Deck 10: Mental Health and Illness

Question 1

Medicalization:

A)is reflected in the physical and mental health practices of the population, which are now guided by the advice of medical "experts"
B)occurs when states regulate the credentials of individuals who provide therapy and other treatments for mental illness
C)is the process through which a behavior or set of behaviors or perceptions becomes defined as a disease
D)refers to the societal shift in the perceived locus of psychiatric symptoms from spiritual sources (e.g., demons) to biological entities (e.g., neurotransmitters)
E)both a and b

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Labeling theorists argue that witchcraft and mental illness are similar constructs in that both labels are subjective and can be applied to any action and:

A)can be resisted once the target recognizes their subjective nature
B)once they are applied, there is nothing the targets of either label can do to prove they are not in this category
C)they are, or have been, applied with equal frequency across groups within society
D)they have largely failed in controlling people's behaviors
E)all of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The fact that mental patients given surveys about their stay in the hospital were most likely to report that their experiences were positive when their commitment was voluntary (vs. court ordered) is probably due to:

A)cognitive dissonance
B)elective compliance
C)schematic processing
D)social loafing
E)status inconsistency

Answer 3

A

Question 4

When it comes to diagnosing mental illness, which individuals are the most common targets of abusive (i.e., financially driven) labeling practices these days?

A)adolescents
B)adults without medical insurance
C)individuals who work in hospitals and other medical facilities
D)people living in rural areas
E)teachers and other professionals who serve as role models for children

Question 5

In the study by Rosenbaum and Prinsky, discussed in Chapter 10, adolescents who allegedly ________________________________ were readily recommended for inpatient treatment by intake personnel at psychiatric hospitals.

A)abused alcohol and other drugs
B)participated in a heavy metal subculture
C)self-injured
D)stole and used their parents' prescription drugs
E)threatened parents or other family members with violence

Question 6

Modified labeling theory emphasizes the importance of mental patients' _____________________ in shaping the outcomes of the labeling process.

A)class backgrounds
B)gender-role attitudes and gender-expressive ideologies
C)intellectual abilities
D)recognition that mental illness is stigmatized within this society
E)specific DSM diagnoses

Question 7

Which of the following research findings supports the modified labeling theory of mental illness?

A)Adolescents often stay in mental hospitals longer than adults.
B)Mental hospitals increase, rather than decrease, individuals' participation in deviant behavior.
C)Mental patients often report that their experiences in the psychiatric hospital were positive.
D)Social class, gender, and race/ethnicity affect whether people are diagnosed with a mental illness and the specific DSM diagnosis they receive.
E)The more mental patients expect to be stigmatized, the more limited their social networks become.

Question 8

Symbolic interactionist David Karp studied the illness careers of individuals with:

A)anorexia or bulimia
B)bipolar disorder
C)borderline personality disorder
D)depression
E)schizophrenia

Question 9

Following the receipt of a formal diagnosis, the individuals with depression that symbolic interactionist David Karp studied often reported engaging in:

A)deviance disavowal
B)participation in a deviant subculture
C)primary deviance
D)retrospective self-labeling
E)secondary deviance

Question 10

The main point of the Rosenhan article "On Being Sane in Insane Places" is:

A)most mental illnesses have environmental causes
B)psychiatric nurses have better medical and interpersonal skills than psychiatrists
C)psychiatrists cannot accurately distinguish between the sane and the mentally ill
D)the setting in which behavior occurs has little influence on people's perceptions
E)there is a strong relationship between mental illness and social class

Question 11

Which of the following statements about mental institutions is NOT true, from a labeling perspective?

A)Mental hospitals are efficient in desocializing patients.
B)Mental hospitals enhance the psychological well-being of patients.
C)Mental hospitals facilitate patients' participation in acts of secondary deviance.
D)Mental hospitals control all aspects of the lives of the patients who reside within them.
E)Mental hospitals essentially kill off the selves people bring into the institution.

