ABSTRACT
Route map of the chapter
This chapter describes some of the main forms of psychopathology and discusses contemporary accounts of their causes (aetiology). It is divided into five main sections covering anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders and eating disorders. These topics are chosen because they represent some of the most prevalent and most thoroughly researched psychopathologies (e.g. depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia), and they also represent psychopathologies that are of contemporary interest, either because of media interest (e.g. eating disorders) or because they give the reader an insight into broader ethical and political issues related to psychopathology (e.g. PTSD).
