Question

What is the biopsychosocial perspective? Pick one disorder and describe that disorder from the biopsychosocial perspective.

Answer 1

The interaction of biological, psychological, and social aspects of developmental psychology form the essence of the holistic biopsychosocial perspective. The biopsychosocial perspective attributes complex phenomena or events to multiple causes. The biopsychosocial model is an interdisciplinary model that looks at the interconnection between biology, psychology, and socio-environmental factors. The model specifically examines how these aspects play a role in topics ranging from health and disease models to human development. The Biopsychosocial Model has received criticism about its limitations, but continues to carry influence in the fields of psychology, health, medicine, and human development. The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, people often offer single cause explanations for anxiety disorders, including professionals. Many people will often offer simplistic explanations of anxiety disorders. Common explanations include: brain imbalances; traumatic episodes from childhood, or catchall blame; poor parenting. Each of these explanations does have some merit. However, anxiety disorders are much more complex. Anxiety disorders result from a multitude of biological, psychological, and social factors that all interact to create and maintain these disorders. Anxiety experts usually explain anxiety and anxiety disorders using the biopsychosocial model. The biopsychosocial model proposes there are multiple, and inter-related causes of pathological anxiety. These causes can be roughly categorized into three main groups: biological causes, psychological causes, and environmental or social causes. The biological aspect of the biopsychosocial model refers to the body's physiological, adaptive responses to fear. It also refers to genetic traits, and the brain functioning that we inherit. Although we may be born with a biologically determined, heightened sensitivity to stress, this fact alone is insufficient to create an anxiety disorder. The psychological factors in the biopsychosocial model refer to our thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions about our experiences, our environment, and ourselves. These cognitive patterns affect our perceived sense of control over our environment. These cognitive patterns also influence how we assess and interpret events in our environment as either threatening or non-threatening. These thoughts about our environment, and ourselves, play a key role in the formation of an anxiety disorder. For instance, one child's mother makes a correction to her son's homework. He interprets this as helpful and indicative of his parent's confidence in his ability to learn. Another child's mother makes a correction to her daughter's homework, and instead of interpreting this as helpful, the daughter interprets this as an indication of her limitations, and her parent's lack of confidence in her abilities. This furthers strengthens her own lack of confidence in herself.