Beliefs about the probability of educational success tend to be very optimistic in the United States. However, scholars are beginning to uncover mental health consequences associated with quixotic hope—the unrealistic outstripping of expectation by aspiration. Using longitudinal data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Study of Youth and Religion, this study asks, (1) does religiosity promote or diminish

How do perceived expectations of what it means to be an adult affect mental health? We draw from life course and social psychological literature to argue that falling behind perceived expectations for reaching markers of adulthood is associated with depression and anxiety. We test predictions with data from an original sample of more than five hundred 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States. Consistent

The climate and culture of treatment for clients with serious mental illness (SMI) are complex. In this study, we aim to cultivate a deeper understanding of the treatment environment using a network typological approach to measure the local treatment context and assess its implications on the perceived quality of clients’ relationships with their care providers. We use in-depth egocentric network data

Prior research has established that perceived distributive unfairness is associated with poor mental health. The purpose of this study is to examine whether religion moderates this association and whether gender conditions the moderating effects of religion. Using data from the 2012 Korean General Social Survey (N = 1,375), the current analyses show that perceived distributive unfairness is positively

After years of emphasis on pre-migration trauma as the major determinant of refugee mental health, researchers have begun to explore the effects of post-migration stressors on refugees’ distress. However, few studies have brought together refugees’ emic understandings of the effects of economic stressors on their mental health with quantitative data sets to further explore the salience of stress processes

Adam, Barry

Research on relative deprivation (RD) and health has focused primarily on adult populations. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examines the link between RD and adolescent depression and is the first to test the mechanisms that underlie this relationship. This study finds that controlling for school fixed effects, family income, and observed characteristics

The emerging field of Mad Studies has returned attention to deficiencies of the medical model, refocusing scholars on social causes of mental health problems and on consumers’/survivors’ experiences of labeling and stigma. These themes echo issues addressed in traditional and modified labeling theories. A fundamental labeling premise is that professional categorization as “mentally ill” is a major

Analyzing three waves of the Canadian Work Stress and Health Study with cross-lagged models, we asked: (1) How do two distinct directions of strain in the work-family interface—work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict—mediate the relationship between financial strain and psychological distress? and (2) Is reverse causality a possibility in these dynamics? Our results indicate that work-to-family

A growing body of research has documented connections between religious involvement and mental health. However, religion is complex and multidimensional. Religious witnessing, the interpersonal sharing of religious faith, is an important religious practice that has received little attention. Religious witnessing is a relatively unconventional behavior in contemporary American society, yet it can promote

Theories of stress and strain, which emphasize the concentration of social stressors among vulnerable groups, suggest that police contact—the most common type of criminal justice contact—can have deleterious health consequences. Research documents a relationship between police contact and adverse health, but less is known about the mental health consequences of police stops among adolescents. I examined

Sociological research on suicidal ideation has often focused on structural factors, such as marital status, when analyzing the protective effects of social integration; however, less is known about how the quality of romantic relationships shapes suicidality among young adults. This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine the association between romantic

I want to begin by thanking Jane McLeod and Brian Powell for nominating me for this award as well as the Awards Committee. Receiving the Pearlin Award (also fondly referred to as The Lenny) has special meaning for me because Len’s 1977 article on marital status, life strains, and depression—which I read as an undergraduate back in the stone age—inspired me to pursue graduate studies in sociology. Len’s

Although originally considered to be a disorder of childhood, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasingly being diagnosed for the first time in adulthood. Yet we know little about the social characteristics (race, gender, and social class) of those first labeled in adulthood, how these differ from those first labeled in childhood/adolescence, and whether the ADHD label is applied

The current migrant health literature tends to focus on what determines immigrants’ mental health rather than how pathways such as psychosocial resources mediate the relationship between years since migration and mental health. Based on 4,282 foreign-born Canadian immigrant samples, this study includes both psychological distress and positive mental health as mental health measures because immigrants

Using six waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (2007-2017) and the Childhood Retrospective Circumstances Study (2014) (N = 3,240), this paper estimates how childhood experiences with parental mental health problems shape trajectories of children’s distress in adulthood. Findings indicate that those who experience poor parental mental health have consistently greater distress than their

Within the field of neuroscience, a new illness stage called the “prodrome” is being characterized. The prodrome is a symptomatic period that precedes an official diagnosis. Huntington Disease (HD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that has an extensively researched prodrome marked by psychiatric and cognitive symptoms. This paper provides a sociological investigation of the prodrome by analyzing 24 interviews

Past research demonstrates that experientially similar others—people who have confronted the same stressor or who occupy the same social role—are uniquely equipped to provide empathic understanding and tailored coping strategies to individuals navigating comparable, taxing circumstances. Using the case of premedical education, fixed-effects regression analyses of egocentric network data (N = 286) indicate

The changing economic fortunes of cities influence mental health. However, the mechanisms through which this occurs are underexplored. I address this gap by investigating the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Using the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project survey (N = 1,341), I study whether rises in cities’ home foreclosure rates and declines in median home prices through the Great Recession

