Behavior Analysis and the Treatment of Schizophrenia: An Alternative to Wong’s (2006) View of the Political Economy

Abstract

The history of behavior analysis and schizophrenia is a very long and interesting one (Wong, 2006). In addition, the corresponding influence and power of biological psychiatry is also interesting as pointed out by Wyatt and Midkiff (see record 2007-00317-002). When studied as a behavioral problem, schizophrenia is debilitating. Developmentally, schizophrenia typically begins in early adult life and tends to persist through the remainder of the life span. Prominent behavioral excesses and deficits associated with schizophrenia include hallucinations, delusions, disorders of thinking, blunted affect, anhedonia, apathy, and impairment of attention. People with schizophrenia have been described as failing to learn important social cues, lacking attention from others, and retreating into fantasy world. Their behavior and behavior patterns are often characterized as "odd" and "eccentric". Their behavior and patterns of behavior often lead them to being labeled as odd or schizophrenic. Unfortunately, hospitalization often exacerbates maladaptive behaviors. While this author is in general agreement with Wong's (see record 2007-00317-003) policy analysis of the political climate that influences the funding and non-funding of studies, it is my contention that the author has missed a basic underlying mechanism of funding in the 1980s and 1990s, which may have accounted for the rejection of the pilot program discussed in his article. Simply, the program was inpatient treatment oriented, and such treatments were being limited for a number of reasons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)