Question 12

Which of the following concepts have sociological social psychologists applied to the experiences of people with mental illness?

A)camp
B)career
C)family
D)school
E)vacation

Question 13

All of the following conditions are outcomes of the process of medicalization except:

A)attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
B)oversharing sociability disorder (OSD)
C)premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
D)social anxiety disorder (SAD)
E)all of the conditions listed are outcomes of the process of medicalization

Question 14

Many of the patients in in-patient treatment facilities have:

A)bipolar disorder
B)depression
C)megalomania
D)partial psychosis
E)schizophrenia

Question 15

Scheff defines residual deviance as:

A)deviant behaviors that have no effect on anyone other than the perpetrator
B)low-consensus behaviors defined by some people as deviant and others as normative
C)minimal acts of deviance that occurs after, and often as the result of, a serious criminal behavior
D)the unexpected and often atypical consequences of normative behaviors
E)those behaviors that violate social norms for which we have no specific label

Question 16

In his critique of modern psychiatry, Thomas Szasz identifies two functions of mental illness. They are:

A)domination and revenge
B)explanation and social control
C)knowledge and retribution
D)pain and profit
E)understanding and protection

Question 17

Total institutions are:

A)agents of resocialization
B)designed to teach children how to be responsible adults
C)groups and organizations that take on the tasks traditionally associated with the family and schools
D)organizations with rigid hierarchies but flexible roles and rules
E)voluntary associations

Question 18

The process through which people are reprogrammed with new values and norms following one or more a serious transgressions is called:

A)behavior-self reformation
B)personality repair
C)resocialization
D)secondary development
E)self-healing

Question 19

Mental hospitals and prisons are good examples of:

A)developmental tools
B)involuntary organizations
C)secondary institutions
D)structural blocks
E)total institutions

Question 20

Within a total institution, inmates are isolated from individuals with whom they have relationships and they are denied the props and behavioral freedoms that would enable them to claim their preinstitutionalization identities. According to Goffman, this results in:

A)acts of primary deviance
B)behaviors that are normative and deemed desirable
C)the enactment of resistance plans
D)the formation of strategic task groups
E)the mortification of self

Question 21

The four stages in the illness career of people with depression are an initial period of inchoate feelings, the realization that something really is wrong, _______________, and acceptance of the illness identity.

A)crisis
B)emotion management
C)network expansion
D)self-labeling
E)stigma control

Question 22

How people come to terms with being diagnosed with depression is shaped by:

A)the quality of their doctors
B)the stigma associated with mental illness within this society
C)the kind of medication they take (e.g., an SSRI or a more potent antipsychotic drug)
D)whether they spent time in a public or private psychiatric hospital
E)all of the above

Question 23

Describe the two functions of mental illness, as identified by Thomas Szasz. Use an example of a situation you encountered, heard about from others or on the news, or read about to illustrate one or both of the two functions of mental illness for society.

Question 24

What is a total institution? In what ways do the characteristics of total institutions, such as the isolation of inmates from the rest of society, the removal of props, and the issue of standard attire, contribute to the mortification of mental patients' selves? Why is this process significant?

Question 25

Apply your knowledge of the labeling process, and Goffman's observations on the structure and function of total institutions, to a noninpatient setting. To what extent does being labeled as mentally ill impact individuals' self-concepts and future behaviors outside of the context of a total institution?

Question 26

Discuss Rosenhan's pseudopatient study, described in his article entitled "On Being Sane in Insane Places." How was the study designed and what were Rosenhan's key findings?

Question 27

How is the label "mentally ill" similar to the label "witch"?

Question 28

Describe the main focus of the modified labeling theory of mental illness. Discuss how the studies guided by this theory differ from those guided by (traditional) labeling theory. It might be suggested that modified labeling theorists are simply blaming the victim. Explain the origin of this accusation (why people might think this is the case) and why it isn't true.

