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\"In the 18th century, the Royal Navy's own physician found that sailors were seven times more likely to suffer from severe mental illness than members of the general population. On the no man's land of the high seas, beyond the rule of law, and away from any sight of land for weeks at a time, often living in overcrowded and confined spaces, where anything that goes wrong could likely be fatal, the incredible pressures on sailors were immense. The ever-present fear drove some men to faith in God and superstition, and drove others mad. But that didn't stop as boat technology improved and seamanship evolved in the modern era. Off the Deep End is the first detailed study of the effect on sanity that the vastness, loneliness and inestimable power of the sea has always had on sailors' sanity, confusing the senses and making rational thought difficult. Eminently readable, it explores accounts that span the centuries, from desperate stories of shipwreck and cannibalism in the Age of Sail, to inexplicable multiple murders, to Donald Crowhurst's suicide in the middle of the 1968 solo Golden Globe Race, leaving behind two rambling notebooks of mounting neurosis and paranoia. Of interest to readers of maritime history, psychology, sociology and behavioural science, as well, of course, as to sailors of all types and experience, this unique and fascinating book offers insight and analysis - a thoroughly absorbing read about the effects of the cruel sea on the human mind.\"--Publisher's description.

By the 1990s, sociology faced a frustrating paradox. Classic work on mental illness stigma and labeling theory reinforced that the \"mark\" of mental illness created prejudice and discrimination for individuals and family members. Yet that foundation, coupled with deinstitutionalization of mental health care, produced contradictory responses. Claims that stigma was dissipating were made, while others argued that intervention efforts were needed to reduce stigma. While signaling the critical role of theory-based research in establishing the pervasive effects of stigma, both claims directed resources away from social science research. Yet the contemporary scientific foundation underlying both claims was weak. A reply came in a resurgence of research directed toward mental illness stigma nationally and internationally, bringing together researchers from different disciplines for the first time. I report on the general population's attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral dispositions that targeted public stigma and implications for the next decade of research and intervention efforts.

Mental health outcomes have shown dramatic changes over the past half-century, yet these trends are still underexplored. I utilize an age-period-cohort analysis of the National Health Interview Survey from 1997 to 2017 (N = 627,058) to disentangle trends in mental health outcomes in the United States over time. Specifically, I leverage the contrast between reported psychological distress and rates of mental health treatment to isolate which has changed, how, and for whom. There is little evidence that psychological distress is worsening over time. Yet, treatment seeking has increased over the past 20 years. The increase in treatment seeking is best modeled as a period effect, providing initial evidence that the historical context has influenced responses to mental health over time for Americans of all ages and birth cohorts. I conclude with potential mechanisms and implications for future mental health research.

This book critiques the connection between Western society and madness, scrutinizing if and how societal insanity affects the cause, construction, and consequence of madness. Looking beyond the affected individual to their social, political, economic, ecological, and cultural context, this book examines whether society itself, and its institutions, divisions, practices, and values, is mad. That society's insanity is relevant to the sanity and insanity of its citizens has been argued by Fromm in The Sane Society, but also by a host of sociologists, social thinkers, epidemiologists and biologists. This book builds on classic texts such as Foucault's History of Madness, Scull's Marxist-oriented works and more recent publications which have arisen from a range of socio-political and patient-orientated movements. Chapters in this book draw on biology, psychology, sociological and anthropological thinking that argues that where madness is concerned, society matters. Providing an extended case study of how the sociological imagination should operate in a contemporary setting, this book draws on genetics, neuro-science, cognitive science, radical psychology, and evolutionary psychology/psychiatry. It is an important read for students and scholars of sociology, anthropology, social policy, criminology, health, and mental health.

Over the past decade, and in particular since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing proportions of Canadian post-secondary students have reported experiencing symptoms of mental illnesses and psychological distress, including anxiety and depression. The present study aims to describe trends in self-reported anxiety and depression reported by students during the COVID-19 pandemic period of February 2021 to January/February 2023 and to assess whether there were significant differences in these outcomes between students and the general adult population. A secondary analysis of a repeated measures cross-sectional dataset collected by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) was conducted to assess self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression using the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scales. Generalized linear models were used to assess how the prevalence of mental health symptoms changed over time, stratified by students compared to the general population. Generally, the proportion of respondents who screened positive for anxiety or depression was higher among the student compared to the general population across time points. Female respondents also had higher average scores on both scales compared to male counterparts. Proportions screening positive for both anxiety and depression were not significantly different over time points. Findings suggest Canadian post-secondary students experience higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to the general population, with females and students scoring particularly high on mental health assessments. It highlights the need for further research on the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student mental health and the importance of continuing mental health assessments through future MHRC polling. Comparing Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Canadian Post-Secondary Students to the General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Trend Analysis This study looked at how anxiety and depression levels among Canadian college and university students have changed from February 2021 to early 2023 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that students generally reported higher levels of these mental health concerns compared to the general adult population, with there not being significant changes in scores over time. These results highlight the significant mental health challenges faced by students and the need for continued research and monitoring to understand and address these issues better.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is known to have detrimental effects on persons who directly experience this form of abuse. Emerging research also indicates that a parent’s experience of IPV may influence their children’s well-being through various intermediary pathways. However, there is still no established model to explain these mechanisms. This study is among the few that assess maternal mental health symptoms as potential mediators of the association between maternal IPV and child behavior. Using secondary data from a population-based, cross-sectional survey, we performed logistic regression analyses to assess the impact of lifetime maternal IPV exposure on child behavioral problems (withdrawal or aggression). We then applied generalized structural equation modeling to examine the mediating effects of both maternal depression and anxiety symptoms on this association. Over half (55%; 95% CI [48.3, 60.8]) of mothers had experienced IPV at some point, and 12.5% (95% CI [8.0, 19.1]) of children exhibited behavioral problems. Mothers exposed to IPV were almost three times as likely to report behavioral problems in their children compared to mothers with no history of IPV (OR = 2.81; 95% CI [1.08, 7.33]). Furthermore, we found that both maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms partially mediated the relationship between maternal IPV exposure and child behavioral problems. These findings suggest that the impact of maternal IPV on child behavioral problems is partially explained by maternal mental health. Reducing IPV and improving maternal mental health through enhanced screening and community-based mental health initiatives may contribute to lowering the prevalence of child behavior problems in Trinidad and Tobago.

