SOC363: 9. Social Contexts Flashcards
Social Contexts
! The study of social contexts:
! Social contexts are the layers of the social realities in which we are embedded.
! Specifically: memberships in social units shared with others.
Social Contexts
-! E.g., students within a class within a university within a community within a nation…..
! How do you know what a social context is?” Members are:
“ Exposed to the same inputs.
broader and broader shared context depending on level
Social Contexts
-“ Boundary definitions of the context are possible.
“ Membership contained by boundaries.
! Potential importance of social contexts :
Social Contexts
-“ “Invisible causation” – bypasses consciousness
invisible - tracking own experience - not aware of the differences
we share experience so we don’t see the problems
just cause it’s a normal part of our life doesn’t mean it’s not affecting us
Social Contexts
-hand: how social context intervenes to amplify
no longer studying individual differences
“ The invisible hand: amplifies or moderates the importance of individual-level factors
Social Contexts
-“ Re-locates causation away from the individual to the social environment
“ The remote source of the problems we sense at the individual level
Types of Social Contexts
Schools ! Classrooms ! Workplaces ! Communities ! Countries
Types of Social Contexts
! Social Networks
! Neighbourhoods
! Df By Anshensel:
“ Clusters of people living in close proximity to one another in a particular geographical area
Types of Social Contexts
More Elaborated df: a geographically defined and bounded area of a larger community, characterized by common physical and social resources, higher density of interaction, common economic and social interests, and a “place” identification.
Social Contexts in the Stress Process
2 way classification of stressors:
Vertical – level of social context (starting at ind processing through layers to the macro level (national level)
Social Contexts in the Stress Process
We have seen this before – Note the different layers of social context involved:
Ind => fam => work places => neighborhoods => communities => Regions => nation
Social Contexts in the Stress Process
Aneshensel discusses three dimensions of neighborhoods and the prof adds a 4
Spatial:
The physical boundaries that define the neighbourhood, the “container” for social interaction among residents.
Aneshensel: Four Dimensions of Neighbourhood
” E.g., Census tracts, community designations, residents’ definitions.
Spatial: Descriptor profile that makes it diff than other neighborhoods
Aneshensel: Four Dimensions of Neighbourhood
! Structural
! The socioeconomic and more general social inequalities across neighbourhoods,
relating to advantage vs. disadvantage. Implies some internal homogeneity.
Aneshensel: Four Dimensions of Neighbourhood
-" E.g., social class of the neighbourhood, level of segregation, low levels of public resources, high crime, income inequality, crowding, pollution.
Aneshensel: Four Dimensions of Neighbourhood
Social – content of interaction in the neighborhood (shared expectations that come from living in a neighborhood)
! The content of the interaction within the neighbourhood, and accompanying norms, culture, and shared values.
“ E.g., Collective trust, collective efficacy, social cohesion.
Aneshensel: Four Dimensions of Neighbourhood
-! Compositional (added):
! The sociodemographic differences in composition of neighbourhoods.
“ E.g., prevalence of a specific ethnic group, prevalence of family types, number of groups in neighbourhood, similarity of groups, age / gender distributions
Aneshensel: Four Dimensions of Neighbourhood
** compositional: profile of neighborhood according to socio-demographic characteristics (ie. prevalence of an ethnic group, etc.)
How Neighbourhood Matters (in General)
How does a neighbourhood influence an individual’s
mental health? Many answers possible. Some are:
proliferation of threat and insecurity (contextual stress)
absence of useful resources to cope in difficult circumstances.
How Neighbourhood Matters (in General)
safe places from abuse, opportunities to interact with neghbourhood overcrowding
- Disadvantaged neighborhoods- contextual stress
How Neighbourhood Matters (in General)
! Absence of control over interaction.
- Absence of control over interaction (cant control who you run into and when)
! Neighbourhood disorder
How Neighbourhood Matters (in General)
- ! Stagnancy vs. change in social profile; upward vs. downward mobility.
