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It is important to examine the possibility that relationships between commonly studied status indicators and psychological distress indicators are due, in part or wholly, to differences in the impacts of comparable stressor events and situations on people in different status categories. This paper describes and illustrates a strategy for doing this and argues that the systematic existence of impact differentials helps explain the commonly observed relationships between certain social statuses and psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the sociological controversy over using categorical versus dimensional assessments in the study of psychological distress. The preference of sociologists for dimensional assessments is traced to two assumptions: (1) that the associations of predictors with psychological distress syndromes are most accurately operationalized by using dimensional measures; and (2) that no true discrete mental illnesses can reasonably be inferred to exist that would justify the creation of dichotomous measures. Methods are described in this paper to test both assumptions. An argument is made that the first assumption is the critical one and that dimensional analysis is useful only when it can be demonstrated that the associations of predictors with dimensional scores are constant throughout the relevant dimensional severity range. The paper closes with an argument for the tandem use of categorical and dimensional assessments in future sociological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does voluntary association reduce psychological distress and can these effects be distinguished from the more commonly recognized benefits of social support? This paper attempts to answer this question by reporting the results of an investigation, guided by the stress process model, into the effects of voluntary group membership on psychological distress. I conducted this research through a secondary analysis of a community sample of 850 persons residing in southwestern Ontario in 1984. I find that voluntary group membership results in a reduction in depressive symptoms for men and women ranging in age from 22-89. In addition, voluntary group members suffer lower levels of depressive symptoms in the presence of increasing stress burdens than do those who are not group members, indicating stress buffering effects. Controlling for individual psychosocial resources including mastery, self-esteem, and social support does not reduce these effects, thus leading to the conclusion that voluntary association membership itself makes a unique contribution to distress reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although past research indicates that women's higher levels of psychological distress can be accounted for by their greater exposure and vulnerability to role-related stress, the social psychological factors contributing to female vulnerability have not been fully identified. This paper applies identity theory to the phenomenon of gender differences in distress among parents. From an identity perspective, I propose that salience of the parental identity in women's self-conceptions contributes to their vulnerability to parental role strains. Using 1988 survey data from a stratified random sample of married and divorced Indianapolis residents (N=448), I find that gender differences in distress are explained by differences in exposure to parental role strains. Further analyses reveal, however, that salience of the parental identity contributes to both men's and women's vulnerability to parental role strains. These findings underscore the utility of identity theory for explaining psychological distress among women and men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Republicans and conservatives report better self-rated health and well-being compared to Democrats and liberals, yet they are more likely to reside in geographic areas with heavy COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. This harmed health on "both sides" of political divides, occurring in a time of rapid sociopolitical upheaval, warrants the revisiting of psychosocial mechanisms linked to political health differences. Drawing on national Gallup data (early 2021), we find that predicted differences in health or well-being vary substantially by ideology, party, voting behavior, and policy beliefs, with model fit depending on how politics are measured. Differences in self-rated health, psychological distress, happiness, trouble sleeping, and delayed health care tend to reveal worse outcomes for Democrats or liberals. Such differences often are reduced to insignificance by some combination of mastery, meritocratic beliefs, perceived social support, and COVID-19–related exposures and attitudes. Policy beliefs predict health differences most robustly across outcomes and mechanism adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past ten years, sociologists have broadened their view of what counts as an appropriate measure of mental health. This reflects a growing recognition that individuals express emotional upset in various ways. For example, some individuals are more likely to become depressed in response to stress while others are more likely to drink heavily. Contemporary studies often include measures of "internalizing" (i.e., more feeling-based measures) and "externalizing" (i.e., more behavioral measures) styles of psychopathology, especially when studying group differences in mental health. Alcohol abuse is the classic measure of externalized distress in sociological research. In this paper, we present a theoretical argument and supporting empirical evidence to argue that violent behavior should be included as a measure of externalized distress in response to stress. Our study suggests that violent behavior is a more likely response to stress among individuals with particular coping and appraisal tendencies. Specifically, violent behavior may be a more likely response to stress among individuals who tend to appraise situations as threatening while also repressing any emotional response to stress. We contend that, since some groups may be more likely than others to respond to stress with violence, it is particularly important to include measures of violent behavior when studying group difference in distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationships among neighborhood disadvantage, stress, and the likelihood of drug use in a sample of adults (N = 1,101). Using the 1995 Detroit Area Study in conjunction with tract-level data from the 1990 census, we find a positive relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and drug use, and this relationship remains statistically significant net of controls for individual-level socioeconomic status. Neighborhood disadvantage is moderately associated with drug related behaviors, indirectly