A health authority followed people who were first diagnosed with schizophrenia between the ages of 18 and 25. Records showed their household income band at age 14 and their circumstances 24 months after diagnosis.
One district offered supported employment and secure housing alongside usual treatment. A neighbouring district offered usual treatment only. Participants received the service available in their district and were not randomly allocated.
| Result | Supported employment and secure housing | Usual treatment only |
|---|---|---|
| Living in the lowest household income band at age 14 | 42% | 41% |
| Living in the lowest household income band 24 months after diagnosis | 46% | 68% |
| Retained or gained paid work by the follow-up | 64% | 39% |
The health authority plans to expand the additional support to both districts, and states that these findings prove social drift theory.
Using all of the results and your knowledge of social drift theory, evaluate the plan to expand the additional support and the claim that these findings prove social drift theory.
144 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Psychology 3.2 Theories/Explanations, covering 3.2.1 Clinical characteristics of schizophrenia, 3.2.2 Key statistics of schizophrenia, 3.2.3 Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, 3.2.4 Brain structure and function in schizophrenia; criticisms, 3.2.5 Social drift theory of schizophrenia, 3.2.6 Schizophrenia research study: Daniel et al. (1991), 3.2.7 Clinical characteristics of clinical depression, 3.2.8 Key statistics of clinical depression, 3.2.9 Social rank theory of clinical depression, 3.2.10 ABC Model of clinical depression, and 3.2.11 Clinical Depression research study: Tandoc et al. (2015). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.