Sociology Exam 2

stress

a state of imbalance within a person, elicited by an actual or perceived disparity between environmental demands and the person’s capacity to cope with those demands

humoral theory

impacts our understanding of stress and how the mind+body balance results in positive health

sociological factors of stress

social roles, perception of stressors, social forces, social resources

top life stressor

death of a spouse

chronic strains

relatively enduring problems, conflicts, and threats many people face in their daily life - arises from our social roles

role overload

when the combination of all the role demands placed on a person exceed their ability to meet them (mom, wife, daughter, employee, volunteer)

interpersonal conflicts in role sets

problems that arise from issues of reciprocity in complimentary role sets (husband-wife, employee-boss)

interrole conflict

occurs when the demands of our social roles are incompatible (parent and employee); explains why many mothers with children left the workforce during Covid

role captivity

when someone is in an unwanted role but feels that they can’t escape - feels an obligation to do one thing but prefers something else

role restructuring

situations in which long established patterns or expectations undergo considerable restructuring (adolescence to young adult)

Berger and Luckman

sociologists who theorized that reality is created through our social interactions - social construction of reality explains why there is no such thing as an objective stressor

W.I. Thomas

sociologist who recognized that individuals are affected by events only to the extent which they are perceived

thomas theorem

“if situations are defined as real, they are real in their consequences” - it is a negative perception of events that makes them stressful

coping

responses that have been learned through socialization experiences and evolve over time as particular techniques work or fail to mediate stress

Cooley’s looking glass self

“ I perceive myself as others perceive me” - we then develop a self-image consistent with these perceptions

psychological resources

personality characteristics that people draw upon to help them withstand stressful events - internal control, hardiness, resilience

cognitive control

the assignment of specific interpretations to a stressful event in order to control its meaning - denial, religious belief, “it’s not that bad”

behavioral techniques

form of coping involving yoga, meditation, sports, violence, entertainment, social media, getting it done

directly address the stressor

most effective strategy for dealing with stress

social support

the relationships that people receive from their social relationships and members in groups - emotional, cognitive, material

social resources

people with meaningful ties and who perceive positive social support tend to have better physical and mental health

main effects model

asserts that social support contributes directly to well-being and positive health

buffering effects model

asserts that the beneficial effects of social support occur only in the presence of stress

emotional disturbances

stress outcomes including insomnia, headaches, hysterias, phobias, drug abuse

abnormal behaviors

stress outcomes including compulsive behaviors, aggression, withdrawal, criminal activity

psychosomatic illness

stress outcomes including hypertension, CHD, ulcers, and colitis

worsening of existing illnesses

stress outcomes including a worsening of herpes, migraines, epilepsy, shingles, and arthritis

exposure hypothesis

idea that people with lower SES are exposed to more stressful life experiences

vulnerability hypothesis

idea that stressful life experiences have a greater impact on those with lower SES, and thus a greater capacity to lead to negative stress outcomes

double disadvantage hypothesis

idea that people who hold more than one disadvantaged status may experience worse health than other counterparts (with one or none) - disparities include SES and race differences

explanations for sexual minority health problems

physical and sexual victimization, discrimination, negative life events, chronic strains, deficiency in social resources

women

___ have higher rates of psychological stress and depression (gender) - differences are found across cultures and time

coronary heart disease

1/3 of all female deaths in the US come from ___

20%

only ___ of CHD clinical trial subjects are women

female heart attack symptoms

discomfort in back and shoulders, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, lightheadedness, nausea, cold sweat

28.2 million

____ US adults have been diagnosed with CHD (11%)

696,000

____ CHD deaths annually (20%)

805,000

___ heart attacks in the US annually

declined by 50%

the CHD death rate has

___ in past 35 years

etiology of CHD

cigarette smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, obesity, high BP (140/90), family history

cancer

a group of diseases characterized by an uncontrolled growth and abnormal spread of cells