through increased social stressors and higher levels of psychological distress among residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods. A residual effect of neighborhood disadvantage remains, net of a large number of socially relevant controls. Finally, results from interactive models suggest that the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and drug use is most pronounced among individuals with lower incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current literature on social support identifies social structure as a source of distress. However, past efforts tend to operationalize structure in terms of demographic characteristics. The present paper argues that structure should be conceived of as participation and involvement in community and social relations. Structure may include community ties, social networks and intimate ties. We hypothesize that the three elements represent the outer layer (belongingness), the intermediary layer (bonding), and the inner layer (binding) of social relations and should exhibit differentiated effects on mental health. We further hypothesize that these structural elements, in sequence, provide functional (i.e., instrumental-expressive, perceived-received, and routine-non-routine) supports which, in turn, prevent or protect against distress. Using data from the 1993-1994 Albany survey, we construct measures for elements of structural and functional support to test the relationship between the two as well as their effects on depression. Results confirm that elements of structural support, as predicted, differentially affect functional supports, and that the elements of both structural and functional supports exert direct effects on depression. Further, structural supports also exert indirect effects on depression, mediated by functional supports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we address two related questions: how much do economic recessions affect the aggregate well-being of a population, and by what means? Using data from the 1973-77 Quality of Employment Panel of full-time workers who experienced the 1974-75 recession (N = 830), we answer these questions by using an analytic procedure that allows us to determine the percentage of total aggregate (mean) change in well-being attributable to various changes in sociodemographic statuses, labor market positions, and job characteristics. Results from this procedure showed significant increases in the mean levels of distress and dissatisfaction for this sample and that the largest percentages of change were accounted for by changes in job characteristics: about 20 percent of the total change in distress and 47 percent of the total change for dissatisfaction. In particular, increased job demands and increasingly inadequate pay made substantial contributions, with the latter alone accounting for a quarter of the total change in dissatisfaction. Unemployment experiences also contributed substantial, but smaller, percentages to the change in distress (10 percent). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stress process paradigm is one of the most widely held perspectives in the sociology of mental health. While this model has been applied to a large number of research problems, relatively little work has examined whether the paradigm can assist in understanding the link between socially induced stressors and their consequences for the mental health of immigrants. In this paper, we employ a stress process formulation to examine the interplay among stressors, psychological and social resources, and psychological distress among a large sample of Korean immigrants living in Toronto, Canada. Data from a longitudinal study of over 600 respondents indicate that the stress process paradigm provides a useful perspective for understanding how chronic stressors associated with the immigration experience manifest themselves in psychological distress. Our results suggest that social and psychological resources have important deterrent effects on the experience of stressors and their subsequent distressful consequences. Ethnic social support and mastery are especially important factors in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a longitudinal examination of the effect of employment transitions on the psychological distress of 398 single and 454 married mothers. Our analyses reveal that the effects of employment transitions differ for single and married mothers. Among women who left their jobs during the course of this study, we find a significant increase in distress among single mothers but no change in distress among married mothers. Transitions out of employment among single mothers produce increases in financial strain that result in declines in levels of self-esteem and mastery which, in turn, manifest themselves in higher levels of psychological distress. When we examine the effects of transitions into paid work, there are surprisingly few effects on mothers' levels of distress. For single mothers, taking a job for pay offers no significant reduction in their feelings of distress. Among married mothers, transitions into employment are associated with declines in distress, but these declines are offset by the distressful consequences of increases in caregiving strain. Thus, the effects of employment transitions on distress are a function of the differential impact of changes in stressors and psychosocial resources among single and married mothers as well as variations in the economic context and meanings of employment transitions. Movements into or out of employment do not offer the same opportunities and benefits or engender the same costs for single and married mothers. Our results also highlight the different policy implications that emerge from a consideration of longitudinal as opposed to cross-sectional analyses of these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several theoretical and methodological approaches have been developed for assessing the meaning of roles and role-related stressors, individuals' own understandings of the meaning of their role identities have been ignored in stress research. In this paper, I first examine the ways in which meaning has been conceptualized and assessed. I then explore the meanings individuals themselves attach to role identities and their implications for mental health. Qualitative analyses of in-depth follow-up interviews with 40 people who had participated in a community panel study of mental health reveal considerable variation in the meanings they attach to spouse, parent, and worker identities. I also find that the meanings people assign to role identities are based on their perceptions of the benefits and costs of role involvement. Moreover, while most meanings are shared by men and women, there are gender differences in some meanings which reflect gender differences in the perceived benefits and costs of