on what may cause schizophrenia. The first theory, the Genetic Theory , suggests that schizophrenia is passed down genetically. ( Smith, 1992, p. 44 ) Infact, a statistic states that if one parent has schizophrenia, his or her child has a ten percent chance of becoming schizophrenic. This statistic suggests that this illness is inherited, eventhough it doesn’t prove it because of environmental factors that may be shared. Examples are the pressures of living in the world or with family members, which represents the second cause theory, the Intrapersonal, (or Environmental Theory. (Smith, 1992, p. 43) ( Young, 1988, p. 45 ) However, idnetical twin studies have indicated that genes do affect the acquisition of schizophrenia and that it is heritable. Studies of identical twins reveal that if one twin develops schizophrenia, his or her twin has a 40% chance of developing the illness. This is so because identical twins have identical genes. Although researchers have taken the consideration of the roles of genetics, it was also possible that similarity in the physical makeup of blood relatives may explain the occurence of schizophrenia. Because most cases of schizophrenia show a pattern of inheritance, geneticists suggest that that schizophrenia is caused by the acquisition of a particular gene. It is also suggested that schizophrenia is not a single illness, but many separate diseases that appear to be similar. ( Pierce, 1990, p.265 ) A third theory is the Biochemical Model, which reveals a series of abnormalities in the schizophrenic’s brain. One abnormality is that a schizophrenic, comapred to a nonschizophrenic, has high amounts of dopamine,a brain chemical responsible for the transport of nerve messages. It was shown that even slight increases of this chemical caused delusions and hallucinations. ( Smith, 1992, p.47 ) Another abnormality was that the total number of chemical reactions of a schizophrenic were lower than th...
