Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T16:01:06.421Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Threatening Life Events in the Onset of Schizophrenia, Schizophreniform Psychosis and Hypomania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Rhoderic K. Chung
Affiliation:
Professorial Psychiatric Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia
Pauline Langeluddecke
Affiliation:
Professorial Psychiatric Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia
Christopher Tennant*
Affiliation:
Professorial Psychiatric Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia
*
Correspondence

Abstract

In a study of cases of recent onset of schizophrenia, schizophreniform psychosis and hypomania (DSM-III criteria), threatening life events were significantly related to the onset of schizophreniform psychosis but not schizophrenia. The results also suggest that threatening events may precipitate hypomanic episodes.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ambelas, A. (1979) Psychologically stressful events in the precipitation of manic episodes. British Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 1521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American, Psychiatric Association (1980) DSM-III: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 3rd ed., Washington DC: APA.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W. & Birley, J. L. (1968) Crises and life changes and the onset of schizophrenia. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 9, 203214.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W. & Harris, T. (1978) Social Origins of Depression: A Study of Psychiatric Disorders in Women. London: Tavistock.Google Scholar
Day, R. (1981) Life events and schizophrenia: the ‘triggering’ hypothesis. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 64, 97122.Google Scholar
Dohrenwend, B. P. & Egri, G. (1981) Recent stressful life events and episodes of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 7, 1223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunner, D. L., Patrick, V. & Fieve, , (1979) Life events at the onset of bipolar affective illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 508511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glassner, B. & Haldipur, C. V. (1983) Life events and early and late onset of bipolar disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 215217.Google Scholar
Jacobs, S. & Myers, J. (1976) Recent life events and acute schizophrenic psychosis: a controlled study. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, 162, 7587.Google Scholar
Kennedy, S., Thompson, R., Stancer, H. C., Roy, A. & Persad, E. (1983) Life events precipitating mania. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 398403.Google Scholar
Leff, J. P., Hirsch, S. R., Gaind, R., Rohde, P. D. and Stevens, B. C. (1973) Life events and maintenance therapy in schizophrenic relapse. British Journal of Psychiatry, 123, 659–640.Google Scholar
Leff, J. P., Kuipers, L., Berkowttz, R., Vaughn, C. & Sturgeon, D. (1983) Life events, relatives' expressed emotion and maintenance neuroleptics in schizophrenics relapse. Psychological Medicine, 13, 799806.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rabkin, J. G. (1980) Stressful life events and schizophrenia: a review of the research literature. Psychological Bulletin, 87, 408425.Google Scholar
Schwartz, C. & Myers, J. K. (1977a) Life events and schizophrenia: I. Comparison of schizophrenics with a community sample. Archives of General Psychiatry. 34, 12381241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartz, C. & Myers, J. K. (1977b) Life events and schizophrenia: II. Impact of life events on symptom configuration. Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, 12421245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steinberg, H. & Durell, J. (1968) A stressful social situation as a precipitant of schizophrenic symptoms: An epidemiological study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 10971105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tennant, C. C. (1977) Life event stress and neurosis. MD Thesis. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.