Diathesis Stress Model

Diathesis- This is the genetic predisposition which the Genain children expressed through their father. Mr. Genain had various fears and obsessions such as patrolling the house because he was worried of a break in, forms of paranoia. Since paranoia is a symptom of schizophrenia it is likely that Mr. Genain was schizophrenic and he passed this gene onto the children. Later on, his actions created stress that triggered the schizophrenia in his children. Stress: Nora and Myra were considered the more superior set of twins and therefore were able to function better than Iris and Hester. This categorization is probably one of the first stressors that caused Iris and Hester to suffer the worst from the disorder. A stress that affected all of the children and helped trigger the disorder was Mr. Genain’s insistence on watching the girls dress and undress. Furthermore, his molestation of two of the girls made them more likely to develop schizophrenia. Part of the reason Nora was not as successful as Myra was because she was her father’s favorite sexual target which added more stress to her life. Another stressor that hurt Iris and Hester was when their parents had their clitoris’s were circumcised. Also, since Iris, Nora, and Myra began deteriorating after a man made improper advances this proves that stress played a prominent role in the signaling of schizophrenia. Myra was able to be the most functioning individual because she was her parent’s favorite and received the least objectionable attention, and therefore had the least amount of stress in her life.