Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that influences your behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. You may feel out of touch with reality, as though your experience is not comprehensible to those around you. ¹

Unfortunately, researchers still don’t know what causes schizophrenia. However, they have some idea as to what may lead to it, going as far as to develop several hypotheses of schizophrenia. Throughout this article, we’re going to observe what we do know about the causes of schizophrenia.

1.) Problems During Pregnancy or Birth

Pregnancy or birth complications are believed to put newborns at a higher risk of developing mental health conditions later in life. ² While it’s unclear exactly which complications can cause schizophrenia, it’s generally agreed the following can harm mental health:

• Asphyxia (absence of oxygen during delivery)
• Low birth weight
• Maternal obesity diagnosis during pregnancy
• Pregnancy infection
• Premature labor

Due to the moral standards of studying pregnant women, there haven’t been any human tests that look into a connection between these complications and schizophrenia. All current research is done through animal models. ³

However, women who are diagnosed with schizophrenia are more likely to have pregnancy or birth complications. ⁴

2.) Childhood Trauma

Not everyone who experiences childhood trauma develops schizophrenia. Still, you may experience hallucinations similar to the abuse or neglect you went through as a child. ⁵ Beyond child abuse, it’s also been found that children who experience death or separation from either parent can also develop schizophrenia. ⁶

Admittedly, there’s a lack of clarity in concerns about the condition and childhood trauma. Some believe childhood trauma can cause schizophrenia while others think it can trigger schizophrenia in those who already have it from other causes.

What is understood is such experiences can also lead to other mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD).

3.) Brain Structural Changes

The schizophrenic brain has a different structure than most people. However, this difference isn’t noticed in everyone with the condition. ⁷ It’s generally agreed among scientists that people with even slight differences in brain structure most likely struggle with a mental illness.

4.) Brain Chemical Changes

What’s better understood is schizophrenia’s relation to brain chemicals. These chemicals are better known as neurotransmitters and send signals between various brain cells. When these neurotransmitters are either imbalanced or reduced, you face a heightened risk of developing a mental disorder.

In terms of schizophrenia, one of the most notable neurotransmitters is dopamine. Schizophrenia tends to react to dopamine with overstimulation. It’s believed this brain reaction is responsible for some of the symptoms, including hallucinations and delusions. ⁸

Another brain chemical that has a connection with schizophrenia is glutamate. Unfortunately, research isn’t 100% sure about this connection and how it may affect you. ⁹

5.) Current or Previous Drug Use

Drug use in and of itself doesn’t cause schizophrenia. Rather, the use of certain drugs can trigger symptoms of schizophrenia in those who are already at risk. ¹⁰ These drugs include:

• Amphetamines (i.e. Ritalin, methamphetamine)
• Cannabis
• Cocaine
• Psychedelics (i.e. LSD, psilocybin mushrooms)

Of course, this shouldn’t take away from the fact that other drugs, such as alcohol or opioids, may also trigger schizophrenia. More so, you may develop a substance abuse disorder to self-medicate your schizophrenia symptoms.

6.) Genetics

The most notable cause of schizophrenia is genetics. In other words, if you have a parent, sibling, or other close relatives with schizophrenia, then you’re at a higher risk of developing the condition.

However, not everyone in a family with schizophrenia will develop it. Researchers have noticed that people with the condition have a combination of related genes rather than a single gene. Not to mention, several other factors play a role. Most significantly, stress can act as a trigger.

Studies on twins have found that while genes play a fundamental role, they aren’t the only determining factor. These studies discovered that if one identical twin sibling is diagnosed with schizophrenia, then the other twin has a 50% chance of developing it themselves. ¹¹ This risk doesn’t change even if the twins grow up in separate households.

If a twin is nonidentical, there’s much less of a chance (1 in 8). In concerns with the total population, each of us has a 1% chance of developing schizophrenia.

Is It Possible to Prevent Schizophrenia?

Since researchers aren’t 100% sure what causes schizophrenia, they also don’t know how to prevent it. Still, there are ways to minimize the condition once it has been diagnosed. On top of that, if you’ve already been diagnosed or are at a higher risk of schizophrenia, there are some things you can do to prevent schizophrenic triggers.