Many military veterans face considerable challenges reintegrating into civilian life. Evidence suggests the general public holds conflicting attitudes toward veterans. This study examines how perceived public attitudes play a role in veterans’ mental health and well-being. Drawing from and extending interactionist theories of self-concept, stigma, and mental health recovery, we develop and estimate

We simultaneously examined the effects of individual- and couple-level minority stressors on mental health among people in same-sex relationships. Individual-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of sexual minority individuals; couple-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of same-sex relationships. Dyadic data from 100 same-sex couples from across the United States

Research on education and mental health has focused primarily on the benefits of higher levels of educational attainment. Other aspects of education, such as college selectivity, may also be associated with mental health, and higher subjective social status (SSS) is a potential pathway through which college selectivity and mental health could be linked. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is tied to higher levels of depression, but the social factors that shape these associations are not well understood. This study considers whether family transitions affect depressive symptoms differently for young adults with and without childhood symptoms of ADHD at subthreshold or diagnostic levels. Between-within regression analysis of nationally

This study examines if the association between length of residence and mental health—as measured by depression—of immigrants post-arrival in the host country is altered by visible-minority status and gender among a sample of immigrants to Toronto, Canada, as compared to the native-born. The analytic sample excluded refugees. Of the 1,911 adults included, 23 percent were foreign-born. Adjusted multivariate

Unreliable diagnoses (e.g., based on inconsistent criteria, subjective) may be inaccurate and even inequitable. This study uses an event history approach with yearly child- and school-level data from 378,919 children in a large urban school district in the southwestern United States between 2006–2007 and 2011–2012 to investigate contextual reliability in the designation of cognitive health conditions

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+) young people of color encounter interlocking systems of social prejudice and discrimination. However, little is understood about how subjective meanings of perceived structural stigma associated with multiple marginalized social statuses influence mental health. We document how perceived stigma can shape mental health inequalities among multiply

It has been thirty years since the publication of Leonard Pearlin’s (1989) “The Sociological Study of Stress.” This classic work left an indelible mark, shaping the way the field thinks about stressors, their emotional consequences, and the factors that influence the nature of the links between stressors and outcomes. In this essay, I dialogue with that paper—not with a comprehensive summary of the

Health disparities scholars describe the existence of a race mental health paradox—specifically, when black adults face higher levels of adversity compared with whites yet have similar or better mental health outcomes. Whether such a paradox exists among youth is unclear. Using data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect, I examine black–white differences in children’s internalizing

This study considers when, whether, and how spouses encourage professional mental health care by analyzing qualitative data from 90 in-depth interviews with gay, lesbian, and heterosexual spouses. Findings show that a majority of spouses are engaged in promoting each other’s mental health care but that the strategies used to promote care vary by gender and the gender composition of the couple. The

Research suggests that suicide can socially diffuse through social relationships and social contexts; however, little is known about the mechanisms that facilitate this diffusion. Using data from an in-depth case study of a cohesive community with an enduring youth suicide problem (N = 118), we examine how, after repeated exposure to suicide, the community’s cultural script for suicide may have been

This article investigates the association between skin tone and mental health in a nationally representative sample of black adolescents. The mediating influences of discrimination and mastery in the skin tone–mental health relationship also are considered. Findings indicate that black adolescents with the darkest skin tone have higher levels of depressive symptoms than their lighter skin tone peers

In this paper, we contribute to a growing literature on debt and mental health and ask whether patterns of unsecured debt accumulation and repayment over two decades are associated with depressive symptoms at age 50. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 Cohort and group trajectory models, we have three key findings. First, we find substantial heterogeneity in debt trajectories

The present study uses Wave 8 of the German Family Panel to test the spillover and crossover effects of work-family conflict on job satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and mental health for individuals (actor effects) as well as their spouses/partners (partner effects) in dual-earning couples. We further contribute by assessing whether the results vary by gender and union type. Results suggest

Despite recent concern surrounding increases in parental coresidence during young adulthood, questions about the relationship between this demographic shift and the well-being of young adults have received little scholarly attention. This paper uses survey data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the relationship between parental coresidence transitions

Research shows an unequal distribution of anxiety disorder symptoms and diagnoses across social groups. Bridging stress process theory and the sociology of diagnosis and drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examine inequity in the prevalence of anxiety symptoms versus diagnosis across social groups (the “symptom-to-diagnoses gap”). Bivariate findings suggest

In this study, we examine the relationships among reflected appraisals, self-views, and well-being for individuals diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness. We also test a perceptual control model of identity to determine whether discrepancies between stigmatized reflected appraisals and stigmatized self-views are associated with self-evaluation (self-esteem and self-efficacy) and psychological

Unintended childbearing is associated with poorer parental well-being, but most scholarship in this area takes an individual-level approach to unintended childbearing. Drawing on couple data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), I treat unintended childbearing as a couple-level construct to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how individuals’ intentions, partners’

The gap between need and effective treatment for mental health problems continues to be a challenge for researchers and policymakers. Much of the attention has been on differences in treatment rates, with insufficient attention to variation in pathways that people take into treatment. Individuals may choose to seek help but may also be substantially influenced by others or coerced into care. The chances

