Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Analysis of the Interaction Between Social Factors and Mental Health

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems

  • 46 Accesses

Abstract

Mental health is one of the most important and most researched topics in the social sciences. Today it seems that this topic is more important than before, and the number of people who have a mental health problem and who are aware of the importance of the topic is also growing. This topic could be approached through the analysis of individual cases, but also through the analysis of social factors that contribute to increasing the number of people with mental health problems. In this chapter, we will focus on the analysis of social factors related to mental health. In that sense, the subject of our analysis will be the relationship between mental health and workplace, unemployment, poverty, and family relations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Agerbo, E., Eriksson, T., Mortensen, B. P., & Westergard-Nielsen, N. (1998). Unemployment and mental disorders – An empirical analysis. Centre for Labour Market and Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artazcos, L., Benach, J., Borrell, C., & Cortes, I. (2004). Unemployment and mental health: Understanding the interactions among gender, family roles, and social class. American Journal of Public Health, 94(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartley, M., Popay, J., & Plewis, I. (1992). Domestic conditions, paid employment and women’s experiences of ill-health. Sociology of Health and Illness, 14(3), 313–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (1978). Social origins of depression: A study of psychiatric disorder in women. The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. N., & Scheid, T. L. (2010). The social context of mental health and illness. In T. L. Scheid & T. N. Brown (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: social context, theories and systems. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browning, M., & Heinesen, E. (2012). The effect of job loss due to plant closure on mortality and hospitalization. Journal of Health Economics, 31(4), 599–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busfield, J. (2000). Introduction: Rethinking sociology of mental health. Sociology of Health and Illness., 22(5), 543–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chopra, P. (2009). Mental health and workplace: Issues for developing countries. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 3, 4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A. (2003). Unemployment as a social norm: Psychological evidence from pane data. Journal of Labor Economics, 21(2), 289–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S. (1996). Psychological stress, immunity, and upper respiratory infections. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 5(3), 86–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dooley, D., Catalano, R., & Wilson, G. (1994). Depression and unemployment: Panel findings for the epidemiologic catchment area study. Journal of Community Psychology, 22(6), 745–765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dressler, W. W. (1988). Social consistency and psychological distress. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 29(1), 79–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton, W. W., Muntaner, C., & Sapag, C. J. (2013). Socioeconomic stratification and mental disorder. In A. S. Carol, P. C. Jo, & B. Alex (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, G. W., & English, K. (2002). The environment of poverty: Multiple stressor exposure, psychophysiological stress, and socioemotional adjustment. Child Development, 73(4), 1238–1248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faris, R. E. L., & Dunham, H. W. (1939). Mental disorders in urban areas. University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farre, L., Fasini, F., & Mueller, H. (2018). Feeling useless: The effect of unemployment on mental health in the great recession; IZA. Journal of Labor Economics, 7(8), 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, P. (1999). Mental health in working place: Tackling the effects of stress. The Mental Health Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harnois, G., & Gabriel, P. (2000). Mental health and work: Impact, issues and good practices. World Labour Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollingshead, A. B., & Redlich, F. (1958). Social class and mental illness. John Wiley & Sons.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11(2), 213–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz, V. A. (2010). An overview of sociological perspectives on the definitions, causes and responses to mental health and illnesses. In S. L. Teresa & T. N. Brown (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: Social context, theories and systems. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz, V. A. (2012). An overview of sociological perspectives on definition, causes and responses to mental health and illness. In S. L. Teresa (Ed.), A handbook for the study of mental health. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, C. G. (2005). Socioeconomic status and mental illness: Test of the social causation and selection hypotheses. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75(1), 3–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. (1990). Healthy work: Stress, productivity and the reconstruction of working life. Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karsten, P., & Klaus, M. (2009). Unemployment impair mental health: Meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74(3), 264–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kassler, R. C., & Frank, R. G. (2008). The impact of psychologic disorders on work loss days. Psychological Medicine, 27, 861–873.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lake, H. J. (2019). The future of mental health care: Trends and forecast. An integrative paradigm for mental health care. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15285-7_10

