The Role of Genetics in Mental Health Illnesses

The etiology of mental disorders has been understood only to a limited extent due to the interplay of various biological, sociological, psychological, and environmental factors. Some mental health illnesses, like schizophrenia, are caused by genetic and sociological factors. Genetic factors include predisposition, biochemical imbalance in the brain, or several clusters of stressful circumstances in the environment. A lot of research proves that social factors significantly increase the probability of the formation of mood and anxiety disorders among individuals. Precisely, sociological theories like functionalism, interpersonal theory, attachment theory, stress theory, and labeling theory can explain the genesis of mental health illnesses and the role of genetics with the environment. 

Background of the Study 

According to Scheid & Brown (2010), mental health disorders originate from adverse life events, stressful situations, demanding social roles, and the levels of social support available for an individual. It is the response to the social and cultural influences that leads to genetic disorders and mental health illnesses. Scheid & Brown (2010) further claim that life events, social conditions, roles in society, and social structures can disturb someone's state of mind and interfere with the genetic makeup. Therefore, the disturbances result in either positive or negative thoughts that influence the feelings concerning how people think of their personalities. 

The state of social conditions leads to adverse mental health outcomes due to the disturbed state of mind that tampers with the individual’s genes. Still, Scheid & Brown (2010) provide evidence that persistence living conditions that are rooted in everyday circumstances tamper with the genetic makeup of the brain. They offer typical examples with those who live in areas characterized by high rates of poverty, neighborhood instability, and increased crime rates. Other traumatic circumstances like divorced families and living in dilapidated housing can result in psychological distress. Similarly, Scheid & Brown (2010) posit that even unreasonable parents and oppressive working conditions can make one's mental well-being to be on the low. 

Choudhry et al. (2016) offer a sociological perspective on the roles of genetics in mental health illnesses. Psychological factors like unhappiness, low self-esteem, and rejection due to family conflicts are the dominant life stressors. In addition to socioeconomic factors, including poverty, limited access to financial resources, and unfulfilled primary and secondary needs can contribute to increased risk of mental illnesses. Furthermore, Choudhry et al. (2016) stress a lack of direction and purpose in life as a major cause of trauma, which consequently leads to the development of mental health illnesses. In this regard, the social factors discussed in this context lead to over-thinking, and the ultimate repercussion is mental health illnesses. 

Avasthi (2016) provides evidence on how sociological theories and environmental factors contribute to mental health illnesses. For instance, the social stress theory posits that mental health illnesses occur as a result of the exposure to social statuses and post-traumatic experiences that exacerbate stress. Therefore, if one is incapable of coping with the situation, it can result in harmful, stressful conditions that reduce self-esteem and the inability to master concepts. Avasthi's (2016) literature conforms to the ideas of Scheid & Brown (2010), which maintain that the social determinants of life can contribute to mental illnesses. Further, Avasthi (2016) presents the idea of social causation and the social selection or drift that tamper with the human's emotional responses and genetic makeup. Consequently, the interplay of these factors leads to depression and mental health complications. Finally, social factors can change the chemistry of the brain and neuronal communication, which is sometimes referred to as neurochemistry, depending on the relationship between brain structure and an individual's behavior. 

Theoretical Framework 

The high genetic and sociological etiology of schizophrenia has led to a persistent critique of psychological evidence detailing the cause of the disease. Various sociological studies argue that schizophrenia is a disorder of the social brain ( Pradhan, Gogineni, & Sharma, 2018) . The functional, stress, interpersonal, attachment, and labeling sociological theories relate to the social brain hypothesis and theory of the mind (ToM) are some of the approaches that have been used to explain the differences of schizophrenia incidences experienced by individuals. Even though the genetic makeup of a person primarily influences the prevalence of schizophrenia, brain evolution significantly influences the severity of symptoms exhibited by individuals affected by the disorder. 

The evolution of the social brain occurs as a result of social cognition. Therefore, the abnormalities displayed by patients with schizophrenia patients in a range of cognitive tasks such as emotion recognition and affective responses are a result of the functional and structural connectivity of social brain networks. According to Pradhan & Sharma (2018) , the social brain is the evolution of the cognitive and affective systems in the brain due to inherent social selective pressures in the environment. Recent research also points out that schizophrenia has become a complex disorder because of the modification of the brain through selective social pressures in the brain. Schizophrenia is primarily considered a disorder of consciousness that occurs as a result of the evolution of the prefrontal cortex, temporal, and parietal cortices of the brain. Researchers argue that the phenotypic outcome of the genetic changes in the frontal circuits and connectivity systems of the brain that result due to selective social pressures significantly contributes to the regulation of normal social behavior among schizophrenic individuals ( Heatherton, 2017) . 