role involvement. Finally, quantitative analyses show that some meanings of role identities are associated with symptoms and are involved in gender differences in distress. These and other illustrative findings suggest that stress researchers would find it useful to incorporate the meanings individuals themselves attach to their role identities and devote greater attention to men's and women's perceptions of both the positive and negative aspects of their role involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the interaction between the effects of industrial unemployment and job conditions on workers' levels of psychological distress. Previous research finds that economic stress, defined as contexts of high unemployment, mainly affects distress indirectly through deteriorating job conditions. However, adaptive cost and identity salience hypotheses predict that the effects of industrial- and job-level conditions interact. I test for cross-level interactions between industrial unemployment and job demands and complexity using hierarchical linear modeling, individual data for 7,095 workers from the 198 7-1988 National Survey of Families and Households, and industry data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics" 1986-1988 Current Population Surveys. Economic stress at the industrial level has a direct positive effect on worker distress, and economic stress is more distressing to workers in rewarding, complex jobs. In contrast, job demands increase distress, but this effect does not interact with industrial employment conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the psychological impact of receiving welfare. The prospective longitudinal data are from a cohort of African American mothers (N = 833). Four explanations structured the analyses: social selection; chronic burdens; a failure hypothesis; and earlier life conditions of welfare recipients. Psychological distress was assessed by women's reports of depressed and anxious moods. Women were categorized into one of four welfare conditions by receipt of welfare when their children were first-graders and 10 years later. Concurrent and longitudinal relationships existed between the women's welfare status and reports of psychological distress. Welfare recipients had more chronic burdens--including perceived ill health--which helped to explain these relationships. Measures of failure did not "explain" the greater psychological distress. Women who grew up receiving welfare were more likely to report psychological distress and lower self-esteem later in life. The women's education influenced welfare and physical and psychological well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the community prevalence of 20 life traumas and considers their individual relevance as risk factors for psychiatric disorder. Also presented is the first evidence on the mental health significance of cumulative adversity as indexed by a count of lifetime exposure to a wide array of potentially traumatic events. The question of the importance of considering such events within efforts to assess variations in life stress is also examined. Our results demonstrate clear relationships between many traumatic events and, especially, accumulated lifetime trauma experience and both psychological distress and psychiatric disorder. That these relationships persist with temporal priority controlled--and net of the effects of parental psychopathology--suggests the causal relevance of major lifetime events and the conclusion that they represent an important dimension of increased mental health risk. From these findings and from evidence for the significance of traumas in disorder recurrence, it is contended that failure to take account of such events has resulted in the systematic underestimation of the role of stress exposure in accounting for variations in emotional distress and disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine sources of gender differences in depressive symptoms among adolescents. Using data collected from a self-administered survey of 306 high school students, we examine differences in the impact of life events, psychosocial resources, and parent-child relationships on levels of psychological distress. Our results confirm a substantial gender difference in level of psychological distress. Moreover, analyses indicate that this gender difference may be due largely to higher levels of self-esteem among males and a tendency for adolescents to perceive their fathers to be overprotective. There is, however, also evidence that other psychosocial resources and parent-child relationships are implicated in this gender difference. We also present analyses to support our contention that parent-child relationships have important effects on the development of psychosocial resources of adolescents that, in turn, influence levels of depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on two forces (stressors and resources) in the life stress process as they affect psychological distress. Utilizing three waves of panel data from a representative community sample in upstate New York, six causal models of the life stress process are tested with indicators of two types of stressors (social and physiological) and two types of resources (social and psychological). Both deterring and coping models are tested. Analysis shows that: (1) stressors and resources in the social environment have a direct impact on depressive symptoms, (2) social resources mediate the effects of social stressors on psychological distress, and (3) psychological resources indirectly affect distress by enhancing social resources. The critical role played by the social environment in the life stress process involving psychological distress is substantiated. The implications of these and other findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigators have suggested that social roles, particularly gender roles, may explain the tendency for women to have higher rates of demoralization than men. Results of studies comparing employed women, employed men, and housewives have been mixed, however, and investigators have begun to consider additional explanatory factors. This paper focuses on a potential source of gender differences in distress that has received relatively little attention: the workplace itself. I consider the extent to which work conditions and the sexual segregation of occupations are related to two measures of distress: demoralization, which is more prevalent among women, and drinking, which is more prevalent among men. Multiple regression analyses indicate that the only work-related factors associated with demoralization are substantive complexity and full-time work, and these have an effect among women only. Full-time work and low levels of complexity are associated with higher levels of demoralization among women. Substantive complexity is also associated with drinking, but