The Stress Process: Its Origins, Evolution, and Future

Abstract

Presented in 13 Chpts with a Preface, this book provides a history of mental health disorders & treatment strategies, explores mental disorders across cultures, & incorporates sociological theory. (1) The Problem of Mental Disorder -- defines mental health disorders, social reaction to them, & social forces affecting them, & offers a cross-cultural perspective. (2) Mental Disorders: A Historical Overview -- traces perceptions of mental disorders & their treatment from ancient societies to the present. (3) Medical and Psychiatric Approaches to Mental Disorders -- explores the advantages & disadvantages of a purely biological, psychiatric approach to mental disorders & analyzes the classification scheme in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (4) Social and Psychological Approaches to Mental Disorders -- examines sociological perspectives on mental health, eg, symbolic interaction, social deviance, social selection, structural-functional, conflict, social exchange, psychodynamic, & humanistic. (5) Anxiety, Mood, and Stress-Related Disorders -- examines mental disorders prevalent in guilt culture, eg, generalized anxiety, bipolar, phobic, obsessive-compulsive, somatoform, dissociative, sleep, adjustment, & stress-related disorders. (6) Schizophrenia, Psychosis, and Personality Disorders -- discusses symptoms, causes, & types of schizophrenic, psychotic, & personality disorders. (7) Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders -- analyzes the prevalence of substance abuse in the US & offers biological, psychological, & sociological explanations for the abuse of alcohol, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, hallucinogens, & other drugs. (8) Sexuality and Mental Disorders -- examines the variations in people's cultural beliefs about sex & sexual expression, including sexual deviance, disorders, & dysfunctions. (9) Mental Disorders: Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Rural and Urban Living -- approaches mental disorder from a social epidemiological perspective by incorporating social class, ethnic & racial background, institutional arrangements, & group interaction. (10) Mental Disorders: Age, Gender, Marital Status, and Religion -- analyzes the impact of gender, marital status, age, religion, education, occupation, family size, birth order, & rural vs urban living on mental health disorders. (11) Mental Disorders: Individual and Institutional Response -- discusses voluntary & involuntary help-seeking for a mental disorder, types of mental health institutions, & experiences of ex-mental health patients. (12) Public Policy, Homelessness, and the Law -- examines the concept of community health care, the policy of deinstitutionalization, & the increase in the mentally ill homeless population, & provides a historical review of court decisions on mental health. (13) Treatment of Mental Disorders: Current Trends -- provides an overview of therapeutic interventions for mental disorders, eg: self-help & support groups; neurological, biochemical, or psychiatric approaches; psychotherapy; & Asian therapies. 25 Tables, 585 References. S. Davies