Which model describes how predisposition interacts with stress to influence the development of psychological disorders, and has been used to explain schizophrenia?

Which model describes how predisposition interacts with stress to influence the development of psychological disorders, and has been used to explain schizophrenia?

• A. Cost-benefit analysis
• B. Diathesis stress model
• C. Stigmatisation
• D. Stereotyping

Answer: (B)

How predisposition interacts with stress to influence the development of psychological disorders. The diathesis-stress model holds that people vary in vulnerability (diathesis) due to genetic factors or early experiences. When a significant stressor occurs, this underlying vulnerability can be activated, leading to the onset of a disorder. This approach explains why some individuals with risk factors never develop a disorder while others do under stress, and why those with greater vulnerability need less stress to trigger symptoms. It's been used to explain schizophrenia because research shows higher rates of the condition in people who have a genetic or biological vulnerability and who also encounter substantial life stressors or adverse environments. The model captures the idea that both nature and environment contribute, and their interaction matters for whether the disorder emerges. The other options don’t describe how risk factors combine with stress to produce mental illness. Cost-benefit analysis is an economic framework for weighing costs and benefits, not how psychological disorders develop. Stigmatisation and stereotyping are social processes that influence attitudes and behavior toward groups, not etiological mechanisms for mental illness.

How predisposition interacts with stress to influence the development of psychological disorders. The diathesis-stress model holds that people vary in vulnerability (diathesis) due to genetic factors or early experiences. When a significant stressor occurs, this underlying vulnerability can be activated, leading to the onset of a disorder. This approach explains why some individuals with risk factors never develop a disorder while others do under stress, and why those with greater vulnerability need less stress to trigger symptoms.

It's been used to explain schizophrenia because research shows higher rates of the condition in people who have a genetic or biological vulnerability and who also encounter substantial life stressors or adverse environments. The model captures the idea that both nature and environment contribute, and their interaction matters for whether the disorder emerges.

The other options don’t describe how risk factors combine with stress to produce mental illness. Cost-benefit analysis is an economic framework for weighing costs and benefits, not how psychological disorders develop. Stigmatisation and stereotyping are social processes that influence attitudes and behavior toward groups, not etiological mechanisms for mental illness.