Diagnosing The Schizophrenias

A. Although the term schizophrenia has been in use for 75 years, the definition of schizophrenia is still a matter of discussion and scientific inquiry. In addition to scientific confusion about the exact meaning of the term, the lay public has further misunderstandings about the meaning of the term, and it is a popular misconception that it denotes a "split personality." Bleuler originally meant by the term that there is a split between feeling and thought and that this was a hallmark of the illness which he characterized as one that did not necessarily lead to dementia as Kraepelin had thought with his term dementia praecox, but instead was identified with four basic characteristics, these being: autism, ambivalence, a loosening of associations, and affective defect. Since that time, there have been many additions and elaborations of the term and many subclassifications offered, many of them oriented towards the clinical course or observational depictions of the various clinical appearances of the illness at various stages. For man