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Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health pp 205–227Cite as

Social Stratification, Social Closure, and Social Class as Determinants of Mental Health Disparities

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Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

We review two major strands of sociological theory to understand possible causal processes relevant to the generation of social inequalities and the production of parallel mental health disparities. The first strand, known as the social stratification model, includes gradational measures of socioeconomic status and draws upon Weber’s idea of “life chances.” The second strand includes two relational processes: the neo-Weberian idea of “social closure,” understood in terms of credentialism and unequal control over economic resources, and the neo-Marxian concept of social class, conceptualized as relations of ownership and control over productive assets. We also review classic and recent studies in the extant literature, discuss the interrelationships among social inequalities, race, ethnicity, and gender, and consider social causation and social selection hypotheses to interpret findings on the relationship between social inequalities and mental disorders. In closing, we identify directions for future research in order to address outstanding issues in mental health disparities scholarship.

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Abbreviations

DIS:

Diagnostic Interview Schedule

DSM:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

ECA:

Epidemiologic Catchment Area

FMD:

Frequent Mental Distress

NCS:

National Comorbidity Survey

NCS-R:

National Comorbidity Survey Replication

NMSC:

Neo-Marxian social class

SES:

Socioeconomic status

SEP:

Socioeconomic position

UK:

United Kingdom

US:

United States

WHO-WMH:

World Health Organization World Mental Health

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Suite 381, Health Sciences Building, Toronto, ON, M5T 1P8, Canada

    Carles Muntaner

  2. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Edwin Ng

  3. Department of Medical Sociology, Research Foundation Flanders, Brussel, Belgium

    Christophe Vanroelen

  4. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Department of Statistics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Sharon Christ

  5. Department of Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    William W. Eaton

Authors
  1. Carles Muntaner
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  2. Edwin Ng
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  3. Christophe Vanroelen
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  4. Sharon Christ
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  5. William W. Eaton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carles Muntaner .

Editor information

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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Muntaner, C., Ng, E., Vanroelen, C., Christ, S., Eaton, W.W. (2013). Social Stratification, Social Closure, and Social Class as Determinants of Mental Health Disparities. 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_11

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