A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems

by Edited by Teresa L. Scheid , Tony N. Brown

• ISBN13: 9780521728911
• ISBN10: 0521728916
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The second edition of A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health provides a comprehensive review of the sociology of mental health. Chapters by leading scholars and researchers present an overview of historical, social and institutional frameworks. Part I examines social factors that shape psychiatric diagnosis and the measurement of mental health and illness, theories that explain the definition and treatment of mental disorders and cultural variability. Part II investigates effects of social context, considering class, gender, race and age, and the critical role played by stress, marriage, work and social support. Part III focuses on the organization, delivery and evaluation of mental health services, including the criminalization of mental illness, the challenges posed by HIV, and the importance of stigma. This is a key research reference source that will be useful to both undergraduates and graduate students studying mental health and illness from any number of disciplines.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Part I: approaches to mental health and illness

An overview of sociological perspectives on the definitions, causes, and responses to mental health and illness

The measurement of mental disorder

The prevalence of mental illness

Biological approaches to psychiatric disorders: a sociological approach

Psychological approaches to mental illness

Sociological approaches to mental illness

Viewing mental health from the complete state paradigm

Mental health systems in cross-cultural context

Introduction to Part II: the social context of mental health and illness

Stressors, stress, and distress

Social support and mental health

Work and unemployment as stressors

Socio-economic stratification and mental disorder

Gender and mental health: do males and females have different amounts or types of problems?

Race and mental health: patterns and challenges

African American women and mental well-being: the triangulation of race, gender, and socioeconomic status

Marital status and mental health

Stress and distress in childhood and adolescence

Psychopathology and risky sexual behaviors among black adolescents

Well-being across the life course

Mental health and terrorism

Introduction to Part III: mental health systems and policy

Understandng the context and dynamic processes of mental health treatment

Cultural diversity and mental health treatment

The mental health consumers/survivors movement in the US

Mental illness and the criminal justice system Virginia

Mental health in organizations and systems

Integrating service delivery systems for persons with severe mental illness

Consequences of managed care for mental health care providers

Mental health and the changing context of HIV

Labelling and stigma

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