From Social Class to Social Stress

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XI

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. From Social Class to Social Stress: New Developments in Psychiatric Epidemiology

      • M. C. Angermeyer, D. Klusmann

      Pages 2-13

3. Social Class and Psychiatric Disorders

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

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   2. Urban Ecology and Psychiatric Admission Rates: Results from a Study in the City of Hamburg

      • D. Klusmann, M. C. Angermeyer

      Pages 16-45

   3. Social Class and Mental Disorders: Results from Upper Bavarian Studies

      • H. Dilling, S. Weyerer

      Pages 46-63

4. Social Causation versus Social Selection

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 65-65

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   2. The Issue of Social Class and Schizophrenia in the Netherlands

      • R. Giel, D. Wiersma, A. deJong

      Pages 66-81

   3. Socioeconomic Status and Schizophrenia: Noisome Occupational Characteristics as a Risk Factor

      • B. G. Link, B. P. Dohrenwend, A. E. Skodol

      Pages 82-105

   4. Social Class and Mental Disorder: The Stress/Selection Issue

      • B. P. Dohrenwend

      Pages 106-116

5. Social Stress and Psychiatric Disorders

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 117-117

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   2. Social Factors in the Aetiology and Course of Psychiatric Disorder: A Report on Progress

      • G. W. Brown

      Pages 118-132

   3. Adversity and the Risk of Mental Illness: Preliminary Results of the Upper Bavarian Restudy

      • M. M. Fichter, H.-J. Koch, J. Rehm, S. Weyerer

      Pages 133-152

   4. Life Events and Depressive Syndromes: Results of a Prospective Panel Study over 4 Years

      • A. Dobler-Mikola, J. Angst

      Pages 153-165

   5. Biography, Social Stress, and the Point Prevalence of Psychogenic Disorders

      • H. Schepank, W. Tress

      Pages 166-175

   6. Chronic Difficulties and Life Events in the Long-Term Course of Affective and Anxiety Disorders: Results from the Munich Follow-Up Study

      • H.-U. Wittchen

      Pages 176-196

   7. Does It Make Sense to Divide Depression into a Psychosocial and a Biological Type? Results from the Vienna Depression Study

      • H. Katschnig, A. Nouzak

      Pages 197-209

   8. Overview and Initial Results of a Risk Factor Study of Depression and Schizophrenia

      • B. P. Dohrenwend, P. E. Shrout, B. G. Link, J. L. Martin, A. E. Skodol

      Pages 210-234

   9. Old People in Hospital: A Study of a Psychiatric High-Risk Group

      • B. Cooper, H. Bickel

      Pages 235-246

   10. Employment and Mental Health. Results from the Upper Bavarian Field Study

       • S. Weyerer, H. Dilling

       Pages 247-263

The association between social class and psychiatric disorder has been one of the central topics of socio-epidemiological research since its inception. With remarkable consistency, numerous investigations have demonstrated an inverse correlation between social class and prevalence rates for most forms of psychopathology. The debate on the interpreta­ tion of these findings - social causation versus social selection processes - continues to this day. Moreover, the question as to what the psychoso­ cial processes are through which social class and individual psychopa­ thology are mediated has remained mostly unanswered. The concept of social stress may well provide new insights in this regard. One should note, in particular, the considerable conceptual and methodological progress made in life event research. Recently, the first attempts have been made to link the two concepts of social class and social stress. These developments will be retraced in this book in the light of new investigations. Descriptive epidemiological studies on the relation between social class and psychiatric disorders form the point of depar­ ture. Explicit reference is made to two classical studies in psychiatric epidemiology: Faris and Dunham's Chicago study and the New Haven study by Hollingshead and Redlich. Following on from there, various approaches in analytical epidemiological research are presented which attempt to determine whether - or, more precisely, to what extent - social causation or social selection processes can be said to be responsible for the higher rates of psychiatric disorders in lower social strata.

• Syndrom
• anxiety disorder
• depression
• epidemiology
• etiology
• psychiatric disorder
• schizophrenia
• stress
• syndromes

• Universitäts-Krankenhaus Eppendorf Psychiatrische und Nervenklinik, Hamburg 20, Federal Republic of Germany

  Matthias C. Angermeyer

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