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects a significant portion of the US population, but there remains limited information on public responses to affected individuals. Diagnosed mental illnesses can lead to negative stereotyping by the public, who can then socially exclude or otherwise discriminate. This paper presents results of an experiment (N = 830) that assessed the extent to which workers

The author used data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys to examine the 12-month prevalence and predictors of the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) relative to conventional Western medical services among Chinese Americans. The author examined the differences in service utilization patterns between Chinese Americans and non-Hispanic whites and the effects of acculturation

Research into autism and mental health has traditionally associated poor mental health and autism as inevitably linked. Other possible explanations for mental health problems among autistic populations have received little attention. As evidenced by the minority disability movement, autism is increasingly being considered part of the identities of autistic people. Autistic individuals thus constitute

In this study, we contribute to the emerging scholarship at the intersection of crime and health by estimating the effect of serious offending on offenders’ health. By building on sociological stress research, we identify and adjust for the key life course processes that may intervene on the pathway from offending to health using a rich set of measures available in the panel data from the National

Religiosity is well documented as a coping resource that protects against the effects of discrimination on distress, but little is known about the utility of religious minorities’ religiosity. This study investigates if religious resources buffer the effect of discrimination on distress for Arab Americans and if that relationship differs based on religious minority status. Following the contours of

Discrimination due to personal characteristics (e.g., gender, sexuality, appearance) is a common yet stressful experience that is detrimental to mental health. Prior work has not considered how spouses in same- and different-sex marriages help each other cope with discrimination despite the importance of marriage for managing stress and adversity. We analyze survey data collected from both spouses

We use national data on 5,552 inmates and the 214 state prisons in which they reside to examine how prison conditions are associated with mental health symptoms net of individual-level factors. Structural equation models indicate that prison overcrowding and punitiveness are positively related to both depression and hostility, while the availability of work assignments is negatively related to both

Although research finds that parents report greater depression than nonparents, we do not know whether the costs and benefits of parenthood for mental and physical health vary across parenting stages. Using the first wave of data from National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS; N = 2,730), we examine disparities in eight measures of mental and physical health between nonparents

This study examines how gender attitudes moderate the relationship between employment and depressive symptoms using data from the 1987 to 2006 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort. Results indicate that at age 40, the association of employment with reduced symptoms of depression is greatest for mothers who had previously expressed support for traditional gender roles. This

Although previous research has examined associations among masculinity, sexual orientation, minority stress, and mental health, these studies focused exclusively on individuals as units of analysis. This study investigates how men in same-sex relationships uniquely experience minority stress associated with their perceptions and performances of masculinity, as individuals and as couples. Qualitative

Prior studies establish a link between incarceration and stress-related health, but relatively little is known about perceived stressors among current and former prisoners. To better understand the stress-related experiences of this population, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 former inmates in upstate New York and northeast Ohio in 2012 and 2013. Participants were asked about their health

Time spent with children has become a central concern in North American parenting culture. Using the 2011 Canadian Work, Stress, and Health Study (n = 2,007), the authors examine employed parents’ perceptions about having too little time with children and whether these relate to parents’ mental and physical health. The “pernicious stressor” hypothesis posits that the demands of paid work combined with

While prior study has linked discrimination experienced as a result of 9/11 with economic insecurity within the context of the Great Recession, the mental health effects of this linkage are unexamined. This study examined whether economic insecurity during the recession era helps account for long-term effects of 9/11-related discrimination on symptoms of depression and anxiety using structural equation

Inmates confined to correctional institutions are exposed to stressors that induce psychological distress. One factor that may be important for inmate mental health is religion. Accordingly, scholars have examined the role of participation in religious activities on inmate mental health. Yet, the role of the religious concentration of prisons on inmate mental health remains unexamined, in spite of

Links between elevated mental well-being in adulthood and higher social and economic resources growing up are well established. However, the role of gender remains unclear, especially whether gender influences how social and economic resources interact to produce disparities in mental well-being across young adulthood. Drawing on nationally representative longitudinal data, we illuminate gender differences

Two field experiments investigated discrimination in an online mental health care market. The subjects were 908 mental health care providers (MHPs) who advertise for clients on a website through which help-seekers email providers. Both studies measured MHPs’ receptiveness to an ostensibly black or white help-seeker requesting an appointment. In the first study, no racial or gender disparities were

This paper describes an experimental study (N = 184) that investigated influence and social distance consequences of a number of attributes in interpersonal interactions. The attributes included race, education, panic disorder, depression, and schizophrenia. Participants interacted with fictitious partners whom they believed were real and who represented the attributes studied. Participants had opportunities

An internal locus of control may be particularly valuable for youth with low socioeconomic status (SES), yet the mechanisms that externalize their control remain unclear. This study uses data on 16,450 U.S. eighth graders surveyed for the National Education Longitudinal Study in 1988 and 1990. Results indicate family income is more closely associated with adolescents’ locus of control than parents’

Though most mental health care today occurs in community settings, including primary care, research on mental illness stigma tends to focus on hospitalization or severe mental illness. While stigma negatively impacts the health of those with a range of mental problems, relatively little research examines how providers work with clients to confront and manage mental illness stigma. Calling on 28 interviews