FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Psychopathology is the study of mental disorders and maladaptive behavior—development through the interaction of biological, psychological, and social influences. Modern psychology often uses the biopsychosocial model, which explains that no single factor usually causes a disorder; instead, multiple influences combine over time. Researchers have developed alternative, empirically based approaches that use statistical, psychometric, and developmental methods to understand psychopathology better. (Eaton et al., 2023).

Genetics and neurobiology are central contributors to the development of psychopathology because they influence how the brain develops, processes information, regulates emotions, and responds to stress. Mental disorders are increasingly understood as involving complex interactions between inherited vulnerabilities and neurobiological processes. Research consistently shows that many psychological disorders have a hereditary component. Family, twin, and adoption studies demonstrate that disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and anxiety disorders occur more frequently among biological relatives. Genes do not directly “cause” mental illness in most cases. Instead, they increase susceptibility or vulnerability to psychopathology. Multiple genes typically interact with environmental experiences such as trauma, stress, neglect, or substance use. (Whitney et al., 2024).

Psychological, social, cultural, and interpersonal factors significantly influence the development and progression of psychopathology. Contemporary psychology emphasizes that mental disorders arise not only from biological causes, but also from experiences, relationships, and environmental conditions that shape emotional, cognitive, and behavioral functioning across development.

One important explanation is the developmental psychopathology perspective, which argues that exposure to environmental influences early in life can affect rapid brain development and impair behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning over time. Early childhood is a critical period for neurological and psychological development. During this stage, the brain is highly sensitive to environmental input, including the quality of caregiving, attachment relationships, stress exposure, and social interaction. Adverse experiences during these periods may disrupt normal emotional regulation, stress responses, and cognitive development.

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For example, severe stress, abuse, neglect, or trauma during childhood can produce long-lasting psychological and neurobiological effects. Chronic activation of the stress-response system may alter emotional processing and increase vulnerability to disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance-use disorders, and personality disorders.

Social interaction is fundamental for health, cognitive, and emotional development. Human development depends heavily on supportive interpersonal relationships. According to attachment theory, secure early attachments help children develop confidence, resilience, and healthy interpersonal functioning. In contrast, disrupted or disorganized attachment relationships can increase vulnerability to later psychopathology. (Furman et al., 2022) A child exposed to trauma, neglect, or chronic stress may experience changes in brain development and emotional functioning that increase susceptibility to mental disorders later in life. Protective factors such as supportive caregivers, positive peer relationships, and early intervention can reduce these risks and promote resilience. (Morison et al. 2022).

References

Eaton, N. R., Bringmann, L. F., Elmer, T., Fried, E. I., Forbes, M. K., Greene, A. L., … & Waszczuk, M. A. (2023). A review of approaches and models in psychopathology conceptualization research. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2(10), 622-636.

Furman, O., Shafranskyy, V., & Hirnyak, H. (2022). Interpersonal communication and impact are the core tools of socio-psychological work. Psychology & society, (2), 83-96 Walden University NRNP-6635C Factors That Influence the Development of Psychopathology Week 1: Discussion.

Morison, L., Simonds, L., & Stewart, S. J. F. (2022). Effectiveness of creative arts-based interventions for treating children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events: A systematic review of quantitative evidence and meta-analysis. Arts & Health, 14(3), 237-262.

Whitney, B. M., Nikolas, M. A., & Tranel, D. (2024). Psychopathology: A Neurobiological Perspective. In Psychopathology (pp. 25-67). Routledge.

Week I

Discussion Board I

Psychopathology is an inherently complex topic, due in no small part to the composition and interaction of constructs that contribute to its identification. Genetic links to certain kinds of pathology are fairly strong and direct, as with the up to 65% inheritance of BPD from mother to daughter with 75% genetic involvement (Li et al., 2025). However, in other cases the polygenomic contribution to inheritance is less clear. The underlying neurobiology that contributes to diseases such as Tourette’s has made progress in identification of particular genes, but still has elusive conclusive consistency across cases (Lin, Tsai, & Chou, 2022). In summary, our understanding of genetic contribution sometimes has clear direct links, but the causative factors are not always as easy to determine. With respect to interpersonal factors, BPD typically has a primary object that acts as its trigger for pathological behaviors. While one person may experience a friend or colleague with BPD as normal, another who has some relationship with the primary object may not.

In the same vein, environmental contributions to pathology such as BPD also examine roles of factors like development in mother-daughter dyads. Constructs such as perception of abandonment is a common daughter cognitive process with a surprisingly high correlation to heritability of the disease (Li et al., 2022). Behaviorally, this construct is comprised of time spent by the mother with her daughter as well as time comforting her daughter while also responding to the daughter’s own behavioral cues. The emotional component of psychopathology can also be illustrated by some of the pharmacological treatments for BPD, which include a wide variety of antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and even antipsychotics for short-term management of emotional dysregulation. Even so, the pharmacology is always adjunct to psychotherapy due to the overarching role of executive function in effective emotional management and disease control over lifetime disease (Crotty et al., 2024).

Social and cultural factors have a huge impact on psychopathology largely due to the nosological implications of their construction of epistomology. In the Western medicines, we typically use the ICD or the DSM as our models. However, even iterations of these manuals can have drastic epistemological differences in defining pathology. Moving to different parts of the world, different models or even informal methods may be used. These models can be reductive or critical of Western nosology, being far more likely to attribute pathology such as BPD to things such as supernatural causes or gender.

Ultimately, pathology has an ever-changing face as varied and complex as the human psyche itself. However, as our complexity in scientific understanding improves, so has our ability to process the psyche.

References

Crotty, K., Viswanathan, M., Kennedy, S., Edlund, M. J., Ali, R., Siddiqui, M., … & Gartlehner, G. (2024). Psychotherapies for the treatment of borderline personality disorder: A systematic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 92(5), 275.

Li, Z., Chen, Y., Zhang, X., & Wang, Q. (2025). Intergenerational transmission of borderline personality disorder features, shame, and non-suicidal self-injury through perceived parental invalidation. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 12(1), 28.

Lin, W., Tsai, F., & Chou, I. (2022). Current understanding of the genetics of Tourette syndrome. Biomedical Journal, 45(2), 271-279 Walden University NRNP-6635C Factors That Influence the Development of Psychopathology Week 1: Discussion.