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A new look at the neural diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia: The primacy of social-evaluative and uncontrollable situations

Jones, S.R.; Fernyhough, C.

Authors

S.R. Jones



Contributors

SR McCarthy-Jones dps3srj@durham.ac.uk
Other

Abstract

The neural diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia proposes that stress, through its effects on cortisol production, acts upon a preexisting vulnerability to trigger and/or worsen the symptoms of schizophrenia. In line with its focus on the neurobiology of stress response in schizophrenia, this model treats stressors as a homogeneous category. Recent research has shown that, in healthy individuals, cortisol is most strongly produced in response to stressors that result from perceived uncontrollable threats to important goals and/or social-evaluative threats. We hypothesize that it is specifically these stressors that trigger and/or worsen the symptoms of schizophrenia in those with a preexisting vulnerability. This hypothesis may provide a way of making sense of contradictory findings on the relations between stress and schizophrenia. We propose some empirical tests of this hypothesis and explore implications for the treatment and management of the disorder.

Citation

Jones, S., & Fernyhough, C. (2006). A new look at the neural diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia: The primacy of social-evaluative and uncontrollable situations. Schizophrenia Bulletin: The Journal of Psychoses and Related Disorders, 33(5), 1171-1177. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbl058

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2006-11
Deposit Date Mar 15, 2007
Journal Schizophrenia Bulletin
Print ISSN 0586-7614
Electronic ISSN 1745-1701
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 33
Issue 5
Pages 1171-1177
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbl058
Keywords Cortisol, Psychosis, Stressors, Vulnerability.


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