Schizophrenia may be one disorder or many, with different causes. It is NOT split personality, as commonly thought. Because of the disorder's complexity, few generalizations hold true for all people who are diagnosed as schizophrenic. Symptoms may include psychosis, delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking or emotional expression inconsistent with a person's speech or thoughts. Suicide is a potential danger.
Schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency.
Some people have psychotic symptoms due to undetected medical disorders, so medical examinations and laboratory tests should be done to rule out other causes of symptoms. Chidren under the age of five can develop schizophrenia, but it is very rare before adolescence. Nearly 3 million Americans are expected to develop schizophrenia during the course of their lives. There is no known single cause of schizophrenia. It appears that genetic factors produce a vulnerability to schizophrenia, with non-genetic factors contributing in varying degrees in different individuals.