Schizophrenia, Adult

William D. Spaulding & Robert W. Johnson & Nancy H. Liu & Ashley Wynne

Schizophrenia , derived from the Greek for “severed mind,” refers to a mental disorder characterized by the fragmentation of mental functioning and a split between thinking and feeling. This entry discusses the definitions of the concept; the epidemiology and prevalence; and the course, causes, and functional assessment of schizophrenia. Then, this entry addresses rehabilitation, evidence-based practice, policy issues, and recovery. The origin of the concept of “schizophrenia” is usually attributed to the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin. Kraepelin first used the term dementia praecox , or “premature dementia,” to distinguish it from other psychotic illnesses. In the early 20th century, the Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bleuler, argued that the term dementia is misleading because dementia suggests an irreversible progressive brain disease. Bleuler stated that the most salient characteristic of the disorder is not its onset nor its course, but the particular nature of its expression in cognitive functioning. He proposed the schizophrenia ...

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