Humans are social beings who can derive the meaning of their lives through social cognition, social behavior, and affective responses. Individuals who have schizophrenia suffer from symptoms like hallucinations because of the inability to correctly to “mind-read,” detect, and interpret social signals and process information because their social cognition is impaired ( Green, Horan, & Lee, 2015) . As a result, such people find it challenging to regulate their mood and in the perception of emotional information. Various scholars have applied the theory of the mind (ToM) that was developed by Premack and Woodruff to explain the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. 

ToM posits that the basis of social interaction and communication among individuals relies on the ability to attribute the mental states of others ( Parola, Berardinelli, & Bosco, 2018) . That is, the ability for individuals to assume the people they are communicating with possesses a mind just like their own. Parola, Berardinelli, & Bosco (2018) further claim that healthy individuals achieve ToM paradigms, such as mental state attribution, eye gaze detection, and attribution of intentions by the age of 4. However, people with schizophrenia are likely to experience late or early variations of the paradigms. ToM impaired individuals, such as people with schizophrenia, are likely to have defects in behavior and sociability due to abnormal activities in the temporal lobes of the brain. The typical defects include impoverishment of the will as a result of an individual’s lack of awareness of their mental and emotional states and corresponding goals of personal intentions (Parola, Berardinelli, & Bosco, 2018) . 

Role of Genetics in Mental Disorders 

The question of whether genetics have a role in the development of mental disorders remains a big concern to various researchers and scholars. Several research studies conducted have attempted to verify the ability of genes and their influence with mental illness. The authors have contributed a significant amount of information concerning the subject. Even though various researches and scholars have attempted to identify causative roots of the disorder, schizophrenia continues to hide its face. The lack of enough paradigms to explain the reasons for the many schizophrenic phenotypes has presented a significant challenge in mitigating the disorder. Understanding the relationship between genetics and mental illness requires a credible analysis of the available data and the various methods used in collecting and synthesizing the data. The article "Common Genetic Factors Found in 5 Mental Disorders" is ideal in depicting reliable data and mythologies which establish the role of genetics in an individual's mental health. 

Data and Methods 

Data 

Secondary data will be used for the study. Journal articles on genetic factors influencing mental disorders are reviewed. Data used throughout the study was primarily obtained from the journal article titled “Common Genetic Factors Found in 5 Mental Disorders.” Mental health professionals authored the article at the National Institute of Health. The article acknowledges that there is an existing perception among various people that mental disorders are hereditary. The authors of the article argue that five mental disorders depict strong evidence to suggest that mental illnesses are hereditary ("National Institute of Health," 2016). They also establish that the hypothesis guides the majority of the research on the subject that certain genetic glitches cause mental illness. The authors have adopted the stated hypothesis in responding to the research question. 

Five mental disorders have links to the ability to be inherited. The disorders include; autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and major depression. The authors argue that the similarities in the symptoms of the five disorders project the similarity in their biological orientation. The authors have integrated data from the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that incorporate the scanning of numerous genetic markers to identify the possibility of any variations ("National Institute of Health," 2016). The data borrowed from the GWAS indicates that the proximity of genetic variabilities appears more reduced among people with similar mental disorders than those who do not have the disease. 

The article depicts the data of an online report made on February 28, 2013, in the Lancet magazine. According to the report, 33,000 patients were tested positive for at least 1 of the five disorders identified. The study further indicates that variations associated with the disorders were noted on two different genes that are responsible for cellular coding machinery, which manages calcium flow to the neurons. The report strongly depicts that variations in CACNA1C are associated with schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorders (Gordovez et al., 2020). Further, differences in CACNA1C are associated with brain lapse in proper thinking, perception of emotions, attention, and memory. The article holds that chromosomes 3 and 10 have certain regions that favor illness-linked variations relating to the five disorders. The article, however, cautions that despite that genetic association of mental illnesses are statistically significant, genetic changes pose a slight risk of mental illness. 

Methods 

The method used in collecting and analyzing the data in the article "Common Genetic Factors Found in 5 Mental Disorders" is structural functionalism. The technique involves the use of a broader conceptual framework to narrow down on findings. Besides, the authors of the article have used a comparative analysis method. The comparative analysis involves the borrowing of other scholars' arguments to validate a claim. The authors have also adopted a quantitative approach through the various numerical data used in the article. People with similar mental disorders depict close genetic variations. Variations in CACNA1C are linked with causing schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression (Assary et al., 2020). Differences in CACNA1C cause poor cognitive performance in patients with mental disorders. 

Conclusively, genetics has a role in influencing mental illness in an individual because genomics plays a critical role in shaping the brain development of an individual. The article depicts that genetic variations are evident among five different mental disorders. The methods used in developing data in the article are structural functionalism and comparative analysis. Although genetic variations have a role in influencing the mental health of an individual, they contribute to a very low percentage of the causative of mental illness. 

