Worry and self-blame as the "final common pathway" towards poor mental health

Ill-judged commentary on poor mental health often makes it sound like biological causes are somehow more fundamental and important than social or psychological factors. This is the allure of reductionism. In fact all levels of explanation need to be considered, and it may be that psychological factors are the most amenable to intervention. A new study led by chartered clinical psychologist Peter Kinderman at the University of Liverpool supports this perspective. Working with the BBC, he and his colleagues conducted an online survey of over 32,000 people (aged 18 to 85), collecting data on their mental health (in terms of depression and anxiety), their genetic risk factors (as measured by their family history), their relationships, life events, demographics, and two aspects of their psychological tendencies: rumination and attributional style. The first of these refers to how much people worry and dwell on things, the second with whether they blame themselves or external events when things go wrong. Kinderman's team used a sophisticated statistical technique called structural equation modelling to investigate the relations between these different biological, social and psychological factors and mental health. Their analysis suggested that traumatic life events have the strongest direct link with depression and anxiety, followed by a family history of mental health problems and low social status (in terms of education and income). Loneliness and lack of social support were al...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs