Chapter 8 Textbook

Question 1

What two dimensions do the concept of mental disorder consist of

Answer 1

1)it entals the experience of the disorder itself(specific symptoms)

2) social dimension
- >human beings attribute meaning to their symptoms
- >these meanings arise from their interactions with other people

Question 2

What does research on mental illness include

Answer 2

• it includes prevalence, patterns of mental disorders, costs of inadequately treated mental illness, stigmatization and medicalization
• note contemporary sociologial research on mental illness tend to lean towards the more subjective end of the continuum

Question 3

What is the definition of a mental disorder

Answer 3

• it is by definition a psychological, biological or behavioral dysfunction that interferes with daily life
• > a;terations in thinking, mood or behavior associated with significant distress and impaired functioning

Question 4

Can mental disorders affect you indirectly

Answer 4

-yes, through a family friend, co-worker, etc experiencing it

Question 5

Do mental illness affect different populations differently

Answer 5

• yes immigrants and Northern residents have less incidences of anxiety and mood disorders
• the LGBTQ community has more individuals who have anxiety and mood disorders

Question 6

What is the single greatest predictor of a mental illness occuring

Answer 6

• the greatest predictor of a mental illness occuring is socioeconomic status
• > people of lower status have higher rates of most types of mental illness
• > especially mood and anxiety disorders

Question 7

Describe the social causation hypothesis

Answer 7

• suggests that more life stresses and fewer resources characterize the lives of the lower class
• > contributing to the emergence of mental illness

-more supportive with mood and anxiety disorders

Question 8

Can retreatism as described by Merton apply to mental illness

Answer 8

-yes it can

Question 9

What is the social selection hypothesis

Answer 9

• people with mental disorders can fall into lower economic strata because of difficulties in daily functioning
• more supportive for individuals with schizophrenia, conduct disorders and ADHD

Question 10

Can changes in the local, regional, national or global economic patterns lead to economic difficulties

Answer 10

-yes

Question 11

Is mental illness most common in young adults

Answer 11

• yes
• > most adults who have been diagnosed with a mental illness state that their symptoms began during childhood
• eg; the closer individuals are to high school graduation, the larger the proprotion who reported symptoms of psychological distress
• eg; the more time adolescents spend on social media, the more likely they are to experiences symptoms of anxiety and depression

Question 12

What does Lalonde argue about youth suiciides regarding Indigenous communities

Answer 12

• argues that Indigenous communities which experience high rates of youth suicide are those that are the least “culturally health”
• > this is where cultural continuity has been the most disrupted

Question 13

Describe some of the impacts of mental illnesses

Answer 13

• higher rates of teen pregnancies and a greater risk of marital instability
• mental illness is also associated with lower levels of educational attainment, lower employment rates and lower incomes
• > they must also bear direct or indirect financial costs

Question 14

Why might treatment not be provided to those with mental illnesses

Answer 14

1) lack of services
2) perceptions of treatment as inadequate
3) discomfort with the self-disclosure that accompanies treatment
4) Perceptions of neglect or stigmatization within their own families or communities

Question 15

How does media portray those with mental illnesses

Answer 15

-both fictional and non-fictional media frame people with mental disorders as unpredictable, violent, dangeorus and criminal

Question 16

How does self-stigma in an individual result

Answer 16

• even if they not personally experienced instances of direct stigmatization or discrimination
• > awareness of negative attitudes towards mental illness in society can lower self-esteem and increase feelings of demoralization

-note more stigma associated with the mental illness, the less likely that individual is to seek help for their problems

Question 17

How are mental illnesses medicalized

Answer 17

• psychiatrists determine which thoughts or behaviors constitute a mental illness
• they incorporate this into the DSM
• they explain that these particular thoughts and behaviors are deviant because they cause significant distress and impairments in daily functioning
• psychiatrists then provide measures of social control to improve quality of life and level of functioning for the individuals

Question 18

Where were those with mental illnesses put to in the eighteenth century

Answer 18

• they were put into “madhouses”

- >so that others in society would feel safe

Question 19

What happened to those with mental illnesses in the nineteenth century

Answer 19

• madhouses were replaced by asylums
• > as doctors reported with appropriate treatment, people with mental illnesses could be trained to conform to soceity’s norms

-these asylums later became known as mental hospitals or psychiatric instutions

Question 20

What is the definition of deinstitutionalization in reference to mental disorders

