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Group Revision for Childhood Onset Schizophrenia

The typical age of an initial schizophrenic episode occurs between the ages of 16 and 30 years old. However, schizophrenia sometimes diagnosed in childhood around age 13 can often be misdiagnosed. It is extremely important to get an early diagnosis of childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), it is equally important to keep in mind that children who are severely ill and medicated with psychosis should have COS ruled out early on to ensure they truly do not have COS. Children diagnosed with COS may be impacted by numerous social factors. Social factors found in one study suggest that immigrant children are at an increased risk for social conflicts later in life that may lead to schizophrenia, this is due to the significant exposure of social defeat along with long-term discrimination. Both first- and second-generation immigrants show a higher risk for developing schizophrenia in comparison with people who have not immigrated. Immigrants that come from a country consisting of a predominately Black population are at higher risk with a risk factor of 4.8. Data has shown a strong correlation between immigrating and the development of schizophrenia. Social factors can cause violent outbursts, examples are, but not limited to childhood sexual abuse, a recent history of run-ins with the police and a history of psychiatric hospitalizations. Children living in low socioeconomic areas, have poor educational achievements and opportunities, or living in poor housing are considered to be more susceptible to developing a disorder such as schizophrenia. Non-Hispanic blacks in a high socioeconomic status family are considered to be more vulnerable to risk of trauma which may lead to panic disorder and psychosis. Data has shown that immigrating is a higher risk for development of COS than other researched factors, excluding having a family history of psychosis.

** This paragraph would fit best under section 2. Signs and Symptoms of the article.

Revision for Article

Children diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia may be impacted by multiple social factors. One study found that immigrant children are at an increased risk for social conflicts later in life that may lead to schizophrenia, this is due to the significant exposure to social defeat along with long-term discrimination (Cantor-Graae, 2007). Children living in low socioeconomic areas, have poor educational achievements and opportunities, or living in poor housing are considered to be more susceptible to developing a disorder such as schizophrenia (Cantor-Graae, 2007).

Draft for Article

One study found that children with childhood-onset schizophrenia described lower levels of depressed moods than children who have a different psychological disorder diagnosis. (Gochman, Miller, Rapoport, 2011) An immigrant child is at an increased risk for social causation later in life due to exposure to social defeat and long-term exposure to discrimination. (Cantor-Graae, 2007) Some of the symptoms of schizophrenia can be seen in childhood and gradually progress into adulthood. (Cantor-Graae, 2007) Social dominance has an effect on dopamine levels, which plays a role in motor control, motivation, arousal, reinforcement, and more. (Cantor-Graae, 2007) Children that live in a low SES, have poor educational achievements, and live in poor housing are more susceptible to developing a disorder such as schizophrenia. (Cantor-Graae, 2007)

Notes on Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia: The Challenge of Diagnosis

When observing the inpatients, they were in a drug-free setting.

There is approximately 1 in 40,000 children before the age of 13 that have childhood-onset schizophrenia.

There is a greater risk for a neurodevelopmental implication in children than in adults with this disorder.

Ruling out of alternative diagnosis' was due to the scattered nature of hallucination reported, absence or lack of pervasive thoughts, and moderately intact social and cognitive presentation.

About 20% of the children received antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and or anxiolytics on top of antipsychotic medication.

Children had become manic when they were taken off of their medication during the medication-free period.

The severity of the patients with Childhood-onset schizophrenia different from those with an alternative diagnosis was the severity of their symptoms such as auditory hallucinations, flat affect, increased latency of speech, anhedonia, and social inattentiveness.

Children with childhood-onset schizophrenia reported lower levels of a depressed mood than of those children with an alternative diagnosis.

Notes on "The Contribution of Social Factors to the Development of Schizophrenia: A Review of Recent Findings" - E.Cantor-Graae

Aspects of the environment possibly could have a causal role in developing schizophrenia.

Immigrants involved in negative selection with schizoid features may be predisposing individuals to migration

All foreign-born individuals in Denmark had an increased risk of developing schizophrenia before their 15th birthday.

Migration confers that there is an increased risk for schizophrenia that is independent of a foreign birth.

Because prevalence and hallucinations vary across ethnic groups and cultures which suggests that an increase in psychotic experiences may have social and or cultural determinants.

Second-generation immigrants have an unusually high risk for developing schizophrenia, this cannot be attributed to selective migration of people who are already ill, nor can it be attributed to genetics.

Social causation is the unifying hypothesis of increased risk in immigrant groups- long-term exposure to social defeat or chronic experiences of discrimination could be the cause of this finding.

Chronic and long-term experiences of social defeat lead to sensitization of the mesolimbic dopamine system and to increased baseline activity of this system, which then leads to an increased risk of schizophrenia.

social dominance has an effect on synaptic dopamine levels.

schizophrenia patients show an increased sensitivity to psychogenetic effects of illicit drugs, dopamine dysregulation is present in patients at onset and throughout periods of relapse.

Social class and adversity need to still specify the underlying mechanisms through which low SES, low educational achievemnents, poor housing, and high rates of unemployment can lead to a brain disorder like schizophrenia.

Social deprivation at birth can implicate exposures that are not social, like genetics effects and prenatal exposure to infections or toxic agents as well as psychosocial stressors during their upbringing.