Medical Hypotheses
Volume 52, Issue 6 , Pages 539-544, June 1999

The biographical component of schizophrenia: a two-faced definition of relationship?

Licenciée ès lettres, Sorbonne; Department of Biopsychology, Ostenstr. 26, Catholic University Eichstätt, Eichstätt, Germany

Received 4 September 1997; accepted 15 October 1997.

Abstract 

The schizophrenic's disturbed relationship with reality is generally ascribed to a mental illness of endogenous origin. Following the author's paper on a fixation disorder (1) provable in these patients, she expounds that their disturbed relationship with reality does not primarily concern their consciousness of objective reality but of their own self. As a result of contradictory definitions of relationship within his group (2,3) the schizophrenic is unable to integrate the awareness of his potentialities with the awareness of his social role. He cannot protect himself against a joker role imposed on him since his fixation disorder acts like a one-way valve impeding him from taking an active part in the definition of relationship.

A hypothesis is presented as to how the schizophrenic's described fixation disorder may cause this one-way functioning of the definition of relationship.

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PII: S0306-9877(97)90690-3

doi:10.1054/mehy.1997.0690

Medical Hypotheses
Volume 52, Issue 6 , Pages 539-544, June 1999