Sociology of Mental Illness Exam 2

Flashcards on Sociology of Mental Illness Exam 2 Study Guide Important definitions

Socioeconomic status (SES)

education level, income, and occupational prestige

Stressors

all events that can trigger the body’s stress response

Discriminatory stressor

chronic or acute stressors arising from discrimination

Nodes

actors in a social network

Relations

ties between actors

Boundary

What is considered part of the network

Alter

ego’s social ties

Cultural guides

social ties with pro-medical attitudes and experiences navigating mental health treatment

Cultural critics

social ties who distrust doctors and the medical treatment

High trust networks

the majority of alters express positive views of medical professionals

Low trust networks

the majority of alters express distrust of hostility towards medical professionals

Internalizing problems

turning problems onto oneself

Externalizing problems

turning problems towards others and other things

Vicarious discrimination

the distressing experiences of prejudice and discrimination that happen to members of one’s family and close friends

Stressor

life event (divorce)

Context

How an individual interprets a life event (the individual feels like a failure)

Stress

the body’s response

Coping

social support, self-esteem

Distress

Mental health outcome (sometimes characterized by MI, such as depression)

Marital resource model

marriage provides many social resources needed to navigate through society, such as emotional support, financial support, benefits, social support, and increased social status

Marriage crisis model

strains from divorce are so great, that they negatively affect mental health more than marriage protects it

Deinstitutionalization

closure of psychiatric hospitals to promote outpatient care and community reconnection

Steps of social stress paradigm

stressor, stress, and response are the key components of the social stress paradigm, illustrating how external pressures can lead to a variety of psychological outcomes.

Buffers of social stress paradigm

context and coping

What makes social stress paradigm distinctly social?

the paradigm focuses on how environmental factors, such as life events and social roles, impact their experiences of stress, not individual behavior

Are social stressors distributed equally?

Not all social stressors are distributed equally among individuals, as people of color, lower SES, and different genders are often exposed to more stressors in their daily lives

Example of discriminatory stressor

Constantly receiving microaggressions at work

How do social networks impact people’s mental health?

Social networks can both negatively and positively affect mental health, protective and deleterious

How does having few social ties affect mental health?

Having few social ties negatively affects physical and mental health, as it can increase feelings of isolation and having stronger connections

What percent of social ties are viewed as difficult?

15%

What percent of people aged 21-30 report at least one difficult tie in their network?

70%

What do having close social ties provide?

social support, such as having a shoulder to cry on

What determines effectiveness of social ties

number and quality of social connections, as well as how they are perceived

How can negative social networks impact treatment-seeking behavior and recovery?

can hinder recovery by worsening stress and discouraging individuals from seeking treatment due to feelings of isolation and perceived stigma

How can positive social networks impact treatment-seeking behavior and recovery?

can provide an encouraging and supportive environment surrounding treatment

Cultural guides vs cultural critics

refer to individuals or perspectives that either uphold traditional cultural norms and values (guides) or challenge and critique those norms (critics), influencing mental health understanding and treatment.

Individuals with cultural guides have…

high trust networks

High trust networks lead to…

improved global functioning, self-esteem, mastery, role functioning, and optimism

Compared to other groups, married couples…

often report high levels of happiness

The marital resource model

suggests that marriage provides many social resources needed to navigate through society such as emotional support, financial support, social support, and increases social status

According to the marital resource model, single individuals should

experience lower levels of happiness compared to married couples due to lack of extra resources gained through marriage

Marriage crisis model

refers to the idea that marital relationships can face challenges and breakdowns due to stresses such as communication issues, financial strain, or external pressures, leading to increased mental health concerns.

Compared to individuals with kids, individuals without kids are often…

happier than those with kids due to having less responsibilities and stressors associated with parenting

comparing single-parent and two-parent households, single-parent households tend to have…

higher stress levels and higher rates of depressive symptoms due to having limited resources, limited social support, and increased responsibilities, and higher emotional labor

the depressive gap between middle class single-parents and middle class is…

small, insignificant

Apart from other stressors, single moms experience more MI symptoms due to…

financial strains

indivudals with lower ses often have high levels of MI due to…

exposure to multiple stressors such as financial strains, lower social support, lower social support, and limited access to care

does SES impact mental health or does MH impact SES

Both SES impacts mental health and mental health impact each other

relative depression

is a perceived discrepancy between what an individual anticipates or expects and what one attains

indivudals engaging in cnstant upward comparrisons (relative depression) are more likey to…

become psychologically distressed

local ladder effects refers to

an indivudals status wthin their local enviornments and how it influences their mental well-being

the local ladder effect is also called…

little fish/ big pond problem

Poplar Grove and the local ladder effect

individuals in Poplar Grove were constantly plaed by the upward comparions and low subjective status

subjective status

refers to how an individual perceives themselves (local status effect)

objective status

refers to factual data or observations about one’s social standing

lower subjective status is related to

more distress and depressives symptoms

high regulation refers to

social rules placed by the community that are expected to be followed

high integration

refers to the high social connections and networks within a communiy

Do men or women have more mental health issues

both genders have similar prevalence rates however, they both show and experience symptoms differently

women tend to show

internalizing problems such as anxiety and eating disorders

men tend to show

externalizing problems such as alcohol abuse, conduct disorder, and antisocial disorder

what is the cost of caring

the cost of caring refers to the emotional labor women face due to higher rates of social ties which causes individuals to need them more and expect them to provide more emotional support