What Makes Us Who We Are?

Abstract

As child and adolescent psychiatrists, it is our job to identify factors that influence the behaviors seen in front of us. Often the question is asked whether these factors are primarily due to nature or nurture: Is someone born a "bad kid," or are there environmental exposures that lead to less than ideal behaviors? Factors such as racism, poverty, bullying, social isolation, and even where we grow up could play a part in the behaviors seen. This is one of the most rewarding, but at times can be one of the most frustrating, parts of our job as child and adolescent psychiatrists. Hopefully we can explore the factors influencing behaviors seen by the children we work with, highlighting the good in them and the situations that have led to the concerns seen. At the same time, we can become frustrated knowing that some of these factors are difficult for us to change as an individual child and adolescent psychiatrist, such as racism, poverty, inequalities in education, or family support. Bearing witness to these societal issues and their impact on our patients hopefully sparks advocacy efforts toward larger system changes.