Genetic Predisposition vs Environmental Triggers in Mental Illness
Genetic predisposition vs Environmental triggers in mental illness
The concept that nurture has a direct affect on the process of development was first conceived in the 1690 's by John Locke, which this was then contested in 1869 by a man named Francis Galton who believed that nature alone influenced the process of development. The current consensus within the scientific community is that there is a mixture of both genetic and environmental factors that contribute to mental illness. The real controversy lies with which of the two are more prominent in an individuals developmental process and at what point the two intertwine.
It is without question that DNA is the building blocks of any human being, recent studies have found that your genetic makup has a significant impact on how a person responds to stress, which can make certain people susceptible to mental illness, most notably depression. (Srijan Sen, 2011) It is believed that your DNA allows for a range of possible characteristics and tendencies that is then determined by your environment and daily activities. This last point of course leads to the heart of the controversy between genetic predisposition and environmental triggers, and which is more prominent. A study released by Livesley in 1993 is a perfect example of the attempt to link genetic predisposition strongly to mental illness and found that Narcissistic Personality Disorder had a 64% heritability rate. This study however was widely criticized as to having no consistency with its chosen participants and also failed to mention if any of the participants or their parents had a personality disorder. Due to these external variables, it was believed that the margin of error was too significant for the studies findings to hold any real merit in presenting a strong link between genetic predisposition and NPD in particular.
An individuals environment is known to have substantial effects on a persons characteristics and behavior. Aggression
The concept that nurture has a direct affect on the process of development was first conceived in the 1690 's by John Locke, which this was then contested in 1869 by a man named Francis Galton who believed that nature alone influenced the process of development. The current consensus within the scientific community is that there is a mixture of both genetic and environmental factors that contribute to mental illness. The real controversy lies with which of the two are more prominent in an individuals developmental process and at what point the two intertwine.
It is without question that DNA is the building blocks of any human being, recent studies have found that your genetic makup has a significant impact on how a person responds to stress, which can make certain people susceptible to mental illness, most notably depression. (Srijan Sen, 2011) It is believed that your DNA allows for a range of possible characteristics and tendencies that is then determined by your environment and daily activities. This last point of course leads to the heart of the controversy between genetic predisposition and environmental triggers, and which is more prominent. A study released by Livesley in 1993 is a perfect example of the attempt to link genetic predisposition strongly to mental illness and found that Narcissistic Personality Disorder had a 64% heritability rate. This study however was widely criticized as to having no consistency with its chosen participants and also failed to mention if any of the participants or their parents had a personality disorder. Due to these external variables, it was believed that the margin of error was too significant for the studies findings to hold any real merit in presenting a strong link between genetic predisposition and NPD in particular.
An individuals environment is known to have substantial effects on a persons characteristics and behavior. Aggression
References: (1) Srijan Sen. University of Michigan Medical School. The analysis of the sertonin gene 's relationship to depression. (2011) (2) Livesley, Heritability rate of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (3) Mednick. Danish Adoptees ' Family criminality study. (1984) (4) Crowe, Cadoret, Adoption and criminality study (5) Schulsinger, Adoption and criminality study. (1977) (6) Bohman, Adoption and criminality study (8) Marenco S, Weinberger DR. The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia: following a trail of evidence from cradle to grave. (2000) (9) Fish B, Marcus J, Hans SL, Auerbach JG, Perdue S (10) Done DJ, Crow TJ, Johnstone EC, Sacker A. Childhood antecedents of schizophrenia and affective illness: social adjustment at ages 7 and 11. (1994) (11) Janneke S, Lydia K, Roselind L, Hans-Ulrich W, Jim V