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PubMed1989

The sociological study of stress.

This paper presents a critical overview of current concepts and analytic practices in stress research and considers how they can be changed to make the research more consistent with core sociological interests. An overarching concern of the paper is the analytic use of basic information about people's social and institutional affiliations and statuses. It is important that such information be treated not simply as data that need to be controlled statistically; we must examine the bearing of these data on each domain of the stress process: the exposure to and meaning of stressors, access to stress mediators, and the psychological, physical, and behavioral manifestations of stress. The conceptualization and measurement of stressors should move away from their focus on particular events or chronic strains and should seek instead to observe and assess over time constellations of stressors made up of both events and strains. Moreover, the effects of the mediators--coping and social support--are evaluated most fruitfully in terms of their effects in limiting the number, severity, and diffusion of stressors in these constellations. Finally, sociological stress researchers should not be bound to outcomes that better serve the intellectual interests of those who work with biomedical and epidemiological models of stress, nor should the research be committed exclusively to a single outcome.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1979

[Present day Marxist sociology and psychoanalysis].

The main common theme in psychoanalysis and Marxist sociology is the understanding that it is not consciousness that determines being, but being (spiritual, social) that determines consciousness. The different variations of Marxist movements today are in fact distant from Marx's theory of sociology. They have become representatives of utopian socialism, using anarchistic methods to achieve that aim. This development can only be understood as a social neurosis, with the narcistic frustation of the intellectual class as its cause, and grandiose claims, intolerance, dogmatic thinking and destructive behaviour as its symptoms. The only justified criticism of psychoanalysis from the pseudo-Marxist side is based on the imperfection and error in the analytical doctrine of superego. This should be replaced by the idea of conscious, subjective, emotional morality which clearly explains the aggression contained in social structures.

Aggression↗
PubMed1981

[Medical sociology and community-centered care of psychic patients. Methodical considerations of a concrete research project (author's transl)].

The need, problems and possible approaches to sociological investigation of community-centered care of psychological patients is the theme of this contribution. It will at the same time sketch out, even if only in very rough outline, a direction for present day medical sociologic research which has its origin in psychiatric research but which, under the present sociopolitical and care relations, it is necessary to submit to the extramedical field of rehabilitation and aftercare for psychic patients at communal and regional levels according to the importance.

Aftercare↗
PubMed1995

Medical sociology and health policy: where are the connections?

The attempt to assess the impact of medical sociology on health policy encounters operational difficulties regarding what should be counted. After reviewing these difficulties, we argue that there is potential interest among policymakers for sociological contributions to policy debates, but that policy impact has been limited by sociologists' ambivalence, academic career considerations, and by health research becoming a distinct field of research. Suggestions for increasing sociologists' policy impact include attending to policy relevance in both the design of studies and the dissemination of results and by sociologists' becoming more oriented to the field of health policy research.

Health Planning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parsons, professions and the sociology of health care.

The fourth paper in the sociology series examines the work of the American Talcott Parsons. His work has particular relevance to the sociology of health and illness. The concept of the sick role as a means of understanding the effects of ill health, which he proposed, is critically examined here.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sociology in nurse education: help or hindrance?

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the role of the social and behavioural sciences in nurse education. In part this follows the UKCC's recommendations for Project 2000 curricula, but it can also be seen as a wider reaction to the domination of nursing knowledge by the so-called 'biomedical' model. Indeed, not only do pre-registration courses in nursing and midwifery now incorporate significant elements of sociology and psychology, but so, especially, do post-registration diploma and degree courses. Although this development is often regarded by nurse educators (many of whom either possess, or are in the process of acquiring degrees or post-graduate qualifications in the social sciences) as a positive step towards greater professionalism and autonomy within the nursing profession, there are a number of reasons why such assumptions should be regarded with caution. This paper explores some of the most important of these, and argues that the keenness with which nurse educators have embraced the discipline of sociology into the nursing curriculum, could in fact be seriously misplaced.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1994

[Teaching sociology in medical school].

As early as in 1994 medical education was criticised by the Royal College of Physician in London. Nevertheless until 1978 D. C. Maddision was still asking the question: "What's wrong with medical education?", and Abrahamson writing a paper called "Disease of the (medical) curriculum". Since the 1950s social and behavioural sciences have been gradually brought into the curriculum in order to pursue better medical care. In the 1970s critics of medicine went beyond its economical and political aspects, ie. its maldistribution etc., to its cultural side. Not only the efficacy of modern medicine but its moral neutrality and benevolence were called into question. This paper is mainly based on the writer's personal experience of teaching sociology and medical sociology in a medical school in Taiwan. The debate on relevance, the difficulties and problems in teaching and suggestions for the future are covered.

Education, Medical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk: the sociological view of perception and management.

In this final article on sociology we focus on one issue which is central to health and health care--risk--and consider the contribution of sociology to an understanding of the ways in which risk is perceived and managed.

Cultural Characteristics↗
PubMed2002

Comparing psychological and sociological approaches to identity: identity status, identity capital, and the individualization process.

