A local authority study followed a large group of young people from age 14 to age 30. The table compares 100 people from the study who received a first diagnosis of schizophrenia between the ages of 18 and 25 with 100 people from the same study who had not been diagnosed with schizophrenia by age 30.
| Group | Number living in a low-income household at age 14, before any diagnosis | Number living in a low-income household at age 30 |
|---|---|---|
| People who later received a diagnosis of schizophrenia | 27 | 68 |
| Comparison group | 28 | 30 |
Explain how the findings support social drift theory.
The researchers claim that the findings prove social drift and rule out social causation. Explain why this conclusion is not justified.
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.