Studying health through three approaches

• A context is explored through the three approaches — biological (brain chemistry, genes), cognitive (thoughts, appraisal) and sociocultural (environment, culture).
• The key concepts — especially causality, measurement and bias — frame how we judge the evidence.
• Much health evidence is correlational, so causal claims must be made cautiously.

Key idea: the biopsychosocial model treats health as the product of biological, psychological and social factors acting together.

Diagnosing mental health disorders

Clinicians classify disorders using the DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association) and the ICD-11 (World Health Organization).

• The guide names examples such as major depressive disorder (MDD), eating disorders, PTSD, OCD and anxiety disorders.
• Reliability = different clinicians reach the same diagnosis; validity = the diagnosis reflects a real, distinct condition.
• Rosenhan (1973), "On being sane in insane places", raised doubts about diagnostic validity and the power of labels.

Concept — bias: diagnosis can carry cultural and gender bias, because ideas of "normal" behaviour vary between cultures.

Which is right?

Explaining depression — three approaches

• Biological: reduced serotonin activity and genetic vulnerability. Caspi et al. (2003) found the 5-HTT gene raised depression risk after stressful life events — a gene-environment interaction.
• Cognitive: Beck's negative cognitive triad — negative views of the self, world and future — and negative schemas maintain depression.
• Sociocultural: stressful life events and low social support raise risk (e.g. Brown & Harris's vulnerability factors).

Concept — causality: no single cause. A diathesis-stress view combines a vulnerability with a trigger.

Which is right?

Health problems: obesity, drug misuse, social media addiction

• Obesity: biological (genetics, appetite hormones such as leptin), cognitive (habits, self-regulation) and sociocultural (an obesogenic environment, food marketing) determinants.
• Drug misuse/addiction: the dopamine reward pathway is reinforced by drug-taking, interacting with learning and social context.
• Social media addiction: intermittent reinforcement and social comparison; evidence is growing but largely correlational.

Risk factors raise the likelihood of a problem; protective factors lower it — neither is deterministic.

Which is right?

Preventing and treating health problems

• Biological treatments: e.g. SSRIs increase the availability of serotonin for depression.
• Psychological treatments: e.g. CBT restructures unhelpful thoughts and behaviours; strong evidence for depression and anxiety.
• Prevention / health promotion: campaigns work best when a threat is paired with clear, achievable steps (self-efficacy).

Concept — measurement: effectiveness is judged with controlled trials and effect sizes, not testimonials.

Which is right?

Sort each idea to its approach

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Thinking critically about health research

• Causality vs correlation: many health links (e.g. social-media use and mood) are correlational — a third variable or reverse causation may explain them.
• Bias: self-reported health behaviour suffers social desirability; diagnosis can carry cultural bias.
• Perspective & responsibility: prevention raises questions about individual vs societal responsibility for health.

Strong causal claims need experiments (e.g. randomised controlled trials of a treatment), not correlation alone.

Which is right?

Match each term to its description

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The big ideas to know

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