Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Schizophrenia, narrative and change: Andalusian care homes as novel sociocultural context
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Sevilla, Seville, Spain. fjsaavedra@us.es
Abstract:
This study explores qualitative changes in the life narratives of persons diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who were receiving recovery treatment in special care homes in Andalusia, Spain. These narratives are related to patients' construction of social identity and the recovery process. Initially, 10 narrative interviews were performed. The first five patients (Group 1) had lived at the homes for only 3 months, while the other five (Group 2) had been there for 61.4 months. Two years after the initial interviews, three patients from Group 1 were interviewed once more. The qualitative analysis focuses on two topics: experience of illness and personal relationships. Long-stay patients create their identities by using more categories related to relationships and make fewer references to illness than Group 1 subjects. They also make fewer delusive or hallucinatory utterances, and their narratives have more elements that can be shared in the community than Group 1 narratives. Moreover, long-stay patients show significant language resources and greater capacity for agency. Results suggest that special care homes provide important emotional support and a rich, new network. These results are related to the sociocultural characteristics of special care homes and suggest that the analysis of life narratives could be a very useful instrument for assessing the recovery process.
Related Concept Videos
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Positive Symptoms Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Hallucinations
Hallucinations in...
Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within the...
Impact of Social Context on Individuals

