The Biomedical Perspective of Mental Illness - Essay Example

Mental Illness: Socially Constructed or Biomedical The Biomedical Perspective of Mental Illness The biomedical model is a modern method used by medical officers to diagnose illness concentrating on biological factors and ignoring others influences like social and psychological factors. The defining feature of biomedical model is that mental illness is a disease that can well be explained by biochemical imbalances, genetic defects, and neuronal deficits among others (Aneshensel, Phelan and Bierman 2012, p.4). According to the biomedical model of mental illness, mental disorders result from a physical problem with the brain. For instance, from biomedical perspective, individuals suffering from mental illness like schizophrenia have some parts of their hippocampus missing. Furthermore, biochemical causal perspective posits that schizophrenia is caused by excess dopamine in the brain. The use of psychiatric medications has increased significantly because mental illnesses have been perceived as brain diseases resulting from chemical imbalances that can be corrected with disease-specific drugs. Genetically, mental disorders are inherited, for instance, this model states that individuals can inherit a genetic pre-disposition to depression and other mental disorders provided a close family member had that same mental illness. Biomedical model claims inherent genetic factors is the cause mental disorder or abnormal behaviour arguing that schizophrenia is attributed to predisposed genetic factors. More so, neurotransmitter imbalances in individuals’ brain can as well lead to mental illnesses like depression. Biologically, depression is mainly caused by reduced levels of serotonin (Larkin 2011, p.125). Some of the evidence supporting the argument that some mental illnesses are caused by physical defects in the brain include the CAT scans performed on genetically identical twins in which one suffered from schizophrenia and the other was well. Notably, the affected twin had some holes in the hippocampus, which explains why the twin had schizophrenia. The twin with a normal brain without an affected hippocampus was able to differentiate memories while the other with affected brain had difficulty differentiating and this is a key symptom of schizophrenia. More so, mental illness is caused by structural defects and this is supported by the experiment where tissue samples of brain neurons from the twins in which one was affected and the other normal. It was noted that the affected twin had disorganized neurons whereas the normal twin’s neurons were very organized. This experiment supports the biomedical model which argues that mental illness is caused by structural defects as the normal twin had a very different brain structure from the affected one, the neuron structure and holes in the hippocampus. Moreover, the biomedical perspective posits that bacteria and physical infection are the leading cause of abnormal behaviour or mental ill health. For instance, infection like syphilis attacks the central nervous system and this in turn affects behaviour. The Social Causation Perspective of Mental Illness Social causation also known as structuralist approach can be defined as a sociological perspective to the study of mental disorder focusing on the relationship between some aspects of social structure and the incidence or prevalence of mental illness. Social causation is the perspective seeking to create a link between social disadvantage and mental disorder (Clarke 2013, p.75). The social perspective of mental illness focuses more on the role of networks and communities in maintaining the mental health of individuals. Social isolation is a common issue for individuals suffering from a mental disorder. Individuals suffering from mental illnesses have fewer friends and are not able to establish lasting relationships (Larkin 2011, p.133). Sociologists have been investigating the social causes of mental illness. Notably, some of the social causes of mental disorder include disadvantaged social status and stress among others. Social stress perspective argues that mental health problems result from exposure to social stress based on individuals’ social status and life experience, and vulnerability to stress like low levels of social support or low self-esteem. Possible social causation of mental illness can be divided into first, chronic strains in the environment including poor living condition, poverty, and dangerous neighbourhoods. Others include negative life events such as stress, unemployment, and natural disasters like floods or earthquakes. In addition, researchers have also mentioned the relationship between social attitudes towards mental illness and the course of mental illness plus the possible consequences of stigma and discrimination. More so, mental abnormality depends on how the society defines individuals with impairments and how the society limits access to employment and available resources. Social causation model emphasizes on how to trace the relationship between socially disadvantaged societal members and mental illness. Sociologists have noted that low social class or poverty and studies have used poverty in the social studies of psychiatric populations. Social causation perspective not only focuses on the social class in the society but also other related variables such as race, gender, and age. Research on the social determinants of mental health notated social factors such as socio-economic status, age, gender, and ethnicity in relation to abnormal behaviour. Studies on disadvantaged socioeconomic status and mental illness have increased and they aim at determining the relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health. The gender factor is also another issue and according to sex-role theory, females are more likely to develop internalized mental disorders such as depression while