Is Depression Caused by Nature or Nurture? Essay

fact depression can also come from an environment. If a child's sibling is depressed, or a

It appears that psychological, social, and biological factors will all play a role into the various degrees that cause depression. Many theorists believe that the depression

What is it that truly shapes people today? Where do our behaviors, beliefs, characteristics, and attitudes come from? The great psychological debate of nature versus nurture has been brought upon many ways of being for many years. One of the most contradicting arguments is whether or not depression is caused by genetics or if it is completely based on our environment, how we grow up, and what we are exposed to as a child. Is it really in our blood, or is it from social media and the people around us? The growth and development of children has been a topic of confusion and debate for a long time, especially with the major issue of depression defeating many young people nowadays.

Biopsychologists believe genetics plays a factor in depression for if one has depression it is more likely that a close relative may and will suffer from depression as well. In fact about 20 percent of those relatives suffer from depression as well (Comer, R. J. 2010). Sometimes the cause for depression is simply a chemical imbalance. Low activity of norepinephrine and serotonin has been linked to unipolar depression. As well as certain interactions between neurotransmitters and the endocrine system itself has been linked to depression.

In my personal opinion nature and nurture both had a role in my depression and anxiety disorder. At the end of eight grade I started to get very sick. My gallbladder had stopped functioning properly. I went back and forth to different doctors and the hospital. They would tell me that it is all in my head. We finally found a doctor that believed me, and he ran test on me. It wasn’t in my head, it was really happening to me.

Depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors (“Depression: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments” 2015). Researchers are becoming increasingly aware that depression runs in families (Kam,2009) meaning that certain genes may make people prone to depression suggesting a biological vulnerability. The biological factors that have some effect on the hereditary and biological influences of depression are the genes, hormones, and brain chemicals.

The biological theory of depression focusing on genetics argues that shared DNA is the cause of depression so the more genes shared with a depressed family member, the more an individual’s likelihood to develop depression. Whereas psychological theories of depression, such as the cognitive negative schema, focus on how individuals perceive

Depression is a disorder that can be caused by many factors. Stress, medication, other medical illnesses, and personality traits can all contribute to depression, but the most common cause, however, is heredity (yahoo.com 1). These are all theorized guesses as to what causes clinical depression. The actual cause has not yet been resolved (yahoo.com 1). It is considered that usually more than one factor causes the disorder (yahoo.com 2).

The last factor of depression is sociocultural factors. The main sociocultural factor that can increase the chances of depression is wealth. People who have more money are less likely to

Does genetics or a child’s environment and surroundings have a greater impact on causing teen depression? “Rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers have increased by 70 per cent in the past 25 years” (Bedell 1). Teen depression, whether caused by the situation the teen is in, (getting a bad a grade, family relationships, and how they were raised), or it being genetics getting passed down to the teen from parents, depression is a serious issue. Nature vs. nurture has been debated over the years about which one is the main cause of human development. Such a debate can be made for specific human development like depression and other mental diseases. Both “nature”

(Fagnani, 2011) Some researchers believe that a difficult childhood can play a role in an early onset of depression. One theory suggests that children who go through a hard time while growing up have a more difficult time adjusting to changes in their. (Clouthier, 2007) Another theory is that these children may not have the proper emotional development, making them vulnerable to becoming depressed. Environmental factors often play a

(3) While successful drug therapies which act on neurotransmitters in the brain imply that depression is a neurobiological condition (4), the fact that such medications do not help about 20 percent of depression-sufferers seems to show that not all depression is due to such imbalances. Rather, depression is not caused by one single factor; it is most often caused by many different things. Genetics, biochemical factors, medicines and alcohol, developmental and other external factors, and relationships, marriage and children all have effect on the development of clinical depression. (5) The strongest hypotheses on the pathways to depression are in decreases in the activity of specific neurotransmitters, or the overactivity of certain hormonal systems. (3)

I have been referring to these conditions as "end-products" but they could, just as easily, be viewed as causes and not consequences of depression. Perhaps I have not been working backwards at all but have instead been addressing the origins of this disease. It all depends on why people get depressed in the first place. Seeing as how preventative medicine is almost always the best medicine, the "why" of this issue becomes quite critical. Unfortunately, the why of depression seems to be even more elusive than the how.

     Psychological theories of depression focus on the way people think and behave. Some theories emphasize the role irrational though processes. It states that depresses people tend to view themselves, their environment, and the future in a negative light because of errors in thinking. These errors include focusing on the negative aspects of any situation misinterpreting facts in negative ways, and blaming themselves for any misfortune. In another view it is said that people with “depressive” personality traits appear to be more vulnerable than others to actual depression. Examples of depressive personality traits include gloominess, pessimism, introversion, self-criticism, deep feelings of inadequacy, and excessive brooding and worrying. People who regularly behave in dependent, hostile, and impulsive ways appear at greater risk for depression. Psychologists also believe that stressful experiences can trigger depression in people who are predisposed to the illness.

Over the years, people have argued and discussed about what could be possible causes of depression. Some experts believe that a person’s genes could be a determinative of whether he or she is inclined or genetically predisposed, to depression. Experts point it to the fact that depressive genes could run in families. Other specialists lessen the role of the person’s genetic, arguing that depression is generally caused by stress, trauma, or physical or mental illness.