Answer 20

• it is the social control of people with mental illnesses in community-based programs rather than institutions
• note deinstitutionalization is more effective in the long term and is considerably less expensive

Question 21

What are the range of treatment options today for those with mental disorders

Answer 21

• [psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication, occupational therapy and social supports
• the combination of medical support and psycho social support is particularly effective for event the most severe mental illnesses

Question 22

What are the drawbacks of deinstutionalization

Answer 22

• many individuals do not have a network of family relationships
• the experience of any type of serious illness contributes to the dissolution of many marriages
• therefore, those who have close support networks may do very well with community based
• > but those lacking family networks may not
• > therefore, the reduction in hospital-based service was accompanied by insufficient increases in community-based resources

Question 23

Describe the AT home project

Answer 23

• it basically houses individuals with mental illnesses first
• > and then provides them a viable treatment plan

Question 24

Are people with mental disorders more likely to commit violent crimes

Answer 24

• no
• > people with mental illnesses are more likely to be the victims of the crimes rather than the perpetrators
• > nevertheless, they are over represented in the criminal justice system

Question 25

What did Penrose suggest for a relationship between mental illness and crime

Answer 25

• when one contracts, the other expands
• so in the case of mental illness
• > when resources for deinstutionalization fall through(contract), the rate of crime increase(expands)

Question 26

What are the two ways that individuals with mental illness face social control

Answer 26

-through stigmatization and medicalization

Question 27

What is a disease paradigm

Answer 27

• the policies and programs addressing treatment and support available to people with mental disorders
• > emphasize ameliorating symptoms that distress and impair an individuals functioning

Question 28

What is the discrimination paridigm

Answer 28

• emphasizes the role that discrimination plays in the daily experience of people with a mental illness
• > these programs and policies make up the deviance dance

Question 29

Is the deviance dance regarding mental illness made up of the discrimination paridigm and the disease paradigm

Answer 29

-yes

Question 30

What are stigma management techniques that people with mental illnesses use

Answer 30

1) Divide social worlds
- >carefully managing who is permitted to know about their illness

2) Try to pass
- >by hiding their disorders

3) Deflecting
- >individuals distance themselves from the label of mentally ill
- >individuals may draw upon the public created image of people with mental illness as being dangerous and unpredictable
- >that they are not similar to these portrayed individuals
- they may also say that this disorder is a smal part of their life
- >they may not have a mental illness and are simply overworked

4) Challenging
- >actively fights back against the external stigmatizing force
- >eg; directly confronting people who stigmatize them or who stigmatize mental illness more generally
- challenging can also be less confrontational and more educational when the situation arises
- challenging can also include individuals overcompensating for stigmatization, trying to show they as being competent as the average person

Question 31

What factors are associated with active resistance, according to Thoits

Answer 31

1) Past experience with stigma resistance
2) Past familiarity with mental illness in a friend or family member
3) Greater coping resources
4) Holding and identifying multiple roles within society
5) Less severe, more time limited mental illness

Question 32

How do those who deflect with mental illnesses do in life

Answer 32

• they have higher levels of well-being

- >but this effect wanes to some extent with more serious mental illnesses

Question 33

How do those who challenge mental illnesses do in life

Answer 33

• they do have a better quality of life, fewer symptoms, higher levels of self-esteem and a stronger sense of empowerment
• this effect continues for those with serious mental illnesses``

Question 34

Does Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Universal Declaration of Human RIghts and Provincial human right codes guarantee equality and prohibit discrimination on the basis of a mental and physical disability?

Answer 34

-yes

Question 35

What is Alberta’s My Mental Health program

Answer 35

• it is created to eliminate the misconceptions about mental illness
• > meant to reduce stigmatization and increase people;s attention to their own mental health

Question 36

Are certain types of mental health stigma management programs more effective than others

Answer 36

• yes
• > more effective are programs that are developed for very specific audiences
• > eg; new Canadians, youth, health care practicioners, employers
• > eg; Jack.org targets youth specifically

Question 37

Do support groups for mental illness provide detailed information about the new medicine available

Answer 37

• yes

- >the effectiveness, as well as the side effects of specific treatments

Question 38

What are the four strategies of the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Action Program

Answer 38

1) Information
- >provide info to health care workers
- >create info on databases

2) Policy and Service Development
- >coordinate international training networks
- >provide guidance on policy development

3) Advocacy
- >coordinate efforts to educate the public and to protect promote patient rights

4) Research
- >provide training to mental health researchers
- >assist in finding sponsorship for research