William C. Cockerham - Sociology of Mental Disorder

The tenth edition of Sociology of Mental Disorder presents the major issues and research findings on the influence of race, social class, gender, and age on the incidence and prevalence of mental disorder. The text also examines the institutions that help those with mental disorders, mental health law, and public policy.

Many important updates are new to this edition:

William C. Cockerham received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, USA and is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. He holds secondary appointments in medicine and public health and is recipient of the UAB Connors Prize in the History of Ideas and the Ireland Award for Distinguished Scholarship. He is past President of the Research Committee on Health Sociology of the International Sociological Association and formerly was on the Editorial Board of the American Sociological Review. Currently, he is on the Editorial Boards of Social Currents and Society and Mental Health. Dr. Cockerham has published numerous peer-reviewed papers in academic journals and is author or editor of seventeen books. His most recent books from Routledge include Medical Sociology , thirteenth edition (2015).

Tenth edition published 2017

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First edition published 1991 by Prentice Hall

Ninth edition published 2013 by Pearson

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Names: Cockerham, William C.

Title: Sociology of mental disorder / William C. Cockerham, University of Alabama at

Birmingham.

Description: Tenth edition. | New York, NY: Routledge, 2016. | Includes bibliographical

references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016003300 | ISBN 9781138668393 (hbk) | ISBN 9781138668409 (pbk)

| ISBN 9781315618654 (ebk)

Subjects: LCSH: Social psychiatry. | Mental illnessSocial aspects. | Mentally illSocial

conditions.

Classification: LCC RC455.C57 2016 | DDC 616.89/14dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016003300

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ISBN: 978-1-138-66839-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-66840-9 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-61865-4 (ebk)

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This book presents the major issues and research findings found in the sociological literature on mental disorder. Although the study of mental health is a subfield of medical sociology, it is a significant area of sociological inquiry on its own. Numerous books and research papers have been published by sociologists on mental problems. For example, a contents analysis of the American Sociological Associations Journal of Health and Social Behavior up until recently discloses that nearly as many articles are published on some aspect of mental health as are published on physical health. This led to the development of a new ASA journal focused exclusively on mental health topics, Society and Mental Health , which first appeared in 2011 and on which I currently serve as a member of the Editorial Board. Medical sociologists constitute one of the largest groups of scholars in sociology worldwide. The focus on mental health issues by many medical sociologists has not only resulted in a large volume of research; it has also increased the number of courses taught on this subject in universities. The tenth edition of this book represents a continuing effort to summarize and analyze the direction of the field.

This tenth edition of Sociology of Mental Disorder has been thoroughly updated to include the most recent literature and research on mental disorder. Here are just some of the new topics and research findings discussed in the tenth edition:

The title of this book, Sociology of Mental Disorder , reflects its contents and orientation. I used the term disorder in the title rather than illness because illness is a medical term that involves consideration of topics focusing more or less exclusively on medicine and biology rather than the social features of mentally disordered behavior. I do not use the phrase mental health because mental health can be positive or negative, and sociologists typically study the negative features of mental health as a phenomenon causing disruptions or disorder in social relationships. Consequently, the term mental disorder more accurately reflects the sociological viewpoint.

Although the conclusions expressed in this book are solely the responsibility of the author, other individuals have provided extremely helpful reviews over the years. A note of appreciation is due to the following colleagues who contributed comments on the various editions of this book in the past and the present: Stayce A. Blount, Fayetteville State University; Linda Carelli, Rutgers University; Theresa Chandler, Bradley University; John Collette, University of Utah; Gary A. Cretser, California Polytechnic University (Pomona); Meryl Damasiewicz, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Kerry M. Dobransky, James Madison University; Robert Emerick, San Diego State University; Hugh Floyd, University of New Orleans; John W. Fox, University of Northern Colorado; David D. Franks, Virginia Commonwealth University; Giriraj Gupta, Western Illinois University; Sharon Guten, Case Western Reserve University; Michael Hughes, Virginia Polytechnic and State University; John E. Johnson, SUNYPlattsburgh; Jeffrey Kamakahi, University of Central Arkansas; Vera G. Kennedy, West Hills College; Matt Kinkley, Lima Technical College; John J. Leveille, West Chester University; Mitchell Mackinem, Clafin University; John Malek-Ahmadi, College of Western Idaho; Fred E. Markowitz, Northern Illinois University; Purna C. Mohanty, Paine College; Jean Moretto, Maryville University; and Dawne Marie Mouzon, Rutgers University.