). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ39309.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Cromwell's (1968, 1972, 1975) stimulus redundancy theory was tested on two levels: firstly, by examining the process-reactive and paranoid-nonparanoid dimensions which form the basis of identification of high and low redundancy schizophrenics; and secondly, by examining two predictions of the theory pertaining to the information processing characteristics of high and low redundancy schizophrenics. In the first part of the study, three schizophrenic groups (acute, chronic and remitted), nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients and normals were assessed on material relevant to ascertaining the basis of subdivisions such as the process-reactive dimension. It was concluded that process-reactive ratings were largely measures of extrinsic factors, such as social competence, and were of some practical use in assessments of prognosis. However, there was little basis upon which to conclude that such subdivisions of schizophrenic samples would result in the identification of groups of patients who would differ fundamentally in their cognitive functioning. In the second part of the study, two predictions of Cromwell's stimulus redundancy theory were examined: rate of processing and extensity of attention. The performance of high and low redundancy schizophrenics, nonschizophrenic psychiatric control patients and normal controls was assessed on three information processing tasks. The results offered no positive evidence for Cromwell's theory: low redundancy schizophrenics were not found to process information faster, or to have a broadened attentional field as compared to high redundancy schizophrenics. It was concluded that a more fruitful direction for future research may lie in investigations of the strategies of processing used by schizophrenic patients. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1980.