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Life events and mental health

Peter Kinderman discusses the role of life events and environmental factors in the development of mental health problems.

In this week’s videos and papers we discuss the role of life events and environmental factors – nurture – in the development of mental health problems. This video introduces the topic of the week – the role of life events in mental health. We hear again from Professor John Read, who sets out his view that the best way to explain the origin of mental health problems – and especially differences between people – is by looking at life events and the different experiences we have in our lives.


Remember, again, that these videos are intended to introduce, not replace, the reading (the linked papers) we’ve recommended.

To understand a little more about these ideas, the papers and scientific journal articles are the main source of learning. The videos in total will last about 7 minutes, but we think it will take about an hour to read and digest the information in the papers. That should give you some time to engage in the discussions with your fellow learners on the course.


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Psychology and Mental Health: Beyond Nature and Nurture

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FutureLearn - Learning For Life

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