only among men; as complexity declines, levels of drinking increase. These findings indicate the importance of considering work-related factors and measures of distress associated differentially with gender when investigating gender differences in distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the effect of gender identity on rates of psychological distress, delinquency, and drug and alcohol problems among a representative sample of adolescents. It examines whether pathologies such as delinquency that are prevalent among males can be viewed as functionally equivalent to those involving the internalization of distress more common among females. As expected, females display higher rates of distress and males of delinquency and alcohol and drug problems. In addition to these sex differences, gender identity is related to the behaviors of interest. Both males and females with masculine identities show relatively low rates of distress and alcohol and drug problems. For males, high rates of delinquency are associated with identification with masculinity and rejection of femininity. The influence of gender identity on these styles of pathology increases over the course of adolescence and young adulthood. The implications of these findings for theories of the functional equivalence of sex-sterotyped pathologies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, a body of research has developed which purports to show that the well-established relationship between race and psychological distress is duc entirely to social class. In our paper we demonstrate that this view is incorrect: Most prior research has assumed that the effects of race and social class are additive; our analysis shows that they are actually interactive. The form of interaction is such that thc true effect of race is suppressed and tire true effect of social class is magnified in a model that fails to take the interaction into consideration. An analysis of eight different epidemiologic surveys documents this result and shows that race differences in psychological distress are particularly pronounced among people with low incomes. On the basis of this result we call for renewed interest in the effect of race on mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown that sex differences in psychological distress have declined over the past several decades. Most commonly, the decline is attributed to increases in women's participation in the labor force, which is thought to have improved the mental health of women while reducing the mental health of men (i.e., husbands). Our paper examines the effect of changes in men's employment patterns during the past two decades. The findings show that declines in men's employment are as important as increases in women's employment in accounting for the sex trend in psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been known that persons in socially disadvantaged statuses are particularly likely to exhibit symptoms of psychological distress. Why this is so remains the subject of controversy. This paper sheds some light on the controversy by analyzing survey data on stress, social status, and psychological distress. Two components of the status-distress relationship are isolated empirically: (1) a differential exposure to stress component, interpretable as one sort of social causation influence; and (2) a component due to the differential impact of comparable stresses on people in different categories of various status dimensions. The analysis shows that differential impact is the more important determinant in relationships between social class, sex, and marital status and self-reported distress. Only in the comparison of whites to nonwhites is differential exposure the key determinant. The implications of these findings for our under- standing of the social status-psychological distress relationship are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the hypothesis that psychological distress is causally related to physician utilization among enrollees in a prepaid group practice. Measures of distress are constructed from questions included in a survey interview, while the utilization data come from medical records. Distress levels were measured prior to the period of utilization studied. The results show a positive relationship between distress and physician utilization, which persists even when a variety of sociodemographic, attitudinal, and health status variables have been controlled. The results are discussed in terms of a perspective that emphasizes social-psychological needs as triggers for physician utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on stigma and discrimination during COVID-19 has focused on racism and xenophobia in Western countries. In comparison, little research has considered stigma processes, discrimination, and their public health implications in non-Western contexts. This study draws on quantitative survey data (N = 7,942) and qualitative interview data (N = 50) to understand the emergence, experiences, and mental health implications of stigma and discrimination during China's COVID-19 outbreak. Given China's history of regionalism, we theorize and use a survey experiment to empirically assess region-based stigma: People who lived in Hubei (the hardest hit province) during the outbreak and those who were socially associated with Hubei were stigmatized. Furthermore, the COVID-19 outbreak created stigma around people labeled as patients by the state. These stigmatized groups reported greater perceived discrimination, which—as a stressor—led to psychological distress. Our interview data illuminated how the stigmatized groups perceived, experienced, and coped with discrimination and stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health costs of economic change are measured in a cross-level analysis that combines aggregate economic conditions (unemployment rate or absolute change in employment levels) with individual self-reports of undesirable job and financial events, psychosomatic symptoms, and help-seeking for emotional problems. The data were collected in Los Angeles County during 1978-80 in 12 quarterly surveys. Data for 4,144 Anglo respondents are analyzed in seven-way contingency tables to test two competing classes of explanations of the reported association between economic change and the use of mental health facilities. One class assumes that economic contraction affects utilization by increasing the incidence of disorder. The other class assumes that economic change affects utilization without increasing the incidence of disorder, but by influencing the decision to seek help for chronic or anticipated disorder. The results support versions of both classes of explanations. The support, however, is qualified by several factors that suggest that the widely-cited association between the economy and mental health is more complex than usually portrayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author responds to two minor points raised by James M. LaRocco while commenting on his article "Conceptual, Methodological and Theoretical Problems in the Study of Social Support as a Buffer Against Life Stress," published in the June 1982 issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, and addresses in some major disagreement over the importance of disentangling the main and interactive effects of social support. The degree of confirmation obtained for the buffering hypothesis may depend upon the degree to which social support measures are contaminated by or confounded with measures of life change. He points out that there are both theoretical and empirical reasons to examine further the dependence of psychological distress upon social support. The main effect issues are theoretically relevant to buffering effect issues; they change the nature of the buffering question. It is entirely possible that social support simply counterbalances, rather than buffers, the influence of stress upon the individual. Researchers concerned with primary prevention of illness and distress as well as those concerned with secondary prevention of illness and distress should be interested in the resolution of this issue.

A policy brief is provided on psychological distress and social isolation prior to and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, including the impact of social isolation on diminishing the mental health of older people. It recommends that public health policies related to social distancing coincide with mental health services to address social isolation and distress in the elderly.

Socioeconomic disadvantage and disorder in the residential neighborhood have been linked to multiple health risks, but less is known about the relevance of other spaces of daily life. This article considers whether disadvantage and disorder in the immediate context—within or outside of the residential neighborhood—is associated with physiological symptoms indicative of stress and strain. We use data from a study of 61 older adults in four New York City neighborhoods. Participants carried smartphones to capture GPS locations and ecological momentary assessments during the study week. We find that instantaneous exposure to disorder is associated with momentary spikes in pain and fatigue. This is not explained by cumulative exposure to disorder or concurrent stress or fear. Rather, disordered spaces may be physically and cognitively taxing for older adults in real time. We urge further research on short- and long-term health consequences of activity spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tendency for blacks to report similar or better mental health than whites has served as an enduring paradox in the mental health literature for the past three decades. However, a debate persists about the mechanisms that underlie this paradox. Drawing on the stress process framework, we consider the counterbalancing roles of self-esteem and traumatic stress exposure in understanding the "black-white paradox" among U.S. adolescents. Using nationally representative data, we observe that blacks have higher levels of self-esteem than whites but also encounter higher levels of traumatic stress exposure. Adjusting for self-esteem reveals a net higher rate of mood disorders and distress among blacks relative to whites, and differences in traumatic stress exposure mediate this association. In the full model, we show that self-esteem and stress exposure offset each other, resulting in a null association between race and mood disorders and a reduced association between race and distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ample work stresses the interdependence of spouses' psychological distress and that women are more influenced by their spouse's distress than men. Yet previous studies have focused primarily on heterosexual couples, raising questions about whether and how this gendered pattern might unfold for men and women in same-sex marriages. We analyze 10 days of diary data from a purposive sample of men and women in same-sex and different-sex marriages ( n = 756 individuals from 378 couples) to examine psychological distress transmission between spouses and how this process may differ for men and women in same-sex and different-sex marriages. We find that women are more strongly influenced by their partners' distress than men, regardless of whether they are married to a man or a woman, and that this relationship is particularly strong for women with male spouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roe v. Wade was heralded as an end to unequal access to abortion care in the United States. However, today, despite being common and safe, abortion is performed only selectively in hospitals and private practices. Drawing on 61 interviews with obstetrician-gynecologists in these settings, we examine how they determine which abortions to perform. We find that they distinguish between more and less legitimate abortions, producing a narrative of stratified legitimacy that privileges abortions for intended pregnancies, when the fetus is unhealthy, and when women perform normative gendered sexuality, including distress about the abortion, guilt about failure to contracept, and desire for motherhood. This stratified legitimacy can perpetuate socially-inflected inequality of access and normative gendered sexuality. Additionally, we argue that the practice by physicians of distinguishing among abortions can legitimate legislative practices that regulate and restrict some kinds of abortion, further constraining abortion access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have examined the associations between health and the cross-border ties that migrants maintain with their family members in communities of origin. We draw on theory related to social ties, ethnic identity, and mental health to examine cross-border ties as potential moderators of the association between migration-related stress and psychological distress among Latino migrants. Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Survey, we find that remittance sending is associated with significantly lower levels of psychological distress for Cuban migrants, and difficulty visiting home is associated with significantly greater psychological distress for Puerto Rican migrants. There were significant associations between migration-related stressors and psychological distress, although these associations fell to nonsignificance after accounting for multiple testing. We found little evidence that cross-border ties either buffer or exacerbate the association between migration-related stressors and psychological distress. We consider the findings within the current political and historical context of cross-border ties and separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust literature suggests that suicide is socially contagious; however, we know little about how and why suicide spreads. Using network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examine the effects of alter’s (1) disclosed and (2) undisclosed suicide attempts, (3) suicide ideation, and (4) emotional distress on ego’s mental health one year later to gain insights into the emotional and cultural mechanisms that underlie suicide contagion. We find that when egos know about alter’s suicide attempt, they report significantly higher levels of emotional distress and are more likely to report suicidality, net of extensive controls; however, alter’s undisclosed suicide attempts and ideation have no significant effect on ego’s mental health. Finally, we find evidence that emotional distress is contagious in adolescence, though it does not seem to promote suicidality. We discuss the implications of our findings for suicide contagion specifically and sociology more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author proposes a conceptual model to explain the diverse roles of social capital—resources embedded in social networks—in the social production of health. Using a unique national U.S. sample, the author estimated a path analysis model to examine the direct and indirect effects of social capital on psychological distress and its intervening effects on the relationships between other structural antecedents and psychological distress. The results show that social capital is inversely associated with psychological distress, and part of that effect is indirect through subjective social status. Social capital also acts as an intervening mechanism to link seven social factors (age, gender, race-ethnicity, education, occupational prestige, annual family income, and voluntary participation) with psychological distress. This study develops the theory of social capital as network resources and demonstrates the complex functions of social capital as a distinct social determinant of health. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using data from a national survey of working Americans (Work, Stress, and Health Survey; N = 1,042), the authors examine the associations between boundary-spanning work demands and self-reported feelings of guilt and distress. The authors document gender differences in the emotional and mental health consequences of boundary-spanning work demands, as indexed by the frequency of receiving work-related contact outside of normal work hours. Specifically, the authors observe that frequent work contact is associated with more feelings of guilt and distress among women only. Analyses also demonstrate that guilt accounts for the positive association between the frequency of work contact and distress among women. Statistical adjustments for levels of guilt reduce the positive association between frequent work contact and distress among women to nonsignificance. The findings underscore the importance of focusing on gender and emotions in work-family interface processes, as well as their implications for psychological health. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We analyze data from the South African Stress and Health Study, a nationally representative in-person psychiatric epidemiologic survey of 4,351 adults conducted as part of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative between January 2002 and June 2004. All blacks (Africans, Coloreds, and Indians) initially report higher levels of non-specific distress and anger/hostility than whites. Access to socioeconomic resources helps explain differences in non-specific distress between Coloreds and whites and Indians and whites. However, only when social stressors are considered do we find few differences in psychological distress (i.e., non-specific distress and anger/hostility) between Africans and whites. In addition, self-esteem and mastery have independent effects on non-specific distress and anger/hostility, but differences between Coloreds and whites in feelings of anger/hostility are not completely explained by self-esteem and mastery. The findings contribute to the international body of work on social stress theory, challenge underlying assumptions of the minority status perspective, and raise a series of questions regarding mental health disparities among South Africans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The sociology of stress shows how nondisordered people often become distressed in contexts such as chronic subordination; the losses of status, resources, and attachments; or the inability to achieve valued goals. Evolutionary psychology indicates that distress arising in these contexts stems from psychological mechanisms that are responding appropriately to stressful circumstances. A diagnosis of mental disorder, in contrast, indicates that these mechanisms are not functioning as they are designed to function. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, however, has come to treat both the natural results of the stress process and individual pathology as mental disorders. A number of social groups benefit from and promote the conflation of normal emotions with dysfunctions. The result has been to overestimate the number of people who are considered to be disordered, to focus social policy on the supposedly unmet need for treatment, and to enlarge the social space of pathology in the general culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we evaluate the relative power of differential exposure and differential vulnerability to stressors to account for variations in psychological distress between single and married mothers. The data for this assessment are derived from a longitudinal survey of 518 single mothers and 502 married mothers living in London, Ontario, Canada. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses clearly reveal that the higher levels of psychological distress experienced by single mothers compared to married mothers are almost entirely related to their greater exposure to stress and strain rather than to any group differences in vulnerability to stressful experiences. Across a number of different dimensions of social stressors, single mothers are consistently more exposed to these stressors than married mothers are. Moreover, this differential exposure persists over time. In contrast, there is no evidence that single mothers are more vulnerable or reactive to stressors than are married mothers. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for the sociology of mental health and for primary prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does psychological distress increase mortality risk? If it does, are women more vulnerable than men to the effect of distress on mortality? Drawing from cumulative disadvantage theory, these questions are addressed with data from a 20-year follow-up of a national sample of adults ages 25-74. Event history analyses were performed to examine mortality from general and specific causes for men and women. Findings reveal that the effect of psychological distress on all-cause mortality was nonlinear for men. Moderate amounts of distress were associated with lower mortality risk, but high levels of distress raised men's mortality risk. Moreover the curvilinear relationship between distress and mortality varied by cause of death for men and women. Men with high levels of psychological distress were more vulnerable to ischemic heart disease mortality. Women with high levels of distress were more vulnerable to cancer mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesize that divorce immediately increases psychological distress and has long-term negative consequences for the physical health of divorced people. In addition, we hypothesize that divorce indirectly causes long-term increases in distress through stressful midlife events. The hypotheses are tested using data from 416 rural Iowa women who were interviewed repeatedly in the early 1990s when they were mothers of adolescent children; the women were interviewed again in 2001. The data support the hypotheses. In the years immediately after their divorce (1991-1994), divorced women reported significantly higher levels ofpsychological distress than married women but no differences in physical illness. A decade later (in 2001), the divorced women reported significantly higher levels of illness, even after controlling for age, remarriage, education, income, and prior health. Compared to their married counterparts, divorced women reported higher levels of stressful life events between 1994 and 2000, which led to higher levels of depressive symptoms in 2001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from a sample of 1,136 adults ages 65 and older in the District of Columbia and two adjoining counties in Maryland, we examine the association between neighborhood structural disadvantage and levels of anger. In addition, we test whether subjective financial comparisons with neighbors modify those effects differently for elders at different levels of income. We find that the association between neighborhood disadvantage and anger is positive among lower-income elders who feel financially advantaged relative to their neighbors. In contrast, the association between neighborhood disadvantage and anger is positive among higher-income elders who feel financially disadvantaged relative to their neighbors. Irrespective of income, neighborhood disadvantage is unrelated to anger among people who feel financially similar to their neighbors. We discuss the implications of our findings for the study of neighborhood context and health, underscoring interrelationships among inequality, social comparisons, and the stress process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 1996 and 1998 General Social Surveys, we explore the relationships among age, age-linked personal and social qualities and two measures of psychological distress: depression (1996) and generalized distress (1998). Our study has three aims: (1) to replicate the u-shaped age-distress relationship in two recent U.S. data sets, (2) to confirm and elaborate on the mediators of the parabolic association, and (3) to explore the possible suppressor effects. In 1996, depression decreases from young adulthood into midlife and increases among the oldest-old. Less education, lower control, and widowhood contribute to old-age upturn; however, fewer time demands and greater financial satisfaction suppress the upward curve. Conversely, greater control less shame, and greater religious attendance contribute to the decline through midlife; however, poorer health in midlife suppress that decline. Age patterns in distress are similar in the 1998 sample. Greater satisfaction with finances and fewer religious doubts contribute to the downward slope; however, declining levels of health suppress that downturn. Less education and retired status contribute to the old-age upturn. In sum, personal and social conditions have opposing influences on the parabolic relationship between age and distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do racial differences in many indicators of mental and emotional wellbeing show inconsistent patterns? We propose that mental and emotional wellbeing are influenced by aspects of the social context, including experiences of unfair treatment and the concentration of households with incomes below the poverty level, and that differential exposure to these factors influences racial differences in mental well-being. We analyze the reporting of psychological distress and life satisfaction in a multistage area probability sample of 1,139 African American and white residents of the Detroit metropolitan area aged 18 and older Both psychological distress and life satisfaction are significantly associated with exposure to unfair treatment and with the proportion of households in the census block group that were below the poverty level. Racial differences in psychological distress and life satisfaction were eliminated or reversed once differentials in the percent of households living below the poverty line and exposure to unfair treatment were accounted for. These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence that "race" effects operate through multiple pathways that include race-based residential segregation and its attendant economic disinvestment at the community level, and interpersonal experiences of unfair treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is involvement in multiple roles beneficial for women's health or do the often noted health benefits of multiple roles reflect an ongoing process of role management? We address this question by looking at two roles, caregiving and employment, and by investigating changes in women's health as they move into and out of both roles. We examine changes in physical health limitations and psychological distress over a two-year period with data from a nationally representative sample of 2,929 late-midlife women. Looking first at health changes associated with caregiving, we find that psychological distress increases as women move into and continue caring for an ill or disabled person in their household. Caregiving has a weaker effect on physical health, but increases in physical limitations prompt exits from caregiving. Increases in physical limitations also appear to be greater for non-employed women, but some or all of this difference reflects selection out of the labor force for women having difficulty combining both roles. Our findings provide further evidence that care work has implications for women's health, while also suggesting a need for further attention to the ways that women actively manage problematic role combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare retirement with full-time employment on four forms