Quote:
Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen
(Post 1986766)
My question would be, and it is something that I have wondered about for a long time, is the correlation between pre-natal genetics more powerful than the environmental factors in regards to severe and sudden mental illness? In other words, is there simply a switch that gets flipped in one's genes that say 'at 24, this individual will become schizophrenic', or are continued environmental stressors enough to push one towards it. I had come across students in my time in K-12 education that I thought may be future sufferers of the disorder, but do not pan out in that manner. Given the peculiarity of the onset of schizophrenia, is it possible to every truly know?
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We're not entirely sure about that one, there is definitely a genetic factor as schizophrenia tends to run in families. The current concept is that one can be genetically predisposed to developing it, but it is not a certain outcome. It is felt that certain kinds of environmental stresors are either triggers of schizophrenia, or can bring about an earlier onset of the illness. There is a high correlation between marijuana use and schizophrenia for example, but the relationship is bidirectional in that marijuana use is a predictor of schizophrenia, as schizophrenia a predictor for marijuana use (either can precede the other). It is also not unusual for the first schizophrenic episode to happen during periods of high stress.
Interestingly enough, it is not unheard of people to only have one or a couple of psychotic episodes and then never have any further. We also don't know why schizophrenia can develop earlier in rarer cases. Adolescent early onset schizophrenia is pretty rare and the earlier form is extremely rare. Brain development in general seems to be a significant factor in it's developing, since the frontal cortex doesn't stop developing till around age 22-24, and f-mri studies have shown that the schizophrenic brain generally functions differently.
Anyhow I will stop there for now as I could go on for hours on this topic. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sailor Steve
(Post 1986782)
I've asked myself a variation of that question more than once: Is it my parents' fault or my own? On the one hand I realized a long time ago that my foibles are my own, and trying to attribute my problems to someone else is even on a good day "shifting the blame". On the other hand an honest appraisal leads me to question whether they indeed had a hand in making me what I am. I think that part of rationality is asking yourself that very question. Why am I who I am today? What really happened? One can dwell on past mistakes in an attempt to understand why, but one also has to ask the question "Could I have really avoided those mistakes? Am I doomed to be who I am?"
Of course it's also easy to waste too much time worrying about things we have no control over. Then right back into the trap of "But do I really have no control?" It's enough do drive you crazy.
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The general answer is yes... and no :) The parent child relationship style is hugely important during the first two years, infants need attention, contact, and affection to develop properly, and without it (or insufficient quantities of it) will suffer moderate to severe developmental delays which generally cannot be fully recovered later in life (this is why in another thread that people adopting orphans from certain countries do not know what they are getting themselves into).
Beyond that it is an interplay between the person's inborn nature, and their interactions with the environment. So yes, parental influence has a very large impact on how the person develops and who they become. Many values and belief systems are inherited from parents. But so does the greater environment (some of which is the person's own choice) influence who a person becomes; such as choice of friends, school system you are exposed to, media exposure, etc.
For the more philosophical question you asked, personally I think the answer is a bit of both. Had the environmental aspects I had no control over as a child been different, things probably would have turned out differently in some areas, but I am not sure that my internal self would have changed hugely. Personally I think that the core of one's personality is genetically based, but the expression of it is malliable by environment.