Psychologists have been studying identity processes at the intrapsychic level that resemble what sociologists have noted at the macro-societal level. Specifically, using the identity capital model introduced in previous issues of this journal (Côté, Journal of Adolescence, 19, 419-430; 20, 421-437), we explore a link between the psychologically oriented identity status paradigm, and the sociologically oriented individualization theory. The primary link between these two disciplinary approaches appears to be that the individualization process can be operationalized in terms of agency in identity formation. The relationship between agency and identity formation has been recognized by identity status researchers for some time, but primarily in terminology referring to the intrapsychic level; hence, in some respects, identity status researchers anticipated individualization theory. This link was empirically investigated in three studies of ethnically diverse samples. It was concluded, with a high degree of replication, that the identity statuses representing identity confusion (Diffusion) and identity synthesis (Achievement) appear to represent forms of default and developmental individualization, respectively. This comparison of similar elements between psychological and sociological perspectives may yield a richer understanding of identity formation processes, and help to pave the way for future interdisciplinary research..

Achievement↗
PubMed1981

The problem of automation in animal development: confrontation of the concept of cell sociology with biochemical data.

The principles of automation in animal development, as previously inferred from the concept of Cell Sociology do not fit in well with the current concept of sequential genet derepression. A more adequate explanation for those principles has been found in the literature dealing with the biochemical aspects of differentiation. Since oocytes and embryonic cells contain a greater variety of mRNAs than differentiated cells, as well as many tissue-specific (luxury) substances, it is concluded that the diversification of tissues consists of a progressive selection of specific metabolic strategies, mediated by cell-to-cell contacts, from a broad range of pre-existing strategies. For each tissue, prior to its final determination, one luxury metabolic strategy is progressively intensified and becomes dominant. The others are either suppressed or maintained as latent metabolic strategies. The latter may on occasion become dominant again (transdifferentiation). These phenomena require a theory which considers gene regulation as the activation of otherwise repressed genes by specific activator RNAs. The high (apparently maximal) transcriptional activity on the lampbrush chromosomes may represent the synthesis of all the kinds of activator RNAs which are required for the reactivation of the genes during early development. A general conception is propounded of the automatism and programming of animal development, as inferred from the confrontation of these ideas with the concept of Cell Sociology.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Patriarchy and phantasy: a conception of psychoanalytic sociology.

The nature versus nurture controversy in the history of the social sciences is compared with the heredity versus environment debate in the history of psychoanalysis. Generally, psychoanalysis addresses the question of human thought in contrast to the social disciplines, which examine human behavior. This division of science may be considered the representation of a fundamental dichotomy between internal (latent) and external (manifest) aspects characteristic of human existence. This universal duality is based on the division between the sexes, the union of which reproduces life. This paper attempts to draw attention to the common structure of the mind and society by showing that the same pattern of manifest and latent content exists within each entity. The manifest aspect of existence is reflected in patriarchal social structure and the latent aspect in the structure of unconscious phantasy. These aspects are dialectically interrelated in that patriarchy is the manifest form of phantasy and phantasy the latent form of patriarchal order. This model of the integration of psychoanalysis and sociology is based on the work of Juliet Mitchell, particularly Psychoanalysis and Feminism. Psychoanalytic sociology is defined as a discipline that investigates the relationship between mental life and social organization.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Seasonality of suicides: environmental, sociological and biological covariations.

The monthly rates of completed suicides in France from 1978 until 1982 were analyzed. The seasonal variations of environmental (daylight and sunlight durations, mean temperature, geomagnetism), sociological (unemployment, deaths of all causes, birth and conception rates), and biological (melatonin, cortisol and serotonin circannual rhythms) factors were compared to the seasonal patterns of suicides. A clear seasonal variation (with peaks in May and September) in suicidal behavior was detected. These patterns tended to differ as a function of age (bimodal in young, unimodal in old people). The component analysis clearly pointed out that seasonal patterns of suicides may be considered as the sum of two components, unimodal and bimodal. Almost similar covariations were found between the main seasonal (unimodal) component of suicides and environmental (daylight duration and mean monthly temperature) or sociological factors whereas the secondary component was more correlated to variations in environmental factors and, to some extent, to biological parameters.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Psychological, sociological and health behaviour aspects of a long term activation programme for institutionalized elderly people.

The present study deals with psychological, sociological and subjective health aspects of social isolation and understimulation in institutional elderly people. In a controlled study over a 6 month period, A programme was devised in collaboration with residents of a senior citizens apartment building and its staff. The aim of the programme was to increase social activation and to encourage among the elderly an enhanced control over their daily lives. It was agreed that the programme implemented should involve no extra costs, overtime work or external resources. Most psychological and sociological variables were stable over the 6 month period. However, social activity level increased 3-fold in the Experimental group compared with the Control group. The E-group also started to attend activities outside the actual programme, and in general spent more time out of doors. Seasonal variations were found in feelings of depression, visits to the country/summer houses, as well as visits by children and neighbours. There were no changes in psychosomatic or psychological complaints indices. However, feelings of restlessness decreased significantly in the E-group over the 6 month period compared with the C-group. There was also a non significant decrease over time in complaints of heart palpitations in the E-group.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1996

A reexamination of "sociological and economic theories of suicide: a comparison of the U.S.A. and Taiwan".

