social causation to explain Sz (non bio explanation)

Question 1

introduction

Answer 1

• something in someone’s social position in life must be a partial explanation of Sz
• thought to trigger the symptoms

Question 2

paragraph 1 - urbanicity

Answer 2

• consistent finding in western industrialisation for the past 40 years is that incidence of Sz is much higher in urban than rural areas
• pederson and mortenson conducted a study on the relative risk of Sz in different types of environmenents
• found that indiviuals who spent the first 15 years of life in an urban area were 3 times as likely to be diagnosed with Sz

Question 3

what is the link between urbanicity and Sz?

Answer 3

• as population density rises, so does prevelance of Sz
• suggested to be because it makes life more competitive and this increases social defeat which is a stressor for Sz

Question 4

how is risk measured?

Answer 4

• if there is a relative risk greater than 1 then an exposure is harmful
• e.g. relative risk of 1.2 means those exposed are 20% more likely to develop the disorder

Question 5

paragraph 1 strength (urbanicity) - vassos

Answer 5

• performed a meta analysis from 4 studies including nearly 24000 cases of Sz
• correlated location and Sz risk
• found that at extremes the risk was 2.37 times higher for people in the most urban parts

Question 6

paragraph 1 weakness (urbanicity) - vassos is correlational

Answer 6

• correlational research lacks a cause and effect relationship
• may be a third variable e.g. genetic predisposition

Question 7

paragraph 2 - social adversity

Answer 7

• some children grow up in environments that are less favourable and so are more susceptible to mental disorders
• e.g. unemployment and poverty (often paired with living in the inner city e.g. high levels of crime)
• these factors may cause high levels of psychological stress leading to a trigger of Sz in those who are vulnerable

Question 8

how do urbanicity and social adversity overlap?

Answer 8

• the presence of social minorities and migrants in inner cities
• due to low housing prices many live in the inner city
• exposed to social exclusion and discrimination e.g. healthcare services unprepared for their needs

Question 9

paragraph 2 strength (social adversity) - hjem

Answer 9

• showed that social adversity in childhood related to the development of Sz later in life
• pressures linked to being part of a lower social class and related to stress

Question 10

paragraph 2 weakness (social adversity) - biased research

Answer 10

• research evidence is biased
• people from ethnic minority groups and lower social class are more likely to receive a label or diagnosis of Sz and so there will be greater intervention from social services etc.

Question 11

paragraph 3 - immigrant population

Answer 11

• in the UK, census data has consistently shown higher incidence of Sz in the afro-caribbean and black immigrant population
• the rate for second generation afro-caribbean immigrants is higher than for first generation immigrants
• immigrant population tends to be disadvantaged with regard to eductation, social class and standard of housing

Question 12

paragraph 3 strength (immigrants) - cooper

Answer 12

• systematic review of medical and psychological databases and found that there was high psychosis rates in ethnic minorities

Question 13

paragraph 3 weakness (immigrants) - social drift hypothesis

Answer 13

• refutes social causation and says that people with disorders such as Sz drift down social classes as they struggle to hold down a job suggesting that low social status is a consequence of Sz not a trigger

Question 14

what is a positive application of this explanation?

Answer 14

• proactive suggestions for improving mental health of children from ethnic minorities
• e.g. celebrating diversity and building positive ethnic identities