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Biomedical subjects

W C Cockerham

Publications and source records attributed to W C Cockerham.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Okinawa: an exception to the social gradient of life expectancy in Japan.

This paper examines why the social gradient of life expectancy does not apply in Japan when Okinawa is considered. The social gradient thesis links differences in longevity to social rank, with people and populations in higher status hierarchical positions having lower mortality and longer life expectancies than those beneath them in the social scale. Japan has been cited as a major example of this thesis in that Japanese life expectancy improved dramatically as Japan rose to the top echelon of nations in economic rank in the late 20th century. Thus it follows that Japan's most affluent and leading prefectures should be the major catalysts behind the nation's rise in life expectancy as well to the number one position in the world. However, this is not the case as life expectancy in Okinawa, Japan's poorest prefecture, exceeds that of Japan as a whole. We find that the social gradient of life expectancy does not apply at the prefectural level and question its validity for geographical areas. We suggest that healthy lifestyles, especially diet and the social support of family and friends, are more important than sense of hierarchy for longevity in Okinawa.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Health lifestyles in Russia.

Utilizing data from the nationwide Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), this paper analyzes health lifestyles in Russia. Heavy alcohol use and smoking, a high-fat diet, and lack of leisure-time exercise are the principal culprits in fostering high rates of heart disease and other causes of premature mortality. This is especially the situation for middle-age, working-class males whose mortality is greater than any other segment of society. This paper focuses on alcohol use as a particularly lethal component of male lifestyles and presents a theoretical argument, grounded in the work of Weber and especially Bourdieu, that poor health lifestyles practices are largely the outcome of structural conditions (life chances) rather than agency (life choices). Societal and group norms and routine practices can adversely affect longevity and this is the case for Russian male blue-collar workers in the middle period of their life course.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The social gradient in life expectancy: the contrary case of Okinawa in Japan.

This paper examines the social gradient theory of health and life expectancy presented by Evans and his colleagues [Evans, R.G., Barer, M.L. and Marmor, T.R. (Eds.), 1994. Why are some People Healthy and others not? The Determinants of Health of Populations. Aldine de Gruyter, New York]. They maintain that social hierarchy is the determining factor in the health of large populations largely because it promotes differences in stress or the ability to cope with stress. For example, as Japan has risen to the top ranks of the economic hierarchy of nations in the late 20th century, Japanese life expectancy improved dramatically. Evans [Evans, R.G., 1994. Introduction. In: Evans, R., Barer, M., Marmor T. (Eds.), Why are some People Healthy and others not? The Determinants of Health of Populations. Aldine de Gruyter, New York, pp. 3-26.] notes that something lies behind this rapid increase in longevity and the major change was the hierarchical position of Japan relative to the rest of the world. However, we reviewed life expectancy data within Japan and found that Okinawans traditionally rank at the top in health and life expectancy and at the bottom in socioeconomic indicators. We find that the social gradient thesis does not apply in Japan and suggest that what is more important for health are health lifestyles, especially diet and social support. More research is needed to assess the validity of the social gradient thesis if it is to be used on a cross-national basis.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Drinking patterns in the American Deep South.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the states of the Deep South are characterized by contradictory drinking norms: high abstinence paired with high consumption among drinkers. METHOD: Comparison of survey results of drinking patterns (N = 65,216) in four states of the Deep South (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi) to those in leading states in the East (New York), Midwest (Illinois), Rocky Mountains (Colorado) and West (California) for the years 1990-93. Respondents were selected by random-digit dialing and interviewed by telephone as part of a larger study conducted by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). RESULTS: A higher proportion of persons drank alcohol in 1993 than in any of the previous 3 years. Persons with higher education, with higher income, of younger age, male, white and not living in the Deep South were more likely to drink. Among drinkers, the likelihood of episodic heavy drinking decreased with higher education, income and age. In addition, women, blacks and married respondents were less likely to report heavy drinking. Region of residence is not significantly associated with episodic heavy drinking. CONCLUSIONS: The Deep South has a significantly higher proportion of abstainers from alcohol use than other regions. Among drinkers, Southerners are not more likely to engage in occasions of heavy drinking. The results are discussed in relation to Southern culture and drinking norms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

The social determinants of the decline of life expectancy in Russia and eastern Europe: a lifestyle explanation.

This paper examines the social origins of the rise in adult mortality in Russia and selected Eastern European countries. Three explanations for this trend are considered: (1) Soviet health policy, (2) social stress, and (3) health lifestyles. The socialist states were generally characterized by a persistently poor mortality performance as part of a long-term process of deterioration, with particularly negative outcomes for the life expectancy of middle-aged, male manual workers. Soviet-style health policy was ineffective in dealing with the crisis, and stress per se does not seem to be the primary cause of the rise in mortality. Although more research is needed, the suggestion is made that poor health lifestyles--reflected especially in heavy alcohol consumption, and also in smoking, lack of exercise, and high-fat diets--are the major social determinant of the upturn in deaths.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A test of the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, and psychological distress.

Contrary to the general position in the research literature, Kessler and Neighbors have argued that race has independent effects on psychological distress among the lower class in the United States. They claim that lower-class blacks have significantly higher levels of distress than lower-class whites and this result is due to race rather than social class. A test of this proposition is presented in this paper. These data do not support the contention that race makes a difference in levels of psychological distress among the lower class. We found, that, as income increases among blacks and whites, psychological distress decreases and this is especially true for blacks. However, there was no significant difference between blacks and whites at the lowest income levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Health lifestyles and self-direction in employment among American men: a test of the spillover effect.