This paper is an update and reexamination of Yang et al. [Yang B., Lester D. and Yang C. Soc. Sci. Med. 34, 333, 1992]. Time-series analyses were carried out to explore the importance of sociological and economic determinants of suicide rates in the U.S. and in Taiwan for 1952-1992. Labor market related variables (unemployment and female labor force participation) were found to play similar roles in multiple regressions for both nations, while general economic and social conditions (GNP per capita and divorce) played a role only in the U.S.A comparison of standardized coefficients revealed that pure economic variables exerted greater influence over national suicide rates than sociological variables.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1996

Working with protocols: a sociological view.

This sociological study discusses three assumptions on the nature of medical work, which can be found in protocols. First, protocols assume that medical data exist as clear-cut, elementary bits of information. Second, they assume that medical criteria are well-defined and pre-set, fixed rules, which merely have to be applied. Finally, protocols depict medical work as a sequence of individual steps which each need to be terminated before the following can be made. Sociological studies of physicians at work, however, show that medical work is characterised by interactive, pragmatic reasoning, by fluid criteria, and by the (re)constructive nature of medical data. By discussing the three assumptions, this article demonstrates how medical personnel have to actively intervene to prevent the protocols' misalignment with the nature of medical work from creating problems. This does not mean that protocols are 'bad tools': the fact that it takes work to get a technology to function does not disqualify it. But this observation does imply that protocols cannot be regarded as tools which simply 'support' the work of physicians. Also, these observations shed an interesting light on the prevalent claim that protocols 'rationalise' medical work.

Clinical Protocols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The interaction of sociological and biological factors in adolescent cigarette smoking.

This article considers the interaction of social and biological factors in the context of adolescent cigarette smoking. Parent and peer smoking are the sociological variables and testosterone is the biological indicator. The subjects are 212 males and females 12-14 years of age. The findings support the interaction model, suggesting that both sociological and biological factors are necessary for understanding adolescent smoking.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Sociological and behavioural characteristics of perimenopausal women with an express attitude to hormone substitution therapy.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to demonstrate differences in behaviour and in sociological characteristics between women wanting hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and women refusing such treatment. METHODS: From a study base of 6189 women, 413 perimenopausal women with an express positive or negative attitude towards the use of HRT were interviewed on sociological and behavioural characteristics. Checks against bias were performed by analysis of reluctant participants, identified as women who either did not agree to participate until they received at least one reminder, or who dropped out immediately after the interview. RESULTS: Women wanting HRT had higher levels of education, were less often childless, and were more frequent solarium users than women refusing this treatment. There were no differences in marital status, employment status, the average tea, coffee, wine and cigarette consumption, sun exposure, frequencies of travels abroad, or number of family cars, summer houses or boats. No difference in present smoking status was demonstrated but the estrogen users were more frequently past or present smokers. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that lack of knowledge of HRT may sometimes be the cause of rejecting it, or may influence on the compliance regarding its use. Familiarity with the use of the health system for other reasons than disease may promote the use of HRT. It is demonstrated that the observed patterns do not originate from self-selection bias.

Attitude↗
PubMed1997

Chronic work stress, sickness absence, and hypertension in middle managers: general or specific sociological explanations?

The issue of differential prediction of health outcomes by sociological models of work stress has received little attention so far. This paper argues, both on theoretical and empirical grounds, that active coping with the experience of chronic work stress is more likely to be associated with physical health consequences of sustained autonomic arousal such as hypertension, whereas passive coping may predispose individuals to withdrawal behavior such as sickness absence from work. Based on data from a cross-sectional study on 189 male middle-aged (40-55, 48.3 +/- 4.6 years) middle managers in a car-producing company in Germany, this hypothesis is tested in the framework of the theoretical model of effort-reward imbalance at work. More specifically, the simultaneous manifestation of high effort and low reward at work, indicative of active coping, is expected to statistically predict the risk of being hypertensive. Conversely, suffering from low occupational rewards in the absence of signs of sustained effort, indicative of passive coping, is expected to predict sickness absence (SA) behavior. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) derived from logistic regression analysis and adjusted for important confounders indicate that three measures of low reward are associated with short-term SA (OR ranging from 3.30 to 9.15), that one measure of low reward is associated with long-term SA (OR: 2.67) and that two measures of low reward are associated with number of SA episodes (OR 4.05 and 6.33), whereas no indicator of high effort at work is significantly associated with SA. On the other hand, the OR of being hypertensive is 5.77 in middle managers who suffer from high effort and low reward simultaneously. In conclusion, a sociological model of work stress which allows for differential prediction of health outcomes according to the important notions of active versus passive coping with work demands finds preliminary empirical support.

Absenteeism↗