According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental...

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. â€Å"Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.† Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes† (NAMI). As stated by NIHM, the prevalence of schizophrenia is about 1 in every 100 people in the general population. Ten percent of the people who have first degree family members with the disorder, such as a brother, sister, or parent, also have schizophrenia. A†¦show more content†¦In some people, schizophrenia appears suddenly and without warning† (HELP GUIDE). This would be considered an acute onset. â€Å"For most though, the onset comes slowly with subtle warning signs and a gradual decline in functioning long before the first severe episode.† (HELP GUIDE). This on the other hand is considered chronic onset. A study was conducted to determine whether â€Å"severe adverse events in childhood might contribute to the specific symptoms of schizophrenia and not merely to increased risk for the psychosis† (CHILDHOOD STRESSORS). This study is believed to be the first of its kind. It took 134 patients discharged from Norristown State Hospital in Pennsylvania between 1984 and 1990. According to (CHILDHOOD STESSORS), there is a connections between active childhood abuse with positive symptoms of schizophrenia and childhood neglect with negative symptoms. (THE AUTHOR) did caution that more research needed to be conducted. Another study was conducted to see how â€Å"childhood and adolescent risk factors predict the age of onset of psychosis in patients with and without a familial component† (ENVIRNMT RISK FCTRs). They took 100 patients with a 55 men and 45 women. (AUTHOR), results found that birth complications and cannabis use are predictors for an earlier onset of schizophrenia when the person had non familial schizophrenia. No environmental risk factors were found for an earlier onset in familial