The etiology of schizophrenia: A replication test of the social selection vs. the social causation hypotheses

Abstract

A quasi-experimental design was used to test the social causation-social selection hypotheses for the etiology of schizophrenic disorders. It was based on first admissions to psychiatric in-patient facilities for Jerusalem Jewish residents aged 15 years and over. Data were extracted from hospital charts; diagnoses were made based on the NHSI, DSM III and RDC classificatory systems. The results showed that among the lower class the ethnically advantaged had higher rates of schizophrenic disorders than the ethnically disadvantaged. The results were statistically significant when the ethnic contrast was maximized. Though the results support the social selection hypothesis, social stress factors are not entirely ruled out.