- Stagnancy vs change in social profile= Amount of residential turnover
stagnancy: turnover in neighbourhood
How Neighbourhood Matters (in General)
! Available leisure resources
Social comparison – neighbors as a reference point
you compare own life to neighbours - if you see theres isn’t ok then compare to your own, you might think your life is ok
How Neighbourhood Matters (in General)
! Clarity of norms- Clarity of norms in the neighborhood= how much consensus there is about appropriate behavior
An Overall Model: Neighbourhoods in the Stress Process
A heuristic model to understand the possibilities:
An Overall Model: Neighbourhoods in the Stress Process
- Ways in which neighborhoods at the ind level act as predictors of mental health
neighbourhood stressors: physical disorder, built environ - neighbourhood resources: public services, institutional resources, collective efficacy, trust, green space
An Overall Model: Neighbourhoods in the Stress Process
- we need to understand the back and forth
- If you are the victim of a crime in a poor and rich neighborhood= different consequences on mental health
An Overall Model: Neighbourhoods in the Stress Process
-individual efforts indirect effects to neighbourhood stressors - life events, chronic stress, work stress
- individual resources: personal resources, social resources
resources affect mental health
An Overall Model: Neighbourhoods in the Stress Process
Neighbourhood stressors and neighbourhood resources, cross levels
neighbourhood stressors and resources cross over to individual level
Including….
The direct impact of contextual stressors and resources
on individuals, bypassing their individual risk factors.
! Aneshensel on the “cross-level” effect:
! Impacts everyone in the neighbourhood, not just those with individual level disadvantage.
Including….
Direct impact- bypassing all other issues in their individual risk at the ind level (changes in mental health that had to do with place they lived, worked , etc! everyone subjected to it)
Including….
! The interaction of the contextual and the individual:
- Contextual resources may help buffer…. having close friends in the neighborhood
Including….
-Interaction of the contextual and the individual:
! Contextual threat may multiply the effect of individual stressors. - May multiply – ie going through the process of divorce and neighborhood could multiply problems
Including….
-! Contextual resources may replace the absence of individual resources - Contextual may replace! context may be able to help
Main Pathway
emphasis is on pathways connecting the neighbourhood level to the individual.
Emphasis on perceived neighbourhood disorder (Ross
and Mirowsky) as the link: the perception of physical
and social signs of the absence of social control.
Main Pathway
What is neighborhood disorder: physical and social signs of the absence of control
- Less trust
- More isolated
Main Pathway
-! Weaker social control implies threat and insecurity.
! People stay inside more; know less about neighbours;
trust them less; are more isolated when difficulties arise.
Main Pathway
- Higher levels of neighborhood disorder in poorer neighborhoods
typical perceived problems of neighbourhood disorder
Neighbourhood Disorder
Grafitti, noise, vandalism, abandoned buildings, run down property, crime, substance use, hanging out on streets, rubbish
Turner: Disorder and Personal Victimization
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Turner: Disorder and Personal Victimization
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Turner: Disorder and Personal Victimization
! What is disorder a sign of in neighbourhoods?
! Previous research suggests more negative stressful life events, and more chronic stress of various types, at the individual level.
Turner: Disorder and Personal Victimization
higher risk of divorce
stress proliferation argument
“ Part of the stress proliferation argument.
! Reduced social support, due to weaker social ties
absent of social support and crime
Turner: Disorder and Personal Victimization
-“ Residential turnover high; trust is low
“ Increased stress on parents translates to poorer parenting and less parental support.
stress in parents life affects how they parent children
Turner: Disorder and Personal Victimization
-! Victimization a natural extension of the presence of
disorder, due to the absence of social control and
withdrawal of residents indoors… making the external
environment less regulated and more threatening.
Data and Measures
-! National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence…
! Sample is 2,039 children aged 10-17.
! Important Measures:
Data and Measures
Neighbourhood Disorder:
“ Witnessed drug sales, witnessed arrest, presence of gangs, police raids, prohibited to
play outside, physical decay, gangs at school, students bring knife or gun to school.
Data and Measures
Neighborhood disorder => personal victimization => how this translates into mental health (US)
Some of the measures they include in the study
Data and Measures
! Victimization:
“ Property crime, peer-based victimization (inc.bullying), maltreatment, sexual victimization, witness family violence, witness community violence.
