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Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health pp 1–19Cite as

The Sociology of Mental Health: Surveying the Field

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Abstract

This chapter introduces the major themes of this handbook. These themes address how society shapes the thoughts, feelings, and actions of its members in ways that are considered to be mental illness, and the consequences of having, or being thought to have, a mental illness. This subject matter encompasses the medical model and alternative perspectives, including the social construction of mental illness, the medicalization of deviant states and behaviors, and the experiences and understandings of persons with mental illnesses. The sociological search for the causes of mental illness frequently examines how social inequality leads to disproportionate exposure to social stress, as well as limits the resources that might otherwise ameliorate the adverse effects of stress exposure. This etiological perspective also addresses how major social institutions, such as family, work, and religion, shape the likelihood of developing a disorder. An additional emphasis concerns the social consequences of disorder, such as, stigma, encounters with the legal system, and effects on the family. Finally, the handbook considers how mental health problems are arrayed over time in trajectories that have cumulative consequences for people’s lives.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The terms mental health and mental illness are often used as antonyms, although the concept of health usually includes dimensions of well-being that go beyond the mere absence of illness.

  2. 2.

    Social construction refers to an invention or artifact created by a particular culture or society in which meanings are attributed to ideas or practices, a perceived social reality that appears to be natural or real because it is taken for granted.

  3. 3.

    There are exceptions to this generalization, such as Alzheimer’s disease, in which the accumulation of beta-amyloid causes plaques in the brain that result in dementia, although even in this case, the cause of these accumulations is uncertain.

  4. 4.

    Sociologists usually distinguish between the concept of disease as a pathological condition and illness as the subjective awareness of being unwell. This distinction is less commonly used in the mental health area because of the controversy over whether these states can legitimately be considered diseases.

  5. 5.

    Etiological factors may exert stronger effects among some social groups than others, thereby generating group differences in disorder even when the groups have similar exposures. These differences, sometimes referred to as differential vulnerability, are in actuality proxies for the differential distribution of the resources that help to prevent the deleterious effects of etiological factors (Aneshensel, 1992).

Abbreviations

APA:

American Psychiatric Association

CIDI:

Composite International Diagnostic Interview

DIS:

Diagnostic Interview Schedule

DSM:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

ECA:

Epidemiologic Catchment Area Studies

MDD:

Major depressive disorder

NIMH:

National Institute of Mental Health

PTSD:

Posttraumatic stress disorder

SES:

Socioeconomic status

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, 650 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA

    Carol S. Aneshensel

  2. Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Jo C. Phelan

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Alex Bierman

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  1. Carol S. Aneshensel
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  2. Jo C. Phelan
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  3. Alex Bierman
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Correspondence to Carol S. Aneshensel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Carol S. Aneshensel

  2. Department of Sociomedical Sciences Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Jo C. Phelan

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Alex Bierman

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Aneshensel, C.S., Phelan, J.C., Bierman, A. (2013). The Sociology of Mental Health: Surveying the Field. In: Aneshensel, C.S., Phelan, J.C., Bierman, A. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_1

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