Biological And Psychological Risk Factors

Question 1

Genetic vulnerability

Answer 1

A biological risk factor in which an individual has an inherited predisposition to develop a certain disorder or disease. Can be because of genes, hormones and chemicals.

Question 2

Biological risk factor

Answer 2

Biological risk factors include genetic predisposition, physiological structures of the body and the biochemical processes of the brain and nervous system.

Question 3

Psychological risk factor

Answer 3

Psychological risk factors include a person’s personality, thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Question 4

Pharmacogenetics

Answer 4

The study of genetic differences between individuals in drug metabolic pathways. Poor response to medication can be a biological risk factor in treating certain disorders or diseases.

Question 5

Self-efficacy

Answer 5

An individual’s confidence in their ability to control events that occur in their lives. It has a large influence on how we approach challenges. People with poor self efficacy are less likely to seek help.

Question 6

Stress

Answer 6

A state of psychological or physiological tension that occurs when a person’s ability to cope is strained or exceeded.Stress can negatively affect mental health if it is not checked or managed. Stress causes our bodies to release hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol as part of the fight-flight-freeze response. If too much cortisol is released over long periods, the risk of a person developing a mental disorder such as depression is increased.

Question 7

Sleep

Answer 7

An altered state of consciousness that is a naturally occurring bodily rhythm accompanied by a number of physiological effects.

Question 8

Substance use

Answer 8

The use of drugs. This can be a biological risk factor to certain disorders or diseases. People who abuse alcohol or drugs are much more likely to develop mental health problems than those who don’t.

Question 9

Impaired reasoning and memory - schizophrenia

Answer 9

A psychological risk factor. Sufferers of schizophrenia have been found to have difficulty with probabilistic reasoning (judgements about something happening or being true). Sufferers of schizophrenia have also been found to have impaired memory ability (episodic with the greatest impairment).

Question 10

Genetic vulnerability to specific disorders

Answer 10

People are more at risk of developing a mental disorder if it runs in the family. Our genes instruct our body on how it will make the proteins that make up our cells, including those in brain. A genetic mutation can cause proteins to be created that will function differently from how they should. Some people are genetically predisposed to producing low/high levels of particular neurotransmitters that render them at greater risk of a mental disorder.

Question 11

poor response to medication due to genetic factors

Answer 11

Some individuals respond better than others to medication, depending in part on their genetic make-up and metabolism. Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters are thought to be involved in mental disorders. For example, some patients respond well to antidepressants and others less so.

Question 12

4 biological risk factors

Answer 12

Genetic vulnerability

Poor response to medication

Poor Sleep

Long-term substance abuse

Question 13

Poor sleep

Answer 13

Chronic sleep problems are associated with mental health issues and each can perpetuate the other. Sleep problems are particularly common in patients with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and attention de cit hyperactivity disorder.

Question 14

Long term substance abuse

Answer 14

Long-term substance abuse has been linked with a number of mental disorders such as an association between alcoholism and depression. Addictive substances such as nicotine change the way the brain works by interfering with chemical neurotransmission. Some substances affect the amount of neurotransmitters released and others affect how neural transmission. Prolonged use of these substances can have long-term effects on the way our brain functions.

Question 15

4 psychological risk factors

Answer 15

Rumination

Impaired reasoning and memory

Stress

Poor self-efficacy

Question 16

Rumination

Answer 16

Rumination refers to obsessive thinking and worrying about the negative aspects of a past, present or future situation. It has the potential to adversely a ect mental health if a person is unable to break the cycle of ruminating about the negative aspects of life without developing any strategies to address their perceived problems. Rumination is associated with anxiety and, if untreated, can lead to depression.

Question 17

Impaired reasoning and memory

Answer 17

Impaired reasoning and memory are often associated with dementia, depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Causes vary and depend on the type of mental disorder and the particular part of the brain that has been impaired.

Question 18

Poor self-efficacy

Answer 18

Self-efficacy refers to a person’s general coping strategies and their perception of their ability to control the events that happen in their lives. People with poor self-efficacy can sometimes develop symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.