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BIOLOGICAL (BIOMEDICAL) MODEL
Assumptions
• Mental illness resembles physical illness in that the causes are similar.
• Symptoms of psychological disorders are caused by biological factors, such as: infectious transmission, biochemical imbalances, genetic predispositions, or the structure of the nervous system, particularly brain defects
Evidence
• Genetic factors are implicated in schizophrenia—there is 50% overall concordance between identical twins.
• The “dopamine” hypothesis of schizophrenia states that it is due to excessive dopamine in the brain.
• Abnormal levels of noradrenalin and serotonin are associated with major depression (Delgado & Moreno, 2000; see PIP p.807).
• Not all disorders are found universally—there is a variety of “culture-bound” syndromes (however, not all physical diseases are universal).
• Cross-cultural studies of schizophrenia indicate that some of the most common symptoms are found in the majority of cultures (e.g., lack of insight in 97%; verbal hallucinations in 70%); however, some studies indicate that less central symptoms vary widely between cultures.
• Depression—in a study of four countries, some of the main symptoms (e.g., sad affect) were similar but there were also differences in other symptoms (e.g., sleep disturbances) (Sartorius et al., 1983; see PIP p.808). The appearance of physical symptoms also varies widely between cultures, being rare in the West but quite common in China.
CASE STUDY: A case of koro in a 20-year-old Irish male
Treatment implications
Drug therapy is the obvious implication—a biological treatment for a biological disorder (see PIP p.808). Points to note are:
• We do not always know why drugs are effective.
• Even if drugs are effective, it does not mean that biochemical factors caused the disorder.
• Most drugs have serious side effects.
• There is a lot of...