Social Causation Hypothesis Flashcards
Outline social causation hypothesis as an explanation for SZ
- States that SZ is caused through the relationship of urban living and only acts as a trigger for symptoms instead of a direct cause
3 factors: - Social class - people who are in lower socio-economic groups have higher incidences of SZ (4/1000)
- Could be due to receiving different standards of health care or having poorer living conditions increasing stress
- Social adversity - SZ is more associated with living in cities than rural communities
- Might be that something in the city life, such as stress, that leads to SZ
- Immigrant population - higher incidences of SZ have been found in African-Caribbeans and black immigrants
- Might be due to them being more disadvantaged in education/workplace that can lead to unemployment or poor living conditions that enhances stress
Research to support?
P- Cooper (2005)
E- Found that the rate of SZ in unskilled labour workers was 4.1x higher than managerial workers
E- Provides evidence for social class influencing SZ
Weakness?
P - Evidence from research is not valid
E - Due to being difficult to determine whether social factors actually cause schizophrenia or whether they are in fact a result of the disorder
E - This therefore lacks validity as data is only correlational
Applications?
P - Yes
E - This theory states that social factors cause symptoms of schizophrenia which means that treatments can be put in place in urban areas to aid the stress that sufferers may feel due to their environment and circumstance
E - This would therefore help to reduce incidences in high density places to improve community
Different theory?
P- Social drift hypothesis
E- Suggests that individuals who develop SZ are more likely to lose their jobs and so their socio-economic status becomes reduced
E- This theory offers a more realistic explanation than social causation hypothesis as research suggests there is a reciprocal relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health
