THE NEUROSOCIOLOGY OF SCHIZOPHRENIA - VULNERABILITY AND FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY

IT has been maintained that becoming a schizophrenic is essentially '' a social and interpersonal process, not an inevitable consequence of p rimary symptoms and neurochemical abnormality'' (Estroff 1989), It is the intent of this paper to elaborate on this theme by exploring how t he neuropsychological deficits of schizophrenia relate to the observed social handicaps of people who carry the diagnosis. We argue that a b etter understanding of schizophrenia requires inquiry into the handica ps as well as the process whereby schizophrenic and preschizophrenic m en and women try and fail to negotiate socially mandated roles, Of nec essity, such an inquiry will require mixing levels of explanation (Mee hl 1990) and will draw upon insights from the disciplines of psychiatr y, neuropsychology, and sociology.