of engaging activity and examine the consequences of retirement activities for the sense of control and psychological distress. We use a 1995 U.S. national telephone probability sample of 2,592 respondents with an oversample of persons aged sixty and older. In comparison to the activities of full-time employees, those of retirees are more alienating on some aspects but more engaging on others. Retiree activities are more routine, provide less of a chance to learn new things, provide less positive social interaction with others, and they are especially unlikely to involve problem-solving. However, retirees' activities are also equally enjoyable and more autonomous compared to those of full-time workers. Autonomous activities, fulfilling activities which are enjoyable and provide the opportunity to learn new things, and integrated activities are all positively associated with a sense of control and negatively associated with psychological distress. However, solving problems is associated with both high levels of control and high levels of distress. Retirees have a significantly lower sense of control than do full-time employees, in large part because of the characteristics of their daily activities. At the same time, retirees do not have significantly higher levels of psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous scholars' attempts to account for the salutary effects of social roles (i.e., employment, marriage, and parenting) on distress have considered the mediating effects of role-specific identity meaning. These attempts, however, have had limited success. I argue that social roles affect distress because they provide a global integrative meaning and that this integrative concept of meaning is theoretically different from role-specific identity meaning. My data were drawn from a national probability sample of 2,248 respondents age 18 years and over. My results provide substantial evidence that social roles have a salutary relationship on distress and that integrative meaning mediates these effects. The effects of the marriage and parenting roles on distress are the most affected by the mediating effects of integrative meaning. My discussion addresses these findings in light of recent research which considers other theoretically important and potentially related constructs such as role-specific identity meaning, global self-esteem and role-specific self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress is a common experience in modern society, and it can affect both physical and mental health. Recognizing that not all stress is detrimental to health, this research examines the relationship between perceptions of distress and perceived health within a longitudinal framework. Using two waves of a nationally representative panel study, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (NHANES I), structural equation modeling revealed that distress leads to more negative health perceptions. In addition, perceived health was found to impact distress levels at the following wave suggesting a cycle of decline between distress and perceived health. Finally, perceived health was found to have predictive validity in determining future functional disability even when considering distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes stress as derived from minority status and explores its effect on psychological distress in gay men. The concept of minority stress is based on the premise that gay people in a heterosexist society are subjected to chronic stress related to their stigmatization. Minority stressors were conceptualized as: internalized homophobia, which relates to gay men's direction of societal negative attitudes toward the self; stigma, which relates to expectations of rejection and discrimination; and actual experiences of discrimination and violence. The mental health effects of the three minority stressors were tested in a community sample of 741 New York City gay men. The results supported minority stress hypotheses: each of the stressors had a significant independent association with a variety of mental health measures. Odds ratios suggested that men who had high levels of minority stress were twice to three times as likely to suffer also from high levels of distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I examine the psychological impact of negative and positive events in roles that individuals view as salient or important for self-conception. Events in highly salient role-identity domains (identity-threatening and identity-enhancing events) should have greater effects on symptoms than those in less salient domains. Data come from interviews with a stratified two-wave panel sample of 532 married and divorced urban adults. Contrary to expectations, the influences of events on changes in psychological distress and alcohol/drug use were not dependent on the importance of the role-identity to the individual. Exploratory qualitative analyses suggested several reasons why. I reformulate the identity-relevant stress hypothesis in light of these observations, and argue that contextual details about events are required to test the revised hypothesis adequately. The complex influences of stressors on perceptions of identity salience need further examination as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A representative national sample of 2,031 adults aged 18 to 90 was interviewed by telephone in 1990. Results showed that men report better health than women, but that the gap closes with age. We argue that a gender difference in labor and lifestyles explains sex differences in perceived health across the life course: gender inequality in paid and unpaid work and the subjective experience of inequality disadvantage women, whereas lifestyle disadvantages men. Women are less likely to be employed, and are more likely to work part-time, have lower incomes and more economic hardship, and to do more unpaid domestic labor than men, all of which except domestic labor are associated with poor health. Domestic labor improves health, up to doing 60 percent of the housework. Women also have more distress and fewer subjective work rewards, both of which are associated with poor health. If women had the same levels of paid work, household income, economic hardship, work rewards, and distress as men, their health would equal that of men's and surpass it by age 59. Although we expected to find an overwhelming male disadvantage in lifestyle, we did not. Men are more likely than women to walk and to exercise strenuously, both of which are associated with good health. If women's labor and leisure-time physical activity equalled men's, women over the age of 54 would experience better health than men. Men's lifestyle disadvantage comes from their greater tendency to smoke and to be overweight, both of which are associated with poor health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]