Lecture 2: Sociological Perspectives Flashcards
sociological reserch questions
Impact of social circumstances on state of mind
sociological outcomes of interest
- Measurements of mental health and illness
- Broader community samples
- Outcomes depend on the question of interest
The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)
The CES-D is one of the most common sociological scales for measuring mental well-being
Benefits of the CES-D
- It’s quick
- It’s standardized
- It’s easy to understand
- It’s efficient to collect data this way
Criticisms of the CES-D
- It’s overly subjective
- People underreport their symptoms
- They don’t capture all of the signs/symptoms of depression
- It’s culturally biased
- They don’t necessarily measure a specific type of mental illness; it’s more of a generalized measure of well-being.
underlying causes of sociological approaches
- Social life and organization (stressors, discrimination, relationships, roles, work)
- Outside the individual
underlying causes of biomedical approaches
- General/neurophysiological processes (some sort of underlying pathology)
- Within the individual
outcomes of interests in sociological approaches
- Generalized distress
- Medicalization of behaviours
outcomes of interests in biomedical approaches
Specific disorder
target populations of sociological approaches
Communities
target populations of biomedical approaches
Individuals, generally with the most severe conditions
measurement of sociological approaches
Scales; survey questionnaires (CES-D)
measurement of biomedical approaches
DSM; discrete categories
treatment in sociological appraoches
Change social environment (ex. Alter circumstances)
treatment in biomedical approaches
Pharmaceuticals (ex. Adjust brain chemistry)
Emilie Durheim Suicide finding
Those with the best mental health were found in societies/groups with high levels of social integration and social regulation
why is social integration important?
- Managing expectations
- Stronger social ties
- A sense of purpose
- Better able to cope with stressful experiences
social stratification
Unequal distribution of valued resources across social groups
how is inequality created and maintained?
through institutional and interpersonal processes
resources and health
- Those who have more resources tend to have better health
- It’s not just about absolute and relative resources; it’s about the context in which people are experiencing the resources
social group
2 or more people who share similar characteristics or experiences
social groups differ in:
- Power
- Prestige and status
- Influence
- Resources
- Civil rights
sources of inequality
- Work
- Economic conditions
- Relationships
how do experiences of (dis)advantage affect individual well-being?
- Distribution of life conditions
- Social evaluation
culture
- norms, values, and expectations are agreed upon and upheld by a particular culture
- context-dependent
critical aspects of culture
Group cohesion
Meaning/purpose
cohort
a group of individuals who are born at a particular time and place, and who share experiences at similar points in time
stigma
when people treat others differently because they have a mental illness or are seeking treatment for a mental illness