Question 29

Compare and contrast the research conducted within the labeling tradition to studies on the stress process within social structure and personality. In what ways are these bodies of literature similar and in what ways do they differ? Why, given these differences, are both literatures considered to be within the realm of sociological social psychology?

Question 30

Compare research on the sociology of mental health within social structure and personality to studies of mental illness conducted within the symbolic interactionist face of sociological social psychology. Indicate how these bodies of literature differ, what they have in common, and how they can be combined to enhance our understanding of the causes and consequences of poor mental health within this society.

Question 31

What is medicalization? Give an example of a condition or behavioral pattern that has been medicalized. What consequences has the medicalization of this condition likely to have had for the individuals who have received this diagnosis? Why are sociologists, including labeling theorists, concerned about the increasing trend toward medicalization within this society?

Question 32

Do you have high self-complexity? Explain. What consequence might your level of self-complexity have for your psychological well-being?

Question 33

What is self-complexity? How is high self-complexity like not having all of your eggs in one basket?

Question 34

Symbolic interactionist research conducted within the labeling tradition and studies of the stress process within social structure and personality are similar in that both literatures:

A)are critical of current social arrangements and practices
B)are quantitative in orientation
C)emphasize the role of biological as well as social factors in the etiology of psychological disorder
D)emphasize the importance of race over social class (or SES) in determining mental health outcomes
E)exemplify a discrete category approach to the study of mental health and mental illness

Question 35

What's the difference between psychological distress and psychiatric disorder? Why do SSP researchers focus on the former rather than the latter outcome?

Question 36

Discuss the relationship between stressors, resources, and psychological distress. In doing so, please define and contrast the differential exposure and differential vulnerability models of the relationship between status characteristics and psychological well-being.

Question 37

Social support buffers the effect of stressors on psychological distress. What does this mean?

Question 38

What is self-complexity and how is it measured? Describe the relationship between self-complexity, stressors, and distress.

Question 39

What do stress researchers mean when they refer to the "proliferation of stressors"?

Question 40

How do coping resources differ from coping strategies? Please be specific.

Question 41

List and describe the three effective coping strategies discussed in Chapter 10. Give an example of a situation in which you used at least one of these strategies to reduce your level of psychological distress.

Question 42

Why do individuals suffering from schizophrenia fare worse in the United States and other technologically advanced Western societies than they do in less technologically advanced non-Western cultures?

Question 43

Individuals who subscribe to the medical model of mental illness believe that mental illnesses:

A)are equally distributed throughout the population
B)are socially based "diseases"
C)almost always begin during childhood
D)can be prevented through nutrition and vaccination
E)can often be treated with medication

Question 44

Both the differential exposure and the differential vulnerability models have been used to explain racial/ethnic differences in long-term PTSD among Vietnam veterans.

Question 45

Racial/ethnic differences in levels of psychological distress are better explained by the differential vulnerability model than by the differential exposure model.

Question 46

Research on self-complexity and depression is a good example of Iowa/Indiana school symbolic interactionist research on mental illness.

Question 47

Psychological distress:

A)is either present or absent, with no in-between
B)is equally distributed across social categories
C)is the psychological manifestation of stress
D)is the social-psychological term for psychiatric disorder
E)all of the above

Question 48

Stressors include all of the following except:

A)chronic strains
B)low self-esteem
C)major traumas
D)negative life events
E)role strains

Question 49

The proliferation of stressors occurs when:

A)a stressor, like divorce, is contagious in that it spreads within a social group
B)exposure to one stressor causes exposure to other stressors
C)individuals become stressed as the result of taking on the burden of others' stressors
D)someone's behavior causes multiple others to experience stressors
E)someone experiences multiple negative life events at the same time

Question 50

Suppose that Emily gets fired from her job and, as a result, she loses her house. Within this context, loss of the house would be considered a:

A)dependent event
B)indirect outcome
C)mediating variable
D)tertiary strain
E)secondary stressor

Question 51

Mastery, self-esteem, and social support are:

A)not themselves related to psychological distress
B)coping resources
C)constructed in response to stressors
D)sources of social control
E)stable over the life course

Question 52

When SSP researchers talk about mastery, they are referring to:

A)a form of competence-based intelligence
B)general skills that transcend any one situation
C)how well people do in school and at work
D)the extent to which people believe they have control over their lives
E)the number of skill based identities a person holds and the relative salience of each identity

Question 53

Coping strategies are more important than coping resources for dealing with psychological distress related to work (vs. the family)

Question 54

Self-esteem, mastery, and social support are coping resources.

Question 55

Within sociological social psychology, external conditions that cause stress are called structural occurrences.

Question 56

SSP researchers argue that expanding lower-class individuals' support networks would be the best way to reduce their risk for mental illness.

Question 57

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has been referred to as the medicalization of childhood.

Question 58

Labeling theorists have equated the concepts of mental illness and witchcraft.

Question 59

Most colleges and universities are total institutions.

Question 60

Labeling theorists argue that working mothers are the target demographic for private psychiatric facilities seeking to increase their profits.

Question 61

Research studies guided by the modified labeling theory usually focus on individuals residing within psychiatric hospitals.

Question 62

Research suggests that, among individuals who are within the same social class, African Americans are less likely than Whites to respond negatively to a family member's mental illness.

Question 63

Because bad things happen to everyone at one time or another, stress is evenly distributed across different groups within society.

Question 64

__________________ reflects individuals' ties to others and the extent to which they feel valued.

A)Mastery
B)Perceived relational acuity
C)Psychological distinctiveness
D)Self-esteem
E)Social support

Question 65

Among individuals who experience few stressors, social support has little affect on levels of psychological distress. However, when bad things happen, individuals with low levels of social support are at a much higher risk for psychological distress than people with high levels of social support. This kind of relationship is called a:

A)buffering effect
B)dependent effect
C)mediating effect
D)partial effect
E)spurious effect

Question 66

Suppose that Leo works at his family's business and believes he is a dependable and conscientious employee. He views himself in a similar manner within the context of his family. Leo has few other roles or social relationships. Imagine that Leo is on the verge of divorce because his wife believes he is not committed to his family and is unreliable. Leo is likely to experience a high level of psychological distress in this situation because he:

A)does not have effective coping strategies
B)has experienced a blow to his self-esteem
C)has low self-complexity
D)has low mastery
E)is experiencing role strain

Question 67

According to sociological social psychologists, psychological distress results in mental illness (i.e., a psychiatric disorder) when:

A)individuals have a biological predisposition to particular neurochemical imbalances
B)individuals' levels of stressor exposure exceeds their levels of coping resources
C)people's basic needs for food and shelter aren't being met
D)societies experience rapid social change
E)the self-concept has not developed in a normative fashion

Question 68

In Dohrenwend and associates' (2008) study, the differential exposure model best explained the high rate of chronic PTSD among:

A)Americans who worked as medics during the Vietnam War
B)African American Vietnam War veterans
C)Hispanic Vietnam War veterans
D)White Vietnam War veterans
E)women who served in the military during the Vietnam War

Question 69

In Dohrenwend and associates' (2008) study, the differential vulnerability model best explained the high rate of chronic PTSD among:

A)Americans who worked as medics during the Vietnam War
B)African American Vietnam War veterans
C)Hispanic Vietnam War veterans
D)White Vietnam War veterans
E)women who served in the military during the Vietnam War

Question 70

Why is race/ethnicity related to chronic PTSD among Vietnam War veterans but not to the incidence (onset of) PTSD among these individuals?