  • Langer, T. S., & Michael, S. T. (1963). Life stress and mental health. Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lennon, C. M., & Limonic, L. (2013). Work and unemployment as stressors. In A. S. Carol, P. C. Jo, & B. Alex (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, H., Brissette, I., & Leventhal, E. A. (2003). The common-sense model of self-regulation of health and illness. In L. D. Cameron & H. Leventhal (Eds.), The self-regulation of health and illness behaviour (pp. 42–65). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mechanic, D., Mcapline, D. D., & Rocheford, A. D. (2014). Mental health and social policy: Beyond managed care. Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mossakowski, K. N. (2008). Dissecting the influence of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on mental health in young adulthood. Research on Aging, 30(6), 649–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motrico, E., Salinas-Perez, A. J., Rodero-Cosano Luiza, M., & Conejo-Ceron, S. (2021). Social determinants of mental health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Netterstrom, B., Conrad, N., Bech, P., Fink, P., Olsen, O., Rugulles, R., & Standfeld, S. (2008). The relation between work-related psychological factors and the development of depression. Epidemiologic Reviews, 30(1), 118–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oswald, A. (1997). Happiness and economic performants. Economic Journal, 107(445), 1815–1831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrucci, C., & Perrucci, R. (1990). Unemployment and mental health: Research and policy implications. In J. Greenley (Ed.), Research in community and mental health. JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popovici, I., & French, T. M. (2013). Does alcoholism lead to greater alcohol consumption? Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 52(2), 444–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prause, J., & Dooley, D. (2001). Favourable employment status change and psychological depression: A two- year follow- up analysis of the national longitudinal survey of youth. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50(2), 282–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rank, R. M. (2011). Poverty and its effects. In R. N. Heller & A. Gitterman (Eds.), Mental health and social problems: A social work perspective. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robila, M., & Krishnakumar, A. (2006). Economic pressure and children’s psychological functioning. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15(4), 433–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, A., & Pilgrim, D. (2014). A sociology of mental health and illness. Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfield, S. (1989). The effects of women’s employment: Personal control and sex differences in mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30(1), 77–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheid, T. L., & Brown, T. N. (2010). A handbook for the study of mental health: Social context, theories and systems. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva, M., Loureiro, A., & Cardoso, G. (2016). Social determinant of mental health: A review of evidence. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 30(4), 259–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitz, R. A. (1946). Anaclitic depression: An inquiry into the genesis of psychiatric conditions in early childhood II. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 2(1), 313–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, A. P. (2010). Sociological approaches to mental illness. In T. L. Scheid & T. N. Brown (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: Social context, theories and systems. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, A. P., Liu, H., & Umberson, D. (2017). Family relationship and well-being. Innovation in Aging, 1(3), igx025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. B. (1995). Economic context and the health effects of unemployment. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36(3), 213–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warner, R. (1985). Recovery from schizophrenia: Psychiatry and political economy. Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Warr, R. (1983). Work and unemployment. In P. J. D. Drenth, H. Thierry, & P. J. Willems (Eds.), Handbook of Work and Organizational Psychology. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheaton, B. (1997). The nature of chronic stress. In B. H. Gottlieb (Ed.), Coping with chronic stress. Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K., & Umberson, D. (2004). Marital status, marital transitions, and health: A gendered life course perspective. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45(1), 81–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K., Frech, A., & Carlson, L. D. (2013). Marital status and mental health. In A. S. Carol, P. C. Jo, & B. Alex (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yong Tan, S., & Yip, A. (2018). Hans Selye (1907–1982): founder of stress theory. Singapore Medical Journal, 59(4), 170–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Balkan University, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

    Kire Sharlamanov & Jana Petreska

Authors
  1. Kire Sharlamanov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jana Petreska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Rajendra Baikady

  2. Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    S.M Sajid

  3. Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland

    Jaroslaw Przeperski

  4. Department of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa

    Varoshini Nadesan

  5. Inst of Social Welfare & Res, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    M. Rezaul Islam

  6. Sch of Philosophy & Social Development, Shandong University, Central Campus, Jinan, China

    Jianguo Gao

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Sharlamanov, K., Petreska, J. (2022). Analysis of the Interaction Between Social Factors and Mental Health. In: Baikady, R., Sajid, S., Przeperski, J., Nadesan, V., Islam, M.R., Gao, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_288-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_288-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-68127-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-68127-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation