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4 - Conceptualising the social world

from Part I - Theoretical and conceptual foundations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2009

By
Dana March ,
Craig Morgan ,
Michaeline Bresnahan  and
Ezra Susser
Edited by
Craig Morgan ,
Kwame McKenzie  and
Paul Fearon
Dana March
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA
Craig Morgan
Affiliation:
Section of Social and Cultural Psychiatry Health Service and Population Research Department Box 33, Institute of Psychiatry De Crespigny Park, London, UK
Michaeline Bresnahan
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology Mailman, School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA
Ezra Susser
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA
Craig Morgan
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Kwame McKenzie
Affiliation:
University College London
Paul Fearon
Affiliation:
Trinity College, Dublin
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Summary

Introduction

The social world has long been of interest to those concerned with the aetiology, course and outcome of psychosis. In the middle decades of the twentieth century, the relationship between aspects of the social world and the causes of psychosis was the subject of a number of influential studies (e.g., Faris and Dunham, 1939; Hare, 1956; Hollingshead and Redlich, 1958). It provided a rich subject for sociologists and others, as well as an important theme for psychiatric epidemiology. While the findings consistently indicated higher rates of serious mental illness in the most socially disadvantaged and marginalised groups, unresolved disputes about the causal direction of these associations contributed to a declining interest in the role of social factors in the aetiology of schizophrenia and other psychoses. Eclipsed for a period of time by other types of investigation – largely individually oriented and biological – the social world has appeared once again in our causal field. In recent years, a growing body of research has revived the notion that social factors play some role in the full sequence of causes of psychosis.

Conceptualising the social world, the subject of this chapter, is a critical first step in attempting to understand the aetiological role of social factors. The formulation of our research questions, interpretation of data and refinement of our hypotheses rely on our conception of the social world.

Keywords

atomistic fallacyecological fallacysocial organisationsocial processessocial world
Type
Chapter
Information
Society and Psychosis , pp. 41 - 57
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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  • Conceptualising the social world
    • By Dana March, Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA, Craig Morgan, Section of Social and Cultural Psychiatry Health Service and Population Research Department Box 33, Institute of Psychiatry De Crespigny Park, London, UK, Michaeline Bresnahan, Department of Epidemiology Mailman, School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA, Ezra Susser, Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA
  • Edited by Craig Morgan, Kwame McKenzie, University College London, Paul Fearon
  • Book: Society and Psychosis
  • Online publication: 07 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544064.004
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  • Conceptualising the social world
    • By Dana March, Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA, Craig Morgan, Section of Social and Cultural Psychiatry Health Service and Population Research Department Box 33, Institute of Psychiatry De Crespigny Park, London, UK, Michaeline Bresnahan, Department of Epidemiology Mailman, School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA, Ezra Susser, Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA
  • Edited by Craig Morgan, Kwame McKenzie, University College London, Paul Fearon
  • Book: Society and Psychosis
  • Online publication: 07 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544064.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Conceptualising the social world
    • By Dana March, Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA, Craig Morgan, Section of Social and Cultural Psychiatry Health Service and Population Research Department Box 33, Institute of Psychiatry De Crespigny Park, London, UK, Michaeline Bresnahan, Department of Epidemiology Mailman, School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA, Ezra Susser, Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Presbyterian Hospital, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, USA
  • Edited by Craig Morgan, Kwame McKenzie, University College London, Paul Fearon
  • Book: Society and Psychosis
  • Online publication: 07 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511544064.004
Available formats
×