Sociology Exam 2
US Census distinction between race and ethnicity
Ethnicity: defined as hispanic/latino or not hispanic/latino. Hispanic origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or their ancestors. Refers to a person of cuban, mexican, puerto rican, south or central america, or other spanish culture or origin (THEY CAN HAVE ANY RACE) Race: White, Black, American Indian/alaskan native, asian, native hawaiian/pacific islander, or some other race -most hispanics put white as their race, followed by some other race, since hispanic is not considered a race.
Know the main ethnicity and main race categories
Ethnicity: hispanic/latino or non-hispanic/latino Race: white, black/african american, asian, american indian/alaska native, native hawiian/pacific islander, some other race
status
High social regard, respect, and prestige Some social groups or 'types' of people are ranked by society as more esteemed and respected compared to others" (Ridgeway 2014) Unlike power, status involves voluntary deference
Life expectancy at birth for white women, white men, black women, and black men (4 numbers)
white women: 80.3 black women: 75.6 white men: 75.1 black men: 68.8
The current consensus in sociology
"It is therefore clear that major differences exist between men and women in the pattern of mental disorders they are most likely to experience. Women have a tendency to internalize their feelings of mental distress by turning them inward on themselves resulting in more anxiety and depression, whereas men tend to externalize their distresses through greater substance use and personality disorders that is upsetting to others." -Mood and anxiety disorders in women and substance abuse disorders in men are "functionally equivalent" manifestations of misery
Social Causation
*social class determines your mental health Greater exposure: Lower class leads to greater adversity and stress as a result of a deprived life situation greater vulnerability: Stressors have a more severe effect on socially disadvantaged than socially advantaged because fewer resources to cope with stressors
Low status jobs
-Administrative assistance -Sales -Service -Manufacturing (production) -Construction and repair -Transportation
Traits and behaviors that are associated with cultural norms of masculinity
-Denial of weakness or vulnerability -Emotional and physical control -Appearance of being strong and robust -Dismissal of any need for help -Display of aggressive behavior and physical dominance
Explanations for race/ethnic differences in mental health:
-Racial discrimination as a chronic stressor -Socioeconomic status -Incarceration -Access to health care
Explanations for higher prevalence of mood disorders among women
1. Cultural norms of femininity 2. Socioeconomic gender stratification 3. Gender stereotypes and bias
the extent to which this consensus is supported or not supported by published research
26 studies showing gender similarities in response to stressors (Evidence against the proposition of male- & female-specific manifestations of distress) -not supported by research. Women AND men respond to stressful conditions with affective outcomes AND behavioral outcomes
"Leadership is Associated with Lower Levels of Stress" How does leadership affect cortisol and anxiety?
A Harvard University study of leaders, including military officers and government officials Participants were divided into leaders and non-leaders based on their response to the question about their real-life jobs: "Are you responsible for managing others?" (yes = leader, no = non-leader) Measures: Power: the number of subordinates and the amount of authority over subordinates Personal control (mastery) Cortisol (the "stress" hormone) **Leaders holding more powerful positions (with a large number of subordinates and substantial authority over subordinates) exhibited even lower cortisol levels than leaders holding less powerful positions
African Americans and Schizophrenia
African American patients are more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and less likely to be diagnosed with a mood disorder regardless of the race of the clinician making the diagnosis *Psychiatric diagnoses, to some extent, reflect clinicians' preconceived notions about patients based on race (same for gender)
access to health care
African Americans and Hispanics are less likely to have health insurance, to regularly receive medical care, and to be screened early for health problems Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to feel that health care providers are condescending and biased, and that the health counseling they receive is incorrect or incomplete
socioeconomic status
African Americans and Hispanics have lower levels of education, income, and wealth than Whites African Americans and Hispanics are more likely than whites to have unstable, low-paying, monotonous, unrewarding jobs, often with hazardous conditions Lower socioeconomic status of African Americans and Hispanics contributes to their worse health and higher mortality relative to whites
Racial differences in health and mortality
African-American men in Harlem have a lower chance of living to 65 years old than men in Bangladesh (one of the lowest-income countries in the world)
Lifetime risk of imprisonment for all African American men and African American men without a high school diploma (2 numbers)
All: over 20% Without a diploma: 59% (5x higher than whites)
Percent of black and Hispanic men and women with bachelor's or higher degree (4 numbers)
Black women: 11.7 Black men: 7.5 Hispanic women: 7.6 Hispanic men: 6.4
Percent of black and Hispanic men and women with income below poverty line (4 numbers)
Black women: 15.5 Black men: 12.1 Hispanic women: 13.4 Hispanic men: 11.4
What are black-white differences in positive psychological well-being?
