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The Social Dynamics of Responding to Mental Health Problems

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Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health

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

Abstract

At this point in the intellectual history of the sociology of mental health, we are aware of the complexities that are involved as individuals, and those around them, respond to situations that are defined as “disease,” “disorder,” “distress,” or even “problems in living.” Here, we discuss the backdrop of the early efforts that framed our initial contributions to understanding the use of lay and formal systems of care as well as how they continue to offer basic insights. However, we address the challenges that these directions and societal changes bring to our contemporary theoretical and research agendas. Finally, we offer a response to these challenges by reviewing some new avenues for utilization research that not only hold promise but are beginning to produce important results. These include a focus on multiple pathways to care, the “cultural turn” in sociology, and the life course approach to track simultaneous change in systems, individuals, and illness careers.

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Abbreviations

CMHC:

Community Mental Health Center

DSM-IV:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV

ECA:

Epidemiological Catchment Area

GSS:

General Social Survey

ICMHSR:

Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research

INMHS:

Indianapolis Network Mental Health Study

MHCPR:

Mental Health Care among Puerto Ricans (Study)

NEM:

Network-Episode Model

NSS-C:

National Stigma Study – Children

NSS-R:

National Stigma Study – Replication

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the NIMH (Grant #R01MH074985) for funding the National Stigma Study – Replication (NSS-R) of the 2006 General Social Survey. Margarita Alegría, Bruce Link, and Karen Lutfey provided insights and comments on this and earlier versions of this chapter and on the various projects reported herein.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1022 E. Third Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Bernice A. Pescosolido & Tait R. Medina

  2. Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Carol A. Boyer

Authors
  1. Bernice A. Pescosolido
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  2. Carol A. Boyer
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  3. Tait R. Medina
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Correspondence to Bernice A. Pescosolido .

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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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Pescosolido, B.A., Boyer, C.A., Medina, T.R. (2013). The Social Dynamics of Responding to Mental Health Problems. 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_24

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