Psychopathology

Psychopathology looks to understand better the mental disorders that can affect a person by understanding the factors and aspects at work such as genetics, social causes, biological, and even psychological factors. There are a variety of different ways that an individual may develop a mental disorder, and the study of psychopathology focuses on these ways so that there is a better understanding of the developing and thus a better idea on how to treat the mental disorders that arise in individuals. Psychopathology is not just the study of the disorders but in some cases may also be a disorder, mentally or behaviorally, in itself that impacts a person.  In this case, the psychopathology is a disorder which can impair or affect the functioning of a person's mind overall.  This paper will discuss the causes of psychopathology as they apply to the mental disorder of an individual by providing a brief overview looking into the culture as a factor that determines the expression of the psychopathology. This paper will also cover and examine psychopathology by looking into the biopsychosocial as well as the diathesis-stress model, by exploring as well the changes in society that are perceived by psychopathology in the functions of a period in time. 

Culture and Psychopathology

When it comes to psychopathology, it can influence how an individual behaves in real life experiences and situations. This is because there is a very close connection between a person's body and their mind. According to Berrios (1996), there isn't a single cause of psychopathology but different cultures do hold different perceptions about it. Some cultures may hold the view that it is caused by supernatural events and powers such as God or witchcraft being responsible. In the past, most cultures believed that mental illness in a person was the sign of an evil spirit or a possession of the mind by something evil. In the past, a hole would be bored into a person's head to create an exit point that would allow the evil thing in the person's mind to be released. Individuals in different cultures have different ways of displaying behavior which has developed over time and thus when mental illness arises there are different symptoms based on the differences in behavior. For instance, in western cultures, a person with schizophrenia can be seen displaying different behaviors such as walking for long periods of times in the sun with stopping from exhaustion. These individuals may also stand for long periods of time or sit for long periods of time in the blazing here without a change in bodily position. This can be seen in a western culture as a sign or symptom of a development of a mental illness.

Presently many different cultures have dropped the thinking of the past when it comes to the causes and expression of psychopathological disorders. Maddux (2005), states that many different models have emerged which have attempted to explain different psychopathologies. The biomedical model, for instance, attempts to explain the cause of psychopathologies from a medical standpoint. Additionally, nowadays individuals that behave in abnormal ways are no longer seen as evil but rather believed to possibly display a mental disorder. Since individuals, today may live different life styles development of mental disorders or the development of psychopathology is seen and treated like any development of a mental disorder, as a common experience for individuals.

Biopsychosocial

Keating (1991), states that several factors have been discovered to be related to mental disorders including biological factors, environmental factors, and psychological factors.  Certain factors such as biological and environmental factors have been found to be a few of the things that cause psychopathology in an individual. Biological factors consist of a person’s genetic makeup that can be passed from generation to generation. The genes that a parent passes down to their child can carry genetic makeup of a disorder which can develop in the child later on in life. The disorders may or may not develop into a person, but can be passed along all the same making the person predisposed to the development of the disorder.  Gazzaniga and Heatherton (2006), state that a person's physical makeup of their brain can also give the person a predisposition to the development of a psychopathological disorder.  For instance, if the individual's brain for whatever reason develops abnormally at any stage this can lead to the individual developing a mental disorder as a result of the abnormal development. The chemicals or neurotransmitters in the brain abnormally being processed also may lead do mental disorder according to Gazzaniga and Heatherton (2006), that state the chemicals found in the brain may at times be found to be at varying levels that are abnormal for what they should be in order to process different functions and may result in mental illnesses from the fluctuation in the chemicals. A person releasing large amounts of cortisol, the stress hormone, may make the person develop a few disorders such as depression or anxiety disorders.

Environmental factors can also play a role in the development of psychopathological disorders and entail life events such as physical traumas that can occur at any time in a person’s life. Injuries to an individual’s mind caused by accidents can cause a person to develop different diseases or disorders in life.  For instance, an individual that has gotten into a serious car accident may start forgetting life events and having issues with long-term memory.  An alteration or an injury to the structures of the person’s brain causes the individual to be unable to remember long-term events and may impact the individual’s ability to make new memories. Other environmental factors that might impact the individual include how the individual is raised such as growing up in an environment in which there is a lack of empathy or care from parental figures. Environments that are harsh for the individual growing up can cause undue stress on the person due to the lack of care they receive and cause the person to lack in feelings of security, love, and belongingness.  This can trigger a wide range of things including stress and confusing causing the person to develop a low self-esteem and self-confidence as a result (Maddux, 2005). Additionally, environments that are harsh for the individual growing up produce little opportunities for the individual in life and little support conditioning the individual overtime to behave in different ways from normal standards and developing mental disorders as a result of this.

Psychological factors are the final factors which can contribute to the development of psychopathological disorders in an individual.  Some of these factors include a person’s conflict between their unconscious mind and their conscious one. This can lead individuals to development of mental disorders from the fact that consciously the individual is thinking about and wanting to do one thing while unconsciously they are doing another. Instances like this may cause untold stress in the person resulting in the development of anxiety disorders.

Conclusion

Psychopathology is not just the study of the disorders but in some cases may also be a disorder, mentally or behaviorally, in itself that impacts a person.  In this case the psychopathology is a disorder which can impair or affect the functioning of a person’s mind overall.  When it comes to psychopathology it can influence how an individual behaves in real life experiences and situations. This is due to the fact that there is a very close connection between a person’s body and their mind. Biological factors consist of a person’s genetic makeup that can be passed from generation to generation. The genes that a parent passes down to their child can carry genetic makeup of a disorder which can develop in the child later on in life. Environmental factors can also play a role in the development of psychopathological disorders and entail life events such as physical traumas that can occur at any time in a person’s life. Injuries to an individual’s mind caused by accidents can cause a person to develop different diseases or disorders in life. Psychological factors are the final factors which can contribute to the development of psychopathological disorders in an individual. 

References

Berrios, G.E. (1996). The history of mental symptoms: Descriptive psychopathology since the        19^th century. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Berrios, G. E. (1999). Classifications in psychiatry: A conceptual history. Australian and New        Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 33(2): 145-60.

Gazzaniga, M. S. & Heatherton, T. F. (2006). Psychological Science, New York: W.W. Norton                 & Company, Inc.

Keating, D. P. (1991). Constructivist perspectives on developmental psychopathology and atypical development. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Maddux, J. E. (2005). Psychopathology: Foundations for a contemporary understanding.    Lawrence Erlbaum.