Abstract
Mental disorders are disorders of the cognitive, emotional or behavioral condition of an individual. They can have several origins and are usually associated with expressive anguish and difficulty in various aspects of life, including school education. Mental disorders are accompanied by social stigmas which may be linked to the belief in genetic determinism, i.e., in the perception that mental disorders are unchanging. The objective of the present study was to understand the perception of Brazilian teachers of all levels about the etiology of mental disorders. The results showed that most of the teachers studied believe in the predominance or exclusivity of genes in mental disorders, and do not consider the environment as a potential influencer of their occurrence or mitigation. This perception approaches the belief in genetic determinism and can justify the labeling of students with mental disorders and the consequent perpetuation of social stigmas. It is therefore recommended to promote knowledge in this area, including knowledge of the dynamics of interaction between genes and the environment, helping educators to prepare and to be able to act according to the reality of each student without creating inappropriate stereotypes.
Highlights
Los trastornos mentales son trastornos de la condición cognitiva, emocional o conductual de un individuo
Knowing the etiology of mental disorders may help to prevent or mitigate the expression/symptoms (Uher& Zwicker, 2017), to deal with in a personalized way considering the student profile (Asbury & Plomin, 2013), and to minimize or extinguish deterministic beliefs (Gericke et al, 2017) and social stigmas that are negatively associated with it (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2001; Ke et al, 2014)
Our evaluation of Brazilian teachers' perception about the etiology of mental disorders revealed a belief in genetic determinism by a substantial part of the sample
Summary
Los trastornos mentales son trastornos de la condición cognitiva, emocional o conductual de un individuo. These factors are so deeply entangled that it is often difficult to know what is due to genetics and what is due to the environment (Briley et al, 2018) It is even more complex for many mental disorders, that leads to behavioral not socially accepted, the symptoms are defined synthetically or artificially, based in part on what is or is not "normal" in sociocultural groups (Plomin et al, 2011; American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p.14). Do Brazilian educators have this theoretical knowledge and, even if they have it, can they apply it or extend it to their class? Knowing how to make the transposition from a theoretical approach to educational practice would enable teachers to rid students of an immutable condition based on the belief in genetic determinism, which creates stigmas and a self-image that will accompany the student to adulthood
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