The Role of Social Factors in the Genesis of Mental Disorders: Development of Research in the 21st Century

Background: the important role of social factors in the development of mental disorders has long been known, but recently, due to the growth of mental disorders, including against the background of various global social crises, it seems necessary to summarize already existing knowledge in this field, as well as to consider new trends in the influence of social factors on the occurrence, course and prognosis of mental disorders.  The aim of review  was to analyse domestic and foreign studies on the influence of various social aspects of mental disorders in order to rationally solve clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitation and organizational problems. Material and methods:  the authors used the key words “social factors and mental disorders”, “risk factors for mental disorders”, “family factors in severe mental disorders”, “impact of disasters (man-made and natural) on mental health”, “network theory of mental disorders”. The authors selected available publications in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, eLibrary,  RSCI, Google Scholar, as well as relevant articles in the source lists of the reviewed papers.  Conclusion: the role of childhood and adolescent mental trauma in the etiopathogenesis of mental illness in adulthood is an object of many studies. The increase of social disasters cases (both natural and man-made) is reflected in the detection of PTSD. Family factors are considered of enormous importance and could have both favourable and negative effects. The gender-specific influence of social factors is more attributable to cultural differences, as well as to marital status, including the lower self-esteem of single women. Biopsychosocial model despite its widespread proclamation is underused in practice, which reduces the effectiveness of comprehensive therapy. First proposed in 2008, the network theory of mental disorders is rapidly evolving and is now a full-fledged  field of psychiatric research.