Why and how inequality matters.
Abstract
In this article, I share some thoughts about how we might extend the study of mental health inequalities by drawing from key insights in sociology and sociological social psychology about the nature of inequality and the processes through which it is produced, maintained, and resisted. I suggest several questions from sociological research on stratification that could help us understand unexpected patterns of mental health inequalities. I also advocate for the analysis of "generic" social psychological processes through which inequalities are produced, maintained, and resisted within proximate social environments. I consider the role of two such processes--status/devaluation processes and identity processes--in mental health inequalities. I then discuss how we can strengthen connections across subfields of the sociology of mental health by applying status and identity theories to two areas of research: (1) help-seeking and (2) the effects of mental health problems on social attainments.
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Based on broader research in sociology of mental health, patterns of inequality and suicide are likely complex and not distillable to individual experiences with discrimination or prejudice.
“Based on broader research within the sociology of mental health – which does take up this issue – the patterns are likely to be complex and again not distillable to individual experiences with discrimination or prejudice (McLeod, 2015; Williams et al., 2019; Laster Pirtle, 2020).”
From The Social Roots of Suicide: Theorizing How the External Social World Matters to Suicide and Suicide Prevention (2021) · cites this paper as McLeod, 2015
Cites
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Brewer, R. M., & Collins, P. H. (1992) · Contemporary Sociology · doi:10.2307/2074808 · Cited by 19,445 · see citing works
The sociological study of stress
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A Modified Labeling Theory Approach to Mental Disorders: An Empirical Assessment
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“Research on labeling theory demonstrates the pervasive prejudice and discrimination that accompany serious mental illness, both in reality and in expectation (Link et al. 1989).”
BackgroundThe effect of patient race and socio-economic status on physicians' perceptions of patients
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Socioeconomic Status Differences in Vulnerability to Undesirable Life Events
McLeod, J. D., & Kessler, R. C. (1990) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2137170 · Cited by 672 · see citing works
Self-citationLutfey, K., & Freese, J. (2005) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/428914 · Cited by 425 · see citing works
Measurement for a Human Science
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Mueller, A. S., Abrutyn, S., Pescosolido, B., & Diefendorf, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.621569 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
“Based on broader research within the sociology of mental health – which does take up this issue – the patterns are likely to be complex and again not distillable to individual experiences with discrimination or prejudice (McLeod, 2015; Williams et al., 2019; Laster Pirtle, 2020).”
Background
- Authors
- McLeod, J. D.
- Affiliations
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- Corresponding author
- McLeod, Jane D.
- ORCID
- McLeod, Jane D.
- Venue
- Journal of Health and Social Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-04-29
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 149-165
- ISSN
- 0022-1465 (ISSN-L)
- 2150-6000
- OpenAlex
- W2096035799
- Cited by
- 51
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 4.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Health and Social Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Health › Public Health and Social Inequalities
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- mental health disparities, social stratification, currency devaluation, identity processes, help-seeking, sociology of mental health
- MeSH terms
- Awards and Prizes, Humans, Mental Health, Social Class, Socioeconomic Factors, Sociology, Medical, Health Status Disparities
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