Blacks have higher rates of complete mental health (flourishing and free of mental illness) than Whites. Blacks are mentally resilient in the face of greater social inequality and exposure to discrimination. About 27% more Blacks than Whites are flourishing and free of any mental illness
Gender bias in seeking help for depression
Denial of depression is one of the means men use to demonstrate masculinities and to avoid assignment to a lower-status position relative to women. Nearly half of men over age 49 nationally who reported experiencing an extended depression did not discuss it with anyone Instead, men tend to engage in private activities, including drinking and drug use, designed to distract themselves or to alleviate their depression.
What are the main findings of the Midtown Manhattan Study? (self)
Examined untreated disorders in the population, found that mental disorders were more prevalent among the lower class. -people aged 20-29 and high SES most likely to be in the "well" category -those 50-59 and low SES origin most likely to be "impaired" *found that people who were upwardly mobile in society showed fewer signs of distress than those who remained at the same SES or downwardly mobile -suggested that stress was an important component in mental disorder
Gender stratification theory
Gender differences in mental health are at least partly explained by inequality between men and women in terms of power, wealth, income, and status. Fewer financial resources and inequality in the division of work and family labor are associated with a higher risk of internalizing problems among women, such as depression and anxiety
What are main findings of Hollingshead and Redlich' New Haven study? (self)
Identified 5 principal social classes: Class 1 (upper), Class 2 (upper middle), Class 3 (lower middle), Class 4 (working), and Class 5 (lower) -found that class 1 and 2 more aware of psychological problems and the nature of personal difficulties. Class 5 less likely to identify these problems because of consequences of the label *found that the lower the class, the greater the tendency toward schizophrenia, and the higher the class, the greater the tendency toward anxiety -limitation of study: examined only treated patients, can't be generalized
What is the "double standard" in mental health?
If feminine traits are followed, the woman has less desirable characteristics If masculine traits are followed, the woman is perceived negatively "Double bind" (i.e. "Damned if you do and damned if you don't")
"The Black-White Paradox in Health: Flourishing in the Face of Social Inequality and Discrimination" o What are languishing and flourishing?
Languishing: absence of mental illness, but low levels of positive well-being (positive attitudes toward self and others, positive relationships, purpose and meaning in life, positive functioning in life) Flourishing: absence of MI, and high levels of PWB
How do power and status affect mental health?
Leaders with power and status have lower cortisol levels because they have an increased sense of control
What is the role of personal mastery (a sense of control) in the relationship between leadership and stress?
Leaders' lower cortisol was explained by their the sense of control (mastery): Leadership (power) increases the sense of control A higher sense of control reduces cortisol -leadership level and cortisol (20% explained by mastery)
Percent below poverty line among people with less than a high school diploma and people with a college degree or higher (2 numbers)
Less than a high school diploma: 16.2% T Bachelor's degree and higher: 1.7%
High status jobs
Managerial/executive (e.g., managers, executives, senior officials and administrators) -Professional (e.g., lawyers, physicians, nurses, engineers, scientists, teachers)
"Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being"
Men in the United States suffer more severe chronic conditions and die younger than women. Why? Men more likely than women to adopt beliefs and behaviors that increase their health risks, and are less likely to engage in behaviors that promote health and longevity. Men's health-related beliefs and behaviors are a means for demonstrating or constructing masculinity. The social practices that undermine men's health are often signifiers of masculinity and instruments that men use to affirm their social power and status.
