Synopsis
What causes psychiatric disorders to appear? Are they primarily the result of people's environments, or of their genes? Increasingly, we are told that research has confirmed the importance of genetic influences on schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism. But it is not true, as frequently reported in the popular media, that genes for the major psychiatric disorders have already been discovered. In fact, researchers' initial "discoveries" are rarely replicated. Research methods such as family, twin, and adoption studies have laid the foundations for the current worldwide effort to identify the genes presumed underlie these conditions; Dr. Jay Joseph argues that molecular genetic researchers would be well advised to take a hard second look at these foundations, which are far weaker than they believe. Theories based on genetic research are having a profound impact on both scientific and public thinking, as well as on social policy decisions. In addition, genetic theories influence the types of clinical treatments received by people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.
Yet, as the author demonstrates, these theories do not stand up to critical examination. Like his previous work, The Gene Illusion, Genetic Research in Psychiatry and Psychology Under the Microscope, this will be a controversial book and it is sure to spark intense discussion among those interested in the causes of mental disorders. The author challenges many positions viewed by mainstream psychiatry and psychology as established facts. He devotes individual chapters to ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder. In the process, he shows that textbooks and other secondary sources sometimes provide misleading or inaccurate accounts of research put forward as supporting the genetic position. This book provides an important counterargument to the current widespread belief that our destiny lies in our genes. As gene-finding exercises continue to fail and the weakness of the premise becomes more apparent, we may look for a paradigm shift in psychiatry away from genetic and biological explanations of mental disorders and towards a greater understanding of how family, social, and political environments contribute to human psychological distress. Jay Joseph, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.
Since 1998, his articles on genetic research in psychiatry and psychology have appeared in journals such as Developmental Review, The American Journal of Psychology; Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs; Politics and the Life Sciences; History of Psychiatry; The Journal of Mind and Behavior; Psychiatric Quarterly; New Ideas in Psychology; and Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry. He is currently an Associate Editor of Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, and an Assessing Editor of The Journal of Mind and Behavior. The 2003 United Kingdom edition of his first book, The Gene Illusion: Genetic Research in Psychiatry and Psychology Under the Microscope, was followed by a revised 2004 North American edition by Algora Publishing.
by Ben Goldacre
