Growing Older with Schizophrenia

• Main Author: Ana Clara Pica Nunes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de Évora 2015-04-01
• Series: RIASE
• Subjects: Aging; schizophrenia; repercussions
• Online Access: http://www.revistas.uevora.pt/index.php/saude_envelhecimento/article/view/36/70
• ISSN: 2183-6663; 2183-6663

Schizophrenia is a serious disturbance, with heterogeneous and variable course, causing a high degree of disability represents a high economic cost to society and family impact. It is a disorder with multiple facets regarding the etiology, phenomenology, course, and treatment, the most common is the tendency to chronicity and dysfunction (Chinchilla, 2008). The fact that it is a pathology with a very variable course and, therefore, with repercussions to different levels confronts us with the need to better understand the repercussions of the disease throughout the aging process. However, schizophrenia in the elderly has been guided by forgetfulness or lack of research. However, given the differences already known among young and elderly individuals with schizophrenia (Mausbach, Cardenas, McKibbin, Jeste, & Patterson, 2008) is important to investigate and better understand the effects of the passage of time in people with schizophrenia. A questionnaire was applied to 64 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The methodology of analysis and treatment of the data was the statistical analysis, following the construction of the database in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics 21). From here was triggered all the descriptive statistical analysis. The results do not indicate the cognitive deterioration and disfunctionality. The fact is that for individuals who are married, with children, living in a community can justify the favourable evolution of the disease. These evidences point to the need of people with schizophrenia remain in the community, with family and social support.