Social Selection
Mental illness determines your social class. "Selection" means people are "selected" into education, jobs, etc. based on their mental health status •More mental disorder in lower class because mentally ill persons "drift" downward in the social structure -Mentally healthy individuals in lower class tend to be upwardly mobile, thus leaving behind a "residue" of mentally ill persons
Race Differences in self-reported Depressive Symptoms
Mexican american (6.3) and non-hispanic blacks (6.0) reported higher depressive symptoms than non-hispanic whites (4.8) *African Americans typically report higher numbers of depressive symptoms than whites (in survey studies) Yet, with respect to diagnosed depressive disorders, there are either no race differences or African Americans have lower rates of disorders
What is the relationship between race/ethnicity and mental health? Racial Differences in DSM Diagnoses
Mood disorders: non-hispanic blacks are 40% less likely, hispanics are 20% less likely than non-hispanic whites to "experience a mood disorder". Blacks are 20% less likely and hispanics are 30% less likely to "experience an anxiety disorder"
How is social class defined as socioeconomic status (education, income, wealth, and occupation) related to mental health?
People with higher levels of education, income, and occupational prestige have fewer diseases, less disability, better mental health, and longer lives compared to people with low SES •Lower social class - Higher rates of mental illness, including depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse, etc. -no high school diploma and less than 20,000 income=highest rates of severe psychological distress Income protects individuals from chronic financial stress and facilitates access to health-generating resources (superior housing in safe neighborhoods, leisure activities, healthy diet, recreational sports, etc.)
racial discrimination as a chronic stressor
Racial discrimination is a chronic stressor embedded in the very nature of daily life Minority groups are more likely to experience unfair treatment and bias than whites Stress caused by experiencing various forms of racial bias can weaken the body over time, lead to physical and mental health problems, and premature death Ex: when doctors were shown patient histories and asked to make judgments about heart disease, they were much less likely to recommend a helpful procedure to black patients even when their medical files were statistically identical to those of white patients
What are the two explanations for this relationship?
Social causation and social selection
Which one matters more?
Social class causes mental disorder more than mental disorder causes social class •But this does not mean that social selection does not operate -Bruce Dohrenwend et al. (Science, 1992) •Necessary to take the type of mental disorder into account *The social selection hypothesis more relevant to the social class-schizophrenia relationship *The social causation hypothesis more useful for the social-class depression relationship
incarceration
The lifetime cumulative risk (measured to age 34) of imprisonment for all African American men is over 20%. Among African American men without a high school diploma, the lifetime risk of incarceration is 59%. These estimates are at least five times higher than the rates of comparable Whites. Because African Americans are disproportionately incarcerated, and incarceration (reported to be a strong predictor of long-term health) is detrimental to health, this partly explains why African Americans (especially men) have worse health than Whites
What are main findings of Leightons' Stirling County study? (self)
The prevalence of mental disorder appeared to increase with age (until 65), significantly greater for women, and again found most frequent among the lowest SES group. The focus of this study was upon the degree of sociocultural integration and the extent of mental disorder in small communities of french canadians and english canadians
power
The probability that people can impose their will despite resistance and influence others through officially sanctioned control and authority
What are main findings of Faris and Dunham's Chicago study? (self)
They found that highest rates of schizophrenia were clustered in slums of chicago, so hypothesized that social isolation was the cause of schizophrenia -true that isolation becomes more pronounced as the disorder advances, but it's a result not a cause -established that one's location in a social structure has implications for one's mental health
Gender bias in diagnosis and treatment of depression
When men do seek help, they are less likely than women to be diagnosed with and treated for depression: Clinicians are less likely to identify the presence of depression in men than in women and There is an emphasis on treating women for depression and an assumption that men are an immune to depression
Differences in mood disorders and substance use disorders between men and women
Women are 50% more likely to experience a mood disorder than men, 60% more likely to experience an anxiety disorder.
Femininity and other-orientation
Women's positions of responsibility for caring and nurturing promote collectivity and other-orientation Prioritizing others above the self is associated with the development of internalizing problems, including depression "The inability to act according to one's own interests... predisposes individuals to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that characterize depressive reactions"
What is fatalism and why is it important in the study of social class and mental health?
a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change Socioeconomically disadvantaged people learn through recurrent experiences that they have limited opportunities, that no matter how hard they try they cannot get ahead -These beliefs partly reflect realistic perceptions and are reinforced in day-to-day living •In contrast, high-status people have a positive experience with goal attainment and learn that their actions are generally associated with successful outcomes •This sense of empowerment and personal control increases their ability to cope and protects against stress
