Human uniqueness and vulnerability to mental disorder
Summary Among all animals, humans stand out as uniquely vulnerable to mental disorder. Explaining this vulnerability constitutes a central challenge for psychiatry that requires an explicitly evolutionary approach. A necessary first step is a rigorous scientific account of human uniqueness: species-specific psychological/behavioural traits distinguishing Homo sapiens from other animals.
Authors
- Riadh Abed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2746-8098)
- Benjamin Griffin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6067-8417)
- Paul St John‐Smith
Institutions
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School (GB)
- Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The British Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2026-10-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2026.10827
- Primary Topic
- Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00