Conclusion 

Even though genetic malfunctions can result in mental health illnesses, little evidence exists to support that such malfunctions are the leading causes of abnormalities among individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and recurrent depressive episodes. However, several research studies conducted on the causes of mental illnesses argue that disorders like schizophrenia result due to a combination of both genetic malfunction and levels of social dysfunction. 

Schizophrenia is a disease of consciousness which is primarily contributed by variations in brain development of individuals. The development of a human brain is due to a complex interaction of the genetic makeup of individuals, and sociological influences in the environment. Therefore, chromosomal aberrations among individuals predispose some genes to schizophrenia based on a linkage strategy (Bassett, 2011). Though aspects of brain anatomy that cause schizophrenia are highly heritable and may result in a genetic continuum, selective social pressures influence the maladaptive traits of the disorder that will survive on to the next generation. 

The research will analyze the genetics of schizophrenia and its etiology in terms of the amount of copy number variants and also the specificity of the social dysfunction in schizophrenia (Avramopoulos, 2018). For example, the study will look into the influence of genetics and the development of the social brain in humans. To some extent, gene-environment interactions play significant roles in increasing the risk of schizophrenia, as evident in adoption studies, which is considered a psychological aspect. Similarly, twin studies reveal how the environment and hereditary genes interplay, thus leading to differences in monozygotic and dizygotic twins (Gejman, Sanders & Duan, 2010). 

It is not hard to manage any mental illness when all the resources in the world are accessible, so not being able to access these resources due to various reasons can lead to complications. The arrangement of the family, access to medical care, and the ability to cope effectively can lead to an increased risk of mental health illnesses like schizophrenia. Another example of this, racial disparities contribute to the risk of mental health illnesses. Findings from other studies maintain that a higher percentage of carriers can increase the risk of schizophrenia, particularly for the case of identical twins. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the impacts of psychological, environmental, ethnic, and sociological factors on chromosomal abnormalities that increase the risk of schizophrenia. 

References 

Avasthi, A. (2016). Are social theories still relevant in current psychiatric practice?. Indian J Soc Psychiatry , 32:3-9. http://www.indjsp.org/article.asp?issn=0971-9962;year=2016;volume=32;issue=1;spage=3;epage=9;aulast=Avasthi 

Choudhry, F. R., et al. (2016). Beliefs and perception about mental health issues: a meta-synthesis. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat ., 12: 2807–2818.Dove Medical Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5096745/ 

Green, M. F., Horan, W. P., & Lee, J. (2015). Social cognition in schizophrenia.  Nature Reviews Neuroscience ,  16 (10), 620-631. 

Heatherton, T. F. (2017). Social Neuroscience of Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction. In  Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction  (pp. 32-49). Routledge. 

Parola, A., Berardinelli, L., & Bosco, F. M. (2018). Cognitive abilities and theory of mind in explaining communicative-pragmatic disorders in patients with schizophrenia.  Psychiatry Research ,  260 , 144-151. 

Pradhan, B., Gogineni, R. R., & Sharma, S. (2018). Mind, mindfulness, and the social brain: Psychobiological understandings and implications.  Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry ,  34 (4), 313. 

Scheid, T. L. & Brown, T. N. (2010, Eds.). A handbook for the study of mental health. Social contexts, theories, and systems, 2 nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=IxQDvOodXeAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=how+genetics+factor+into+mental+illnesses+in+sociology&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS9vvXgp3nAhULZMAKHd98AiQQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=how%20genetics%20factor%20into%20mental%20illnesses%20in%20sociology&f=false 

Assary, E., Vincent, J., Machlitt-Northen, S., Keers, R., &Pluess, M. (2020). The Role of Gene-Environment Interaction in Mental Health and Susceptibility to the Development of Psychiatric Disorders. In Beyond Our Genes (pp. 117-138). Springer, Cham. 

Gordovez, F. J. A., & McMahon, F. J. (2020). The genetics of bipolar disorder. Molecular Psychiatry, 1-16. 

National Institute of Health. (2016). Common Genetic Factors Found in 5 Mental Disorders. NIH RESEARCH MATTERS. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/common-genetic-factors-found-5-mental-disorders 

Avramopoulos, D. (2018). Recent Advances in the Genetics of Schizophrenia. Mol Neuropsychiatry, 4:35 –51. Baltimore: Karger AG, Basel. Retrieved January 17, 2020, from https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/488679 

Gejman, P. V., Sanders, A. R. & Duan, J. (2010). The Role of Genetics in the Etiology of Schizophrenia. Psychiatr Clin North Am , 33(1): 35–66.NIH. Retrieved January 16, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2826121/pdf/nihms164007.pdf