This paper examines whether American males with a high degree of control over their work situation pursue healthy lifestyles and rate their physical health more positively than those who score low on occupational self-direction. That is, are persons who control their work more likely to also try to control their health through living in a particularly healthy manner? We found that there was no support for a spillover effect from high occupational self-direction to enhanced participation in health lifestyles or more positive self-rated health. The findings suggest health lifestyles have spread throughout occupational work groups in the U.S. and support research that maintains such lifestyles have spread across social strata in America.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1989

Alcohol use and psychological distress: a comparison of Americans and West Germans.

This paper examines the relationship between alcohol use and tendencies toward depression and anxiety among Americans and West Germans. It was found that anxiety was not significant in promoting drinking, although depression was associated with alcohol use for Americans only. Nevertheless, the West Germans consumed more alcohol than Americans, and this study suggests that culture underlies the difference in alcohol consumption.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Psychological distress, perceived health status, and physician utilization in America and West Germany.

This paper reports on findings pertaining to levels of psychological distress, perceived health status, and physician utilization among a sample of Americans (N = 1204) and West Germans (N = 1266) living in Illinois and North-Rhine Westphalia, respectively. The conflicting perspectives of labeling theory and the clinical approach to cross-cultural variations in mental disorder are discussed. There were no significant differences between the two population groups with respect to anxiety tendencies or psychological distress generally, with the exception of Germans having significantly more tendency toward depression. In both countries, persons with the lowest expressions of anxiety were the most likely to perceive symptoms of physical problems as requiring a doctor's attention, thereby suggesting that anxiety operates to influence a denial of general readiness to deal with symptoms. Yet persons with the highest anxiety, depression, and overall psychological distress were most likely to report having experienced physical symptoms and visiting a doctor because of it. Persons with the highest anxiety, depression, and overall psychological distress also rated their health status the lowest.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Symptoms, social stratification and self-responsibility for health in the United States and West Germany.

This study compares the responses of a sample of Americans in Illinois and West Germans in North-Rhine Westphalia on the basis of symptom perception, symptom experience, physician utilization and health-locus-of-control. The hypothesis that as socioeconomic status increases, the more likely the individual is to manifest and behavior favorable toward self-control and acceptance of personal responsibility in health care matters was tested. The hypothesis was supported by the American data, but not the West German. Possible trends in West German society accounting for a significant lack of socioeconomic variance in illness behavior are discussed.

Female↗
PubMed1983

Social class, Mexican culture, and fatalism: their effects on psychological distress.

We examine the causes and consequences of fatalism in a cross-cultural setting, focusing on the ways in which a fatalistic world view may mediate the effects of social class and Mexican ethnic identity on psychological distress. We find that persons in the lower social classes and Mexicans tend to be more fatalistic than persons in the upper classes and Anglos, and that fatalism, in turn, increases psychological distress. We attempt to integrate research on the social and cultural determinants of cognitive orientations with studies of the effects of social class and Mexican culture on distress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1983

The state of medical sociology in the United States, Great Britain, West Germany and Austria: applied vs pure theory.

This paper investigates the development of medical sociology in four selected Western nations--the United States, Great Britain, West Germany and Austria--where the state of the field ranges from highly developed to underdeveloped. The focus of the paper is to explore the problem of applied versus purely theoretical medical sociology and assess the direction of the field. The trends noted in the analysis clearly indicate that contemporary medical sociology is primarily an applied subject. The evolution and implications of this situation for the subdiscipline are discussed.

Austria↗
PubMed1983

Aging and perceived health status.

Using a probability sample of 660 adults in Illinois, this study focuses on the relationship between age and perceived health status. According to age stratification theory, age groups need to be analyzed as age-specific entities that exist in relation to other sets of age groups. Following this perspective these data examine differences across the spectrum of adult age groups in this sample in regard to self-assessments of health. Number of symptoms was the strongest predictor of perceived health status employed in this analysis, followed by age, education, and race. It was found that those persons belonging to age groups over the age of 60 tend to perceive their own health in a significantly more positive fashion than members of younger adult age groups. The more educated elderly persons and those with the fewest symptoms, however, were most likely to hold this perception. One important area in which people appear to adjust their perception in later life is in their evaluation of personal health status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Predicting physician utilization.

Previous research on physician utilization has shown that variables found significant in many traditional social psychologic studies (process models) often lack predictive strength if utilized in multivariate research (prediction models). To address this problem, a variable was created that measures both the presence of symptoms and the person's own evaluation of the necessity for medical care for the symptoms experienced. This variable is a relatively strong predictor of physician utilization. Analysis of findings suggests that future multivariate research on physician utilization consider a focus upon respondent evaluated symptoms (RES) and type of health care facility available.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

A comparison of marijuana use among Mexican-American and Anglo rural youth utilizing a matched-set analysis.

Attitudes and practices regarding marijuana use are examined in a sample of Mexican-American and Anglo adolescents living in Wyoming. The Mexican-American respondents were matched with Anglos who shared similar social and demographic characteristics, and matched-set analysis was used to determine significant differences on the basis of racial/ethnic identity. On all measures, Mexican-American youth were found to have significantly more positive attitudes toward marijuana and more extensive marijuana use. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