There are many contradictions in previous studies of the status of depressive symptoms among Chinese migrant children, the number of which in the compulsory education stage is about 13.9 million. This systematic review and meta-analysis were designed to compare depressive symptoms among migrant children and their urban children. Around 2,710 papers were retrieved from PubMed, OVID, the Web of Knowledge, CNKI, Wan Fang, Chongqing VIP, and Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index on January 27, 2020. Thirty-Two studies met study criteria with 14,906 migrant children and 10,792 urban children. Migrant children scored significantly higher for depressive symptoms score (SMD = 0.307, 95% CI [0.222, 0.393]). Region significantly influenced the difference of depressive symptoms between migrant children and urban children. Large effect sizes came from studies using scales that focus on depressive mood while studies using scales that focus on depressive behavioural symptoms had small effect sizes. Future research should focus on treatments to decrease depressive mood of migrant children. Future studies can add information about the length of their current stay in the urban location to improve the quality of study. PROSPERO registry: Systematic review registration no. CRD42018090676.

Globalization and migration have led to a multicultural and diverse global society. With increasing numbers of immigrant children, Japanese schools are experiencing diversity. We aimed to fill the gap in understanding the difficulties experienced by immigrant children in Japanese schools with a particular focus on their social, emotional, interpersonal, and psychological well-being. We conducted a qualitative survey among 15 parents of three nationalities (South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam). Parents of children aged between 6 and 18 years, and attending Japanese schools (elementary or junior high school) were recruited. Detailed written data were collected from participants in their preferred language. After several rounds of translation by bilingual experts, thematic analysis took place. The insights of participants led to identification of interrelated themes: Language barriers in communication, self-expression, and keeping pace with learning at school; Friendship, establishing satisfactory interpersonal relationships, social connection, and cultural integration; Bullying, discrimination and psychological/emotional well-being; Teachers’ care, support, and parental wishes; and Comparisons, preferences, and feedback. Language and cultural differences significantly impact the ability to communicate, develop relationships, and learn. Children’s emotional manifestations of these difficulties signify problems with integration, adaptation, and mental well-being, and include fear, feeling lonely, difficulty with friendships, rejection, bullying, and discrimination. Although the strict rules, competitive exams, and monolingual environment in Japanese schools were noted, most families appreciated teachers’ support and care, and Japanese education’s focus on teaching life skills and teamwork. The findings inform schools, healthcare professionals and other concerned stakeholders about ways to support immigrant students to develop and flourish.

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 field but rather with a sharper focus on a few core themes that have inspired the direction and current parameters of my scholarship. Pearlin’s theorizing and empirical work on social roles provides a foundation for the sociological study of stress and mental health. I describe the ways his ideas about role strains have influenced my thinking and development around themes like the Stress of Higher Status model, and I propose new directions for research on topics like distributive justice. Pearlin’s ideas hold a special place in the history of social stress research—and the many intellectual puzzles that he proposed remain and provide fertile terrain for advancing knowledge. A greater integration and synthesis of theory and evidence in the sociology of mental health, sociology of emotion, social psychology, stratification and work, occupations, and organizations will help guide such innovations.

Cultural perspectives on suicidality have been largely marked by work explaining variability in suicide acceptability in the United States using structural variables including marital status and demographics, and limited symbolic or values orientations such as feminism, political liberalism, and civil liberties. The present article applies recent developments in comparative cultural sociology to the problem of suicidality. The central hypothesis is that cultural approval of suicide is related to a general cultural axis of nations (self-expressionism) encompassing several values orientations such as tolerance and post-materialism. Data are from Wave 4 of the World Values Surveys and refer to 53,275 individuals nested in 56 nations. Controls are incorporated from previous studies and include structural and demographic constructs. A hierarchical linear regression model determined that the degree of individual-level adherence to the values of self-expressionism predicted suicide acceptability (SA), independent of controls including ones interpretable from Durkheimian perspectives. Furthermore, persons high in individual-level self-expressionism nested in like-minded nations were relatively high in SA. The analysis of the subject is expanded to 56 nations representing all major culture zones and varied levels of economic/political development. It determined that SA is shaped by a new, broad cultural construct, self-expressionism whose impact is independent of Durkheimian familial and religious integration.