What Causes Mental Disorders in Children?
The exact cause of most mental disorders is not known, but research suggests that a combination of factors, including heredity, biology, psychological trauma, and environmental stress, might be involved. • Heredity (genetics): Many mental disorders run in families, suggesting that the disorders, or more accurately, a vulnerability to the disorders, might be passed on from parents to children through genes. (Genes are the basic biological unit of heredity. They contain instructions for the function of each cell in the body.) • Biology: Some mental disorders have been linked to special chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters help nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other. If these chemicals are out of balance or not working properly, messages might not make it through the brain correctly, leading to symptoms. In addition, defects in or injury to certain areas of the brain also have been linked to some mental disorders. • Psychological trauma: Some me
