Why does schizophrenia develop at late adolescence?

Abstract

Schizophrenia is one of the most researched, yet still one of the least understood, of the mental disorders. One key area that remains comparatively neglected is the fact that schizophrenia typically develops at late adolescence. In common with people with psychotic disorders, around 25% of normal teenagers also report finding adolescence very distressing, and a substantial empirical literature shows that certain characteristics typical of adolescence such as conflicted family relationships, grandiosity, egocentrism, and magical ideation bear a distinct resemblance to phenomena seen in psychotic disorders. Indeed, such phenomena, as might be judged prodromal or symptomatic in first-onset schizophrenia, have been shown to be remarkably common in normal adolescents, generally in about 50% of samples. Furthermore, prodromal-like signs in normal adolescents appear to be functionally linked to psychological development. For most adolescents, such phenomena pass with successful psychological development. It is proposed that psychosis in late adolescence is a consequence of severe disruption in this normally difficult psychological maturational process in vulnerable individuals, and explanations are offered as to why and how this comes about. It is suggested that problems either in reaching psychological maturity with regard to parents or in bonding to peers or both, may lead to crucial self-construction difficulties, and that psychosis emerges out of such “blocked adolescence.” This approach proposes therapeutic interventions that enable professional services to side with both parents and clients simultaneously, and is normalizing and stigma-free.