William C. Cockerham

Social class, Mexican culture, and fatalism: Their effects on psychological distress

We examine the causes and consequences of fatalism in a cross-cultural setting, focusing on the ways in which a fatalistic world view may mediate the effects of social class and Mexican ethnic identity on psychological distress. We find that persons in the lower social classes and Mexicans tend to be more fatalistic than persons in the upper classes and Anglos, and that fatalism, in turn, increases psychological distress. We attempt to integrate research on the social and cultural determinants of cognitive orientations with studies of the effects of social class and Mexican culture on distress.

Predicting physician utilization.

Previous research on physician utilization has shown that variables found significant in many traditional social psychologic studies (process models) often lack predictive. strength if utilized in multivariate research (prediction models). To address this problem, a variable was created that measures both the presence of symptoms and the persons own evaluation of the necessity for medical care for the symptoms experienced. This variable is a relatively strong predictor of physician utilization. Analysis of findings suggests that future multivariate research on physician utilization consider a focus upon respondent evaluated symptoms (RES) and type of health care facility available.

A test of the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, and psychological distress

Contrary to the general position in the research literature, Kessler and Neighbors have argued that race has independent effects on psychological distress among the lower class in the United States. They claim that lower-class blacks have significantly higher levels of distress than lower-class whites and this result is due to race rather than social class. A test of this proposition is presented in this paper. These data do not support the contention that race makes a difference in levels of psychological distress among the lower class. We found, that, as income increases among blacks and whites, psychological distress decreases and this is especially true for blacks. However, there was no significant difference between blacks and whites at the lowest income levels.

Patterns of alcohol and multiple drug use among rural white and American Indian adolescents.

This study examined the attitudes and practices of sample of White (N=667) and American Indian (N=280) adolescents in regard to the use of alcohol and other drugs. The findings lend general support to the hypothesis of Whitehead et al. that users of any one drug will show increased probability to use another drug when compared to those not using that drug. Additionally, it was found that rural Indian youth are somewhat more likely than rural White youth to be involved with alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs.

Drug Use among White and American Indian High School Youth

Data are presented on a sample of white (N = 391) and American Indian (N = 120) high school youth attending the four high schools in the vicinity of Wyomings Wind River Reservation. For the most part, the Indian youth were members of either the Arapahoe or Shoshone tribes. The general null hypothesis that no significant differences existed between white and Indian youth in either attitudes toward drug use or in the use of drugs was rejected. The data indicate that Indian youth have a more favorable attitude toward the use of marijuana and other drugs than do white youth. Indian youth were also more likely than white youth to try using marijuana and other drugs, but no more likely than whites to continue using such drugs after having tried them.

The state of medical sociology in the United States, Great Britain, West Germany and Austria: Applied vs pure theory

This paper investigates the development of medical sociology in four selected Western nations--the United States, