Genetic and Environmental Influences Characterized

Genetic and Environmental Influences

Characterized by a wide range of behaviors that are largely unusual, schizophrenia effectively disrupts not only the lives of those affected by the condition but also those of their families and loved ones. Both parents of Alan, my client in this case, had schizophrenia. For this reason, Alan was forced to live with adoptive parents from the age of 1. Both adoptive parents did not have psychological disorders.

From the onset, it is important to note that as the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine -- NCBI, NLM (2012) point out, "schizophrenia is a complex illness." It should however be noted that over time, many discoveries have been made in regard to the illness. Before discussing the risk factors and causes of schizophrenia - especially as they relate to Alan's case, it would be prudent to briefly the nature of the said condition. To begin with, those suffering from schizophrenia face difficulties distinguishing what is real from what is not. In some cases, they may be unable to manage their emotions or think clearly. For this reason, individuals suffering from the disorder could have their perception of reality altered - in which case they may hear or even see things that do not exist in reality. Frequently, children of parents with the disorder are given up for adoption largely because their parents' mental state makes it both dangerous and inappropriate for the said parents to raise them up.

When it comes to the causes of schizophrenia, NCBI, NLM (2012) point out that experts are not entirely certain about what causes the illness. However, studies conducted in the recent past have found out that genes do play a prominent role in the development of the disease (NCBI, NLM, 2012). Recent studies have also indicated that a number of environmental factors may trigger the said disorder. The hereditary component of schizophrenia however remains rather strong. Adoption studies in the words of Kearney and Trull (2011) "indicate that schizophrenia has a strong genetic basis." Indeed, a Danish study according to Kety et al. (as cited in Kalat, 2012) "found schizophrenia in 12.5% of the immediate biological relatives and none of the adopting parents." It can therefore be noted that although only a small percentage of the general population suffers from schizophrenia, having close familial relations with someone suffering from the same does increase an individual's chances of developing schizophrenia. The disorder is thus inheritable. This effectively means that Alan's chances of becoming schizophrenic are rather high given that both his parents had schizophrenia.