Good Models Of Abnormality Research Paper Example

Many people in today’s society are faced with uncomfortable mental disorders. To help them deal with these problems and be able to function properly, a huge number of these people rely on their doctors to prescribe medications to them to comfort and heal them, when possible. Some people may feel a sense of security knowing that they have medicine available and that if something goes wrong, they can call a doctor. Although most of the psychotropic drugs taken today are not placebos, it can often be agreed that a person could feel better by at least trying to do something, rather than just doing nothing at all. For those who do have problems with disorders such as schizophrenia, those who take medication to modify their brain activity do show improvements (Wyatt & Midkiff, 2006).
Identical twins make studying psychiatric disorders more accurate and reliable. When performing studies on mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, using sets of identical twins in which one does and one does not have the problem are the perfect candidates. This is because they have the same DNA and genetic structure, as they both came from one egg.
The estimate for the heritability of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is approximately 70%, and the disease concordance is not even close to 100% between twin-pairs, which suggests that non-genetic factors are involved with these diseases (King’s College London, 2011). Yet it has also been argued that there could be some cases in which identical twins have the same mental disorder, but it is not hereditary. For example, if both of the twins were both raised in the same dysfunctional home, this environmental factor could have played a role in the development of a disorder (Wyatt & Midkiff, 2006). However, it has been determined that even when identical twins were raised in separate homes, they still had higher concordance rates for mental disorders than the general population (Wyatt & Midkiff, 2006).
Although there are a variety of factors such as heredity and environment that must be taken into consideration, it is important to continue to research medications because for many, these can be successful.

References

King’s College London. (2011). Twin study reveals epigenetic alterations of psychiatric
disorders. Science Daily. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921120039.htm
Wyatt, J., & Midkiff, D. (2006). Biological psychiatry: A practice in a search of a science.
Behavioral and Social Issues, 15, 132-151. Retrieved from: