13.1.1

(2026 Exam) Classification & Diagnosis

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Classification and Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder. It is characterised by disruption in psychological functioning and loss of contact with reality.

Schizophrenia in the population

Schizophrenia in the population

  • Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the population.
  • Symptoms first show in mid to late adolescence.
Psychological classification

Psychological classification

  • There are currently two main classification systems for the diagnosis of mental disorders:
    • The International Classification of Diseases, Edition 10 (ICD-10), published by the World Health Organisation.
    • The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association.
Key features of classification systems

Key features of classification systems

  • ICD-10 and DSM-5 classify schizophrenia slightly differently.
  • DSM-5 needs only one positive symptom (delusions, hallucinations) to be present for diagnosis.
  • ICD-10 needs two or more negative symptoms.
  • ICD-10 recognises sub-types of schizophrenia (paranoid schizophrenia, hebephrenic schizophrenia and catatonic schizophrenia).
    • These sub-types were omitted from the current edition of the DSM, even though they were present in previous editions.
Types of schizophrenia

Types of schizophrenia

  • Paranoid schizophrenia is characterised by powerful delusions and hallucinations but relatively few other symptoms.
  • Hebephrenic schizophrenia involves mainly negative symptoms.
  • Catatonic schizophrenia involves disturbance to movement, leaving the sufferer immobile or overactive.
Jump to other topics
1

Social Influence

2

Memory

3

Attachment

4

(2026 Exams) Psychopathology

5

(2027 Exams) Clinical Psychology & Mental Health

6

Approaches in Psychology

7

Biopsychology

8

Research Methods

8.1

Research Methods

8.2

Scientific Processes

8.3

Data Handling & Analysis

8.4

Inferential Testing

9

Issues & Debates in Psychology (A2 only)

10

Option 1: Relationships (A2 only)

10.1

Relationships: Sexual Relationships (A2 only)

10.2

Relationships: Romantic Relationships (A2 only)

10.3

(2026 Exams) Relationships: Virtual (A2 only)

10.4

(2027 Exams) Relationships: Online (A2 only)

11

Option 1: Gender (A2 only)

12

Option 1: Cognition & Development (A2 only)

13

Option 2: Schizophrenia (A2 only)

14

Option 2: Eating Behaviour (A2 only)

15

Option 2: Stress (A2 only)

16

Option 3: Aggression (A2 only)

17

Option 3: Forensic Psychology (A2 only)

18

Option 3: Addiction (A2 only)

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