Victimization in some sense is a natural extension of the process of disorders in neighborhood
Data and Measures
! Distress:
“ Anger/aggression, anxiety, depression, dissociation, post-traumatic stress from the
Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children
Data and Measures
-! Family support: " Four items reported by the child ! Other life events. " 9 non-violent stressful events Mental health = measured through distress Childs view of support from the family
Victimization Higher in Disordered Neighbourhoods
Differences in Rates of Victimization in High vs.
Low Disorder Neighbourhoods:
Low disorder neighborhoods vs high disorder neighbourhoods
Victimization Higher in Disordered Neighbourhoods
Rates higher for all kinds of victimization…
huge dif in victimization between low and high disorder
Victimization Higher in Disordered Neighbourhoods
- Any property victimization (twice the rate in high neighborhoods)
- Peer victimization
- Sexual victimization
Decoding the Effect of Disorder: Follow the Pathways
Community disorder has a huge impact (.64) on the number of past year victimizations
victimization is most powerful mediator
loss of support also important
Decoding the Effect of Disorder: Follow the Pathways
Important Pathways….. ==> Explain effect of disorder
And then the number of past year victimizations translates further into higher levels of distress
Community disorder has a negative impact on family social support (-.38)
Decoding the Effect of Disorder: Follow the Pathways
Decrease in family support increases distress (inverse)
SO… 2 results…
Higher victimization rates BUT also less family support at the same time
The Social-Ecological Model
Is a specific elaboration of the structural model which
focuses on “person-environment” fit, i.e., the contingencies
in meaning defined by the multi-level combination of
context and person.
The Social-Ecological Model
Specific model of the structural mode, discussed
- ie. is there a fit between your skills and the context of the university?
- fit of the person to the env
The Social-Ecological Model
! Thus: it means something different to be poor in a poor
neighbourhood than to be poor in a rich neighbourhood.
Which is worse…..
The Social-Ecological Model
! Two models (Wheaton and Clarke, 2003):
“ Compound Advantage: highest returns to mental health occur if you are personally advantaged, and you live around others who are advantaged.
The Social-Ecological Model
-“ Compound Disadvantage: worst consequences for those who are personally disadvantaged and live around those equally disadvantaged.
The Social-Ecological Model
multiplicative model of how layers of social reality
combine
thinks there’s a good fit between context and own skills
What Compound Disadvantage Looks Like
- The effect of the early childhood disadvantage on externalizing problems
- Effect of childhood neighborhood problems according to parents level of education on externalizing problems of ppl
What Compound Disadvantage Looks Like
Bottom line! percent of kids living with a parent with a college degree (living in a disadvantaged neighborhood has no effects at all on externalizing problems in
adulthood IF their parents have a university education (in a disadvantaged neighborhood)
What Compound Disadvantage Looks Like
- Middle line– proff doesn’t discuss it
- Top: parents with less than a high school education (ind disadvantage in the context of the neighborhood! it is those kids living in a disadvantaged neighborhoods who have parents with less than high school education who are most effected)
What Compound Disadvantage Looks Like
Compound disadvantage – occurs at the ind level and the neighborhood level
o Neighbourhood disadvantage only matters for those with
personal disadvantage
What Compound Disadvantage Looks Like
-o Parental education nullifies the effect of neighbourhood disadvantage on children.
with parents education, disadvantage is gone
it’s kids with disadvantaged parents more at risk with prblems
Wheaton and Clarke (2003) Expanded
! Cross-level effects are at the core of understanding
the impact of neighbourhoods.
Cross level effects: Where we get most interested in the relevance of social context
Wheaton and Clarke (2003) Expanded
! The concept of person - environment fit is central
to understanding who is at risk.
! Stop focusing on the present, and focus on the
entire life history:
Wheaton and Clarke (2003) Expanded
-! Life is a series of linked trajectories, shifting due to changes in experience and exposure, enfranchising the concept of longterm causation over lives.
! Past neighbourhoods may matter even more than current
neighbourhoods (where you grew up), depending on timing…
Hypotheses for the Effects of Past Contexts
- These 2 hypotheses= Effect of childhood neighborhood on adult mental health
• Contextual continuity hypothesis: ppl’s neighbourhood has stable quality
same neighbourhood characteristics over life
