Topic 3: Psychological problems Study Guide

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), offers a global standard for diagnosing health conditions, including mental and behavioural disorders. For depression, key symptoms include a persistently low mood, a decrease in pleasure or interest in activities (anhedonia), and reduced energy levels. Other common indicators are sleep disturbances, changes in appetite, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, reduced concentration, and recurrent thoughts of self-harm or death. Diagnosis generally needs at least two core symptoms and several additional symptoms to be present for a minimum of two weeks, causing significant distress or impairment.

Addiction, or 'dependence syndrome' in ICD-10, is defined by a cluster of behavioural, cognitive, and physiological phenomena developing after repeated substance use. Essential features include a strong desire to use the substance, impaired control over its use, continued use despite harmful consequences, giving higher priority to substance use over other activities, increased tolerance, and experiencing withdrawal symptoms when substance use is reduced or stopped. In ICD-10, a diagnosis requires at least three of these six criteria to have been experienced together over the previous year. ICD-11 has updated this to focus on three core areas: impaired control, increasing priority of use, and persistence despite harm.

The nature-nurture debate examines the relative contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to an individual's development, behaviour, and psychological traits. 'Nature' refers to all biological and innate predispositions, including genetics, brain structure, temperament, and evolutionary influences, which are largely determined before or at birth. 'Nurture' encompasses all environmental influences after conception, such as upbringing, socialisation, learning experiences, cultural context, and physical surroundings. This debate often explores whether conditions like psychological problems, intelligence, or personality are primarily shaped by inherited biological factors or by life experiences. Modern psychology largely advocates an interactionist approach, recognising that both nature and nurture intricately interact. For example, a genetic vulnerability (nature) to a disorder might only manifest if an individual is exposed to specific environmental stressors (nurture).