CHAPTER  12

The Schizophrenias and Delusional Disorders

The schizophrenias include some of the most extreme deviations of psychopathology possible. For this reason, this condition fascinates many people, including psychologists. Because schizophrenia involves disorders in thought, perception, affect, motor behavior, and social relationships, researchers have hoped that the study of schizophrenia--where the processes have broken down-might in turn lead to better understanding of unimpaired psychological functioning.

Several different types of schizophrenia are described in Chapter 12, and then the biopsychosocial causal factors of the whole group are discussed. Evidence for biological causal factors, in particular, are emphasized in the section. Overall, the causes of schizophrenia have been more thoroughly researched than many of the other conditions studied so far. Finally, the treatment of schizophrenia--with antipsychotic drugs and psychosocial approaches--is described and evaluated. The chapter concludes with a short discussion of the clinical picture and etiology of delusional disorders.

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