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Sociological Insights on Mental Health and Distress

Teresa L. Scheid (Author), S. Megan Smith (Author)

9781394200047, Wiley

Paperback / softback, published 14 March 2025

240 pages
21.3 x 13.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.227 kg

Introduces students to the study of the social forces that shape mental health and empowers the next generation to make an impact on mental health management

As the prevalence of mental health issues worldwide continues to grow, an active area of sociology is investigating the social causes and consequences of mental health and illness. Young people are especially vulnerable to the current mental health crisis—they are more frequently experiencing social isolation, family stressors, difficulties establishing social relationships, and heightened levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts.

Using a relatable and accessible narrative style, Sociological Insights on Mental Health and Distress helps students understand the connections between mental health issues and their social and structural determinants. Integrating classical and contemporary sociological theory, this concise textbook examines mental health from four key sociological perspectives: social context, social integration, stress, and stigma.

Special emphasis is placed on the role of social media and cyberbullying in mental health concerns, global sources of anxiety such as COVID-19 and climate change, and emerging topics including neuro-divergencies in mental health problems and suicide in LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.

Supported by a wealth of pedagogical tools and an extensive companion website, Sociological Insights on Mental Health and Distress is the perfect textbook for undergraduate courses in the sociology of mental health, health and illness, psychological and sociological deviance, and social problems, as well as interdisciplinary courses in criminal justice, public health, social work, and psychology.

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Part I: Understanding Mental Health Problems

Chapter 1: What Does it Mean to Have a Mental Health Problem?

  1. Defining Mental Health and Mental Health Problems
  2. Mental Health Problems as Disability
  3. Mental Health Problems as Violations of Social Norms
  4. Medicalization
  5. Concluding Thoughts

 

Chapter 2: What are the Sources of Mental Health Problems?

  1. Individualistic Explanations for Mental Health Problems
  2. Sociological Approaches
  3. Cultural Variability
  4. Concluding Thoughts

 

Chapter 3: Assessing Mental Health and Distress

  1. Diagnostic Classification
  2. Continuous Measures of Mental Health and Distress
  3. The Crisis in Anxiety
  4. Concluding Thoughts

 

Part II. Unpacking the Relationships between Stress, Social Supports, and Mental Health

Chapter 4: The Stress Universe

  1. Sources and Types of Stress
  2. Work Related Stress
  3. The Stress Process Model and COVID-19
  4. Concluding Thoughts

 

Figure 4.1. The Stress Process Model as Applied to COVID-19

Chapter 5: Social Relationships and Social Supports

  1. The Critical Role of Social Support
  2. Identity and Social Roles
  3. The College Neighborhood
  4. Cultural Variability in Supportive Environments
  5. Concluding Thoughts

 

Chapter 6: Understanding Suicide and Prevention

  1. Sociological Approaches to Suicide
  2. Suicide Contagion
  3. Social Conflict as a Source of Suicide
  4. Social Conditions Associated with Suicide
  5. Suicide Prevention
  6. Concluding Thoughts

 

Part III. Structural Sources of Mental Distress

Chapter 7: Social Inequality

  1. Socio-Economic Status (SES)
  2. SES and Mental Health
  3. Gender and Mental Health
  4. Race, Ethnicity and Mental Health
  5. COVID-19 and Mental Health
  6. Concluding Thoughts

 

Chapter 8: Intersectionality and Mental Health

  1. Intersecting Social Statuses
  2. Young People and Intersecting Identities
  3. LGBTQ+ and Gender Diversity
  4. Concluding Thoughts

 

Chapter 9: Stigma as Fundamental Cause.

  1. Sociological Theories about Stigma and Labelling
  2. Homelessness
  3. Stigma Resistance
  4. Concluding Thoughts

 

Part IV: The Complexities of Care

Chapter 10: Mental Health Care and Treatment

  1. Contrasting Views of Mental Health and Treatment
  2. Seeking Help for Mental Health Problems
  3. The Mental Health Workforce Crisis
  4. Culturally Competent Mental Health Care
  5. Concluding Thoughts

 

Chapter 11: Cycles of Mental Health Care

  1. Evolving Systems of Care for Serious Mental Health Conditions
  2. Institutionalization and Deinstitutionalization
  3. Community Based Mental Health Care
  4. The Dilemma of Recovery
  5. Concluding Thoughts

 

Chapter 12: Dilemmas of Care

  1. Medicalization
  2. Involuntary Treatment and Civil Commitment
  3. Criminalization
  4. Concluding Thoughts

 

Conclusion: Vision for the Future: What would a Mentally Healthy Society Look Like?

Figure 2. Wholistic Framework for Mental Health

Appendix A: Summary of the PBS 2021 Documentary The Mysteries of Mental Illness: Explore the Evolution in Understanding Mental Illness

Appendix B: Summary of Robert Kolker’s 2020 book, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family.

Index

 

Subject Areas: Sociology & anthropology [JH]
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