These triggers may include:

• Anxiety
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Stress

Still, certain triggers can be unique to the individual. For example, if you were abused as a child, similar acts of abuse may trigger your symptoms.

When to Seek Help for Schizophrenia

If you believe you or a loved one has schizophrenia, you want to get medical treatment as soon as possible. The sooner you treat the condition, the more likely you are to overcome symptoms.

If you are trying to help someone who you believe struggles with schizophrenia, there are a few things you can mention for encouragement to seek help. The first is to remind your loved one that they struggle with a biological disorder. In other words, an illness that can and should be treated as any other mental or physical illness.

Secondly, you’ll want to develop a support system. A network of people to speak to and gain guidance from. This support system can be made up of family, friends, and colleagues. Not to mention, most communities have support groups for mental illness.

Finally, make sure to always encourage treatment. Through treatment, your loved one has the best chance of recovering from schizophrenia.

References

¹ Hany M, Rehman B, Azhar Y, Chapman J. Schizophrenia. 2023 Mar 20. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 30969686.

² Leight KL, Fitelson EM, Weston CA, Wisner KL. Childbirth and mental disorders. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2010;22(5):453-71. doi: 10.3109/09540261.2010.514600. PMID: 21047159; PMCID: PMC7061336.

³ Jenkins TA. Perinatal complications and schizophrenia: involvement of the immune system. Front Neurosci. 2013 Jun 25;7:110. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00110. PMID: 23805069; PMCID: PMC3691516.

⁴ Jaana M. Suvisaari, Virpi Taxell-Lassas, Maiju Pankakoski, Jari K. Haukka, Jouko K. Lönnqvist, Laura T. Häkkinen, Obstetric Complications as Risk Factors for Schizophrenia Spectrum Psychoses in Offspring of Mothers With Psychotic Disorder, Schizophrenia Bulletin, Volume 39, Issue 5, September 2013, Pages 1056–1066, https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbs109

⁵ Vilain J, Galliot AM, Durand-Roger J, Leboyer M, Llorca PM, Schürhoff F, Szöke A. Les facteurs de risque environnementaux de la schizophrénie [Environmental risk factors for schizophrenia: a review]. Encephale. 2013 Feb;39(1):19-28. French. doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2011.12.007. Epub 2012 Nov 21. PMID: 23177330.

⁶ Furukawa T, Mizukawa R, Hirai T, Fujihara S, Kitamura T, Takahashi K. Childhood parental loss and schizophrenia: evidence against pathogenic but for some pathoplastic effects. Psychiatry Res. 1998 Dec 14;81(3):353-62. doi: 10.1016/s0165-1781(98)00113-9. PMID: 9925186.

⁷ Dietsche B, Kircher T, Falkenberg I. Structural brain changes in schizophrenia at different stages of the illness: A selective review of longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging studies. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2017 May;51(5):500-508. doi: 10.1177/0004867417699473. Epub 2017 Mar 21. PMID: 28415873.

⁸ Seeman MV, Seeman P. Is schizophrenia a dopamine supersensitivity psychotic reaction? Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Jan 3;48:155-60. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.10.003. Epub 2013 Oct 12. PMID: 24128684; PMCID: PMC3858317.

⁹ Howes O, McCutcheon R, Stone J. Glutamate and dopamine in schizophrenia: an update for the 21st century. J Psychopharmacol. 2015 Feb;29(2):97-115. doi: 10.1177/0269881114563634. Epub 2015 Jan 13. PMID: 25586400; PMCID: PMC4902122.

¹⁰ Tekin Uludağ Y, Güleç G. Prevalence of Substance Use in Patients Diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2016 Mar;53(1):4-11. doi: 10.5152/npa.2015.8827. Epub 2016 Mar 1. PMID: 28360758; PMCID: PMC5353236.

¹¹ Gejman PV, Sanders AR, Duan J. The role of genetics in the etiology of schizophrenia. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2010 Mar;33(1):35-66. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2009.12.003. PMID: 20159339; PMCID: PMC2826121.