A)Chronic PTSD is more strongly related than the onset of PTSD is to personality characteristics.
B)The onset of PTSD is not related to the level of exposure to war zone stressors, while chronic PTSD is related to the level of exposure to war zone stressors.
C)The onset of PTSD is related to the level of exposure to war zone stressors, whereas chronic PTSD is not related to the level of exposure to war zone stressors.
D)Vulnerability to chronic, but not short-term, PTSD is strongly related to early socialization experiences.
E)Vulnerability to PTSD onset, but not to chronic PTSD, is strongly related to early socialization experiences.

Question 71

Poor children experience significantly more traumatic events than their more socioeconomically advantaged counterparts, and major traumas experienced during childhood put people at risk for subsequent mental illness. Thus, SSP researchers emphasize the fact that group differences in stressor exposure:

A)are a natural consequence of an industrial economy
B)benefit those individuals who are not mentally ill by creating the need for social service jobs
C)could be alleviated by offering seminars on money management and how best to cope with financial adversity
D)should be minimized through micro-level interventions like counseling
E)serve to reproduce the stratification hierarchy within society

Question 72

When it comes to intervention, social structure and personality researchers who study mental health advocate for:

A)initiatives that increase people's levels of social integration by expanding their social support networks
B)mandatory school-based stress-reduction programs
C)public policies that reduce stressor exposure among members of economically disadvantaged groups
D)the use of strategies that target micro-level interactions within families who have experienced one or more stressful events
E)both b and d

Question 73

Who is the most concerned about the content of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (the DSM) and the dominance of the medical model of mental illness within this society?

A)psychological social psychologists
B)psychiatrists
C)social psychologists working within the group structures and processes orientation
D)social structure and personality researchers
E)symbolic interactionists

Question 74

Why does self-complexity reduce the effects of negative events on psychological distress?

A)Following a negative event, people high in self-complexity can shift their attention to domains of self that are unaffected by these occurrences.
B)High self-complexity is associated with high self-esteem and mastery.
C)Individuals high in self-complexity have many different people who can give the social support.
D)Most people with high self-complexity are relatively accomplished and know how to cope with adversity.
E)People with complex self-concepts tend to be self-aggrandizing and may not recognize that something bad has happened.

Question 75

According to Linville, individuals are high in self-complexity when they:

A)experience many spontaneous emotions
B)have many nonoverlapping domains of self
C)have motivations and drives that are difficult to understand
D)have multiple identities
E)have relationships with many people

Question 76

Within psychological social psychology, cognitive schemata that reflect the different ways that people view themselves are called:

A)domains of self
B)mental frames
C)reflected appraisals
D)social identities
E)the "I"-"me" divide

Question 77

Social support:

A)explains much of the effect of social class on psychological distress
B)is not as relevant to the stress process as researchers originally suspected
C)levels vary day by day for most people
D)increases psychological distress by increasing individuals' levels of social obligation
E)reduces psychological distress when people are exposed to stressors

Question 78

Coping strategies:

A)are behavioral, versus cognitive, tools for reducing distress
B)are cognitive, rather than behavioral, in origin
C)are rarely effective in alleviating or preventing psychological distress
D)include self-esteem and mastery
E)refer to the things people do to minimize the negative effects of stressors

Question 79

Why do social structure and personality researchers study psychological distress rather than psychiatric disorder?

A)Measures of psychological distress are broader in scope than measures of psychiatric disorder and thus better represent people's experiences.
B)Psychological distress is easier to measure and is essentially the same as psychiatric disorder.
C)Psychiatric disorder is something that only psychiatrists, who are medical doctors, can measure.
D)Psychological distress is more stable over time than psychiatric disorder.
E)Research participants are hesitant to answer questions about mental illness.

Question 80

The differential exposure model is based on the notion that:

A)exposure to one stressor often results in exposure to other (secondary) stressors
B)group differences in psychological distress are due to group differences in stressor exposure
C)some individuals are more reactive than other individuals to the stressors they're exposed to
D)the magnitude of the stressors people experience varies across time and place
E)all of the above