males are more likely to developed externalized mental illnesses like substance abuse or dependence. This issue debate concerning the gender differences in mental disorders remains controversial and no adequate evidence have been provided to confirm this claim. Moreover, life course theory mainly explores the influence of age on mental health. There are many studies focusing on the relationship between ethnic status and mental illness but the evidence accumulated remains inconclusive. Unlike the biomedical model that mainly focuses on genetics and chemical imbalance in the brain as the major causes of mental illness, the sociological perspective concentrates more on the influence of the society through social contexts, relationships and statuses. Social Constructionist Perspective of Mental Illness Arguably, social constructionist is one of the most influential theoretical perspectives in medical sociology and it has helped individuals to understand the social dimensions of illness (Conrad and Barker 2010, p.67). This perspective does not focus on exploring the reality of a given social phenomenon but it emphasizes on the social forces defining the phenomenon. A strong social constructivism criticizes both social realism and social causation approaches. Ideally, social realism holds the opinion that there autonomous reality exists whereas social causation claims that social forces trigger the existence of a phenomenon. The key assumption of this perspective is that reality is not self-evident but it results from human activity. According to this perspective, some illnesses are embedded with cultural meaning which shapes how the society responds to those afflicted and also influences the experience of that particular illness. In addition, this theory posits that all illnesses including mental disorders are socially constructed based on how people come to understand, accept, and live with their illness. Moreover, social constructionists argue that medical knowledge about any disorder is not naturally given but it is constructed and developed by interested individuals. Therefore, social constructivists believe that mental health conditions are as much a social construct as medical diagnosis. Mental Illness - ADHD, Depression, Schizophrenia Mental disorders can be defined as strange or noticeable deviant human behaviours (Kiesler 2000, p.3). Mental illness also known as abnormal behaviour refers to medical diseases resulting from physiological abnormalities in the brain or from cumulative social oppression like poverty and discrimination among others (Kiesler 2000, p.4). There are a number of mental disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, and schizophrenia among others. To begin with, ADHD is a very common illness among children and it can be experienced until in adulthood stage. Some of the common symptoms of this disorder are hyperactivity, having difficulty in controlling behavior, paying attention and staying focused. There are many causes of ADHD, first, twins studies revealed that this disorder runs through families and can be therefore inherited. Secondly, the environmental causation of this mental illness includes cigarette smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol especially during pregnancy. However, some claim that mental illness like ADHD are treated as biomedical condition, the one that focuses on the genetic make-up of the child, but the truth is, they lack true basis of biomedical. According to them, ADHD is socially constructed as an explanation for those children who display behaviours outside the prescribed social norm. These scholars argue that health experts like the psychiatrists control what individuals understand to be normal or abnormal childhood behaviour by defining what behaviour is acceptable or unacceptable. Depression is an illness that is characterized by intense and persistent feelings of sadness, worthlessness and hopelessness, and those who are depressed are often seen as miserable, hopeless or worthless. Generally, symptoms of depression include agitation, lack of energy, loss of appetite, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, thought of committing suicide, loss of interest in performing daily activities, change of sleeping patterns, hallucinations or delusions. Depression as a social construct can be perceived as a socio-cultural expression of human suffering. Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that makes people interprets reality abnormally as it disrupts the normal balance of emotions and thinking. This brain disorder leads to hallucinations and delusions among others. Therefore, schizophrenia affects individual’s way of thinking, behaviour and emotions. Some of the symptoms of schizophrenia in clued delusions, which are false beliefs that are not based in reality; hallucinations, which involve seeing, or hearing things that do not really exist. Arguably, the way schizophrenia is diagnosed reveals that this mental disorder is a social construct. Whereas patients diagnosed with schizophrenia are said to be socially inapt, the label is used to dismiss any form of reality that seems to conflict with the socioeconomic pursuits of the dominant social class in the society. The social constructs of these mental diseases servers the interest of health experts including psychiatrists among others. References Aneshensel, C. S., Phelan, J. C., and Bierman, A. 2012, Handbook of the sociology of mental health, Oklahoma, Springer. Clarke, A., 2013, The Sociology of Healthcare, London: Routledge. Conrad, P., and Barker K.K. 2010, The Social Construction of Illness: Key Insights and Policy Implications, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(S) S67 –S79. Kiesler, D. J. 2000, Beyond the disease model of mental disorders, Westport, Conn, Praeger.  Larkin, M. 2011, Social aspects of health, illness and healthcare, Maidenhead, Open University Press. Read More