Sociology of Mental Illness Flashcards
Social Causation model of mental illness
Came following first large-scale surveys undertaken to understand social factors shaping mental health issues
Assumes that mental illness is an objective social fact
Aetiology of mental illness is explained largely in social/epidemiological terms
Identifiable social factors predict incidence of depression e.g. young, working-class women
Social class linked to social stress
Stresses associated with social deprivation (e.g. isolation, material deprivation) push venerable individuals into mental illness
Life experiences such as experience of illness, bereavement or relationship problems increase the prevalence of mental illnesses
What does the social causation model suggest are protective factors?
Social support is protective against the psychological impact of stressful life events
Psychosis and neurosis are associated with a severe lack of social support in particular
What has the social causation model achieved?
Helped guide DOH strategy - combination of social, economic and environmental policies to limit the extent of mental health
Emphasised the importance of community and individual responsibility instead of intervention of health and social services
Social inequalities and mental health
a sociological view
Inequalities create a sense of ‘social unfairness’ which breaks down social adhesion
Perceptions of inequalities cause individual thoughts of envy, worthlessness, stress etc
Combinations of circumstances + perceptions can lead to debt, overwork, unhealthy coping behaviours and demoralisation
What is a ‘social construction’?
How is it different to a ‘fact’?
Social construction is a worldview that everyday knowledge is ‘creatively produced’ by individuals
So what constitutes ‘social facts is established through social interactions and interpretations alone
Therefore all knowledge of the world is socially constructed!
Outline the labelling theory
Focusses on the ways in which social reaction to, and subsequent categorisation of, behaviour that doesn’t conform to social norms becomes socially constructed within societies
The more socially visible the deviant the behaviour, the more likely it is to be labelled as a MH disorder
What is the ‘iceberg of mental illness’?
Primary deviance describes manifested symptoms which are present in the masses
But only are few are diagnosed with MH disorders (secondary deviance)
History of ‘madness’
By 19th century, less restraint within asylums and a more structured environment with regular socialisation
Insanity was curable, patients treatment with respect and taught self-control
“Talking cure” came into place following Freud’s research into the unconscious
DSM-I published in 1952 which classified mental health disorders (influenced by psychoanalysis)
As aetiology for most MH disorders are unclear, you need to have a cut-off between normality and pathology so as to observe clinical syndromes
Impact of neuroscience
“Neuropsychiatry” has allowed for MH disorders to be regarded as disorders of brain functioning rather than disorders of the mind
This means that mental illnesses can no longer be regarded as a personal responsibility, therefore reducing social stigma + blame
If brain is conceived as a physiological system that can be known + predicted, it opens up MH to effective interventions
E.g. Neurochemical research identified abnormal metabolism of NTs as a major cause of depressive illness + SSRI’s were developed
The initial breakthrough focusing on neurobiological specificity of NT chemistry has widened to a ‘whole system’ view of neurochemical and physiological functions, now claimed that a map of human emotions may be drawn of the basis of understanding neurochemistry
Many neuropsychiatrists require a combination of 1) neurobiological, 2) psychosocial and 3) health service innervations alleviate suffering
