Work and Mental Health in Social Context

Abstract

In this chapter, we summarize our sociological model for understanding the work--job stress relationship. Moreover, we want to show how this model makes contributions to the way we can understand the sociology of labor markets and economic attainment, the social determinants of health (health disparities), and the sociological stress process. We are interested in creating opportunities for sociologists and organizational psychologists who often study topics within narrow bounds to recognize the broader application of the knowledge they generate and the possibilities for informing the work of one another (Fenwick and Tausig 2007). We think we have shown that the sociological study of economic attainment is the study of health attainment and that the sociological study of health is the study of economic attainment.