Final answer:
Theories about mental illness seek to provide explanations and are tested through empirical research. These theories must be simple, verifiable, and consider the patient's belief as per the explanatory model. Supernatural explanations are generally rejected in psychological and sociological theories due to lack of empirical evidence.
Step-by-step explanation:
Theories about the etiology of mental illness (MI) aim to Provide explanations for the conditions they investigate. This involves crafting hypotheses and testing those ideas through empirical research, which seeks to include evidence while simultaneously avoiding the trap of affirming causation based on an absence of evidence.
A scientifically robust theory or explanation must withstand scrutiny and ideally should be simple, conservative, possessing depth, and not overly complex as in the case of many conspiracy theories.
An integral part of understanding causality in health is considering the patient's perspective, such as through Arthur Kleinman's explanatory model, which suggests that healthcare providers should engage with a patient's own beliefs about their illness to inform treatment approaches.
Psychological and sociological explanations for phenomena, as discussed by theorists like Sigmund Freud and Emil Durkheim, reject supernatural explanations due to the inability to verify them empirically. This underscores a foundational principle of scientific inquiry—emphasis on verifiability and empirical evidence.