16.9 million

___ Americans have cancer

605,000

___ deaths due to cancer annually

cigarette smoking

this factor is responsible for 30% of all cancer deaths - lung, pharynx, esophageal, pancreas, uterine cervix, kidney

colorectal cancer

red and processed meats are associated with

sun exposure

tanning before age 30 increases the risk of cancer by 75% because of

cancer etiology

exposure to harmful substances, radiation, pollutants, and heredity

alzheimer’s disease

a chronic, degenerative, dementing illness of the central nervous system - no current medications to stop or reverse disease progression

6 million

___ people in the US are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

119,000

Alzheimer’s is responsible for ___ deaths annually

2/3

___ of people suffering from Alzheimer’s are women

1.5

Hispanics are ___ times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s

2

African Americans are ___ times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s - linked to a common gene mutation

increasing

trend: incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer’s is

Alzheimer’s etiology

beta amyloid plaques stimulates immune system to inflame the brain; molecular tangles kill brain cells

sociology Alzheimer’s etiology

lack of intellectual activities, lack of physical exercise, diets high in saturated fats and simple carbs, sleep

nosology

classification or list of diseases primarily used for diagnostic/labeling purposes

cultural variation in diagnosis

some conditions are considered evidence of mental illness in one culture, but normal in another (ex: having visions)

cultural variation in symptoms

members of different cultures manifest different symptoms in response to same psychopathology (ex: schizophrenics may be loud and aggressive or quiet and withdrawn)

cultural variations in cut-offs

most people experience mental impairments sometimes, but at what is it considered a mental disorder?

34

___ % of students were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in 2022

anxiety disorder etiology

time on social media, mother’s education, overprotective parents, academic pressure, demands of multiple responsibilities

20

___ % of US adults experience some form of mental illness annually

50

___ % of US adults will experience a mental illness in their lifetime

ADHD

the most common mental illness in children

Wyoming, Alaska, Montana

states with the highest suicide rates

biogenic-physiological approach

idea that mental illness is an observable condition stemming from individual psychological or biological pathways

environmental/social approach

idea that mental illness relies more on subjective social judgments than objective facts

49,449

suicide accounted for ___ deaths in 2022

risk factors for suicide

access to guns, unemployment, poverty, being retired, childless, divorce, substance abuse

30%

suicide rates have increased by ___ from 2000 to 2020

biomedical paradigm

a focus solely on an individual’s physiological state and the presence or absence of sickness - defines health as the absence of disease

sociological paradigm

an approach to health that emphasizes social and cultural aspects of health and illness - based on our capacity to perform roles and tasks

prevention

behaviors that minimize the risk of disease, injury, and disability

detection

activities engaged in to detect disease, injury, disability (exams, blood pressure, screenings)

promotion

efforts or activities to encourage and persuade individuals to engage in health-promoting behaviors, or disengage in health-harming behaviors

protection

policies that permit and promote good health; generally policies (clean air act, safe structures, availability of clean water)

health protective behaviors (hpbs)

individual actions taken to protect, promote, or maintain health

prescriptive hpbs

active hpbs; eating a good diet, wearing a seatbelt, exercising

proscriptive hpbs

passive hpbs; avoid smoking, avoid excessive alcohol use

avoid smoking/tobacco use

top proscriptive hpb; the single most health-damaging behavior

28.3 million

___ (11.5%) of Americans still smoke

avoid a poor diet

second most dangerous lifestyle pattern proscriptive hpb; linked to 60+ chronic diseases

73.6

___ % of adults were measured to be overweight in 2020

13.4; 42.4

between 1960 and 2018 the prevalence of obesity in the US jumped from ___ % to ___ %

avoid alcohol consumption

proscriptive hpb that contributes to 3rd largest number of deaths

250,000

medical error is responsible for up to ___ deaths annually

medical error

fourth hpb; unknown trend

upstream approach factors

availability to protective or harmful consumer products, physical structures, social structures and policies, media and cultural messages