Schizophrenia: The Impact of Sociocultural Factors

Abstract

Since genetic factors cannot wholly explain why some people develop schizophrenia, environmental factors continue to be probed in depth. The author's findings of far higher incidence rates in neighborhoods of low economic level than in high-income neighborhoods lead him to conclude, not that “social isolation” in poor areas causes residents to become schizophrenic, but rather that schizophrenia tends to make or keep people poor.