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Biological Nature Vs. Nurture

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Pulling from the biological perspective, genetics is the study of heredity. Through these means, this paper explores the role that biological factors play in sex differences in mental health. In order to understand the effects of genes on an individual, the mediated effects of the environment are also taken into consideration. A major argument in the field of genetics is the nature vs. nurture debate regarding the role of genes and the environment that constitute the fate of an individual. Some research has found support for sex differences in depression accounted by differences in inheritance of depression, a benefit from twin studies (Rice, Harold, & Thapar, 2002). If depression runs in the biological family, then the chances of developing depression are much higher in that individual, regardless of sex.
Some studies have considered how the gene for a specific serotonin transporter can play a role in susceptibility to depression. Serotonin is a chemical important in balancing moods, and so it is believed that a deficiency in serotonin may be a cause for depression (McIntosh, 2015). The predictive role of serotonin in depression is exemplified by the monoamine hypothesis that biologically depression is due to lower levels of serotonin (Eley et al., 2010; McIntosh, 2015). For this reason, researchers have studied the effects that a serotonin gene transporter can have on depression
Early childhood experiences of maltreatment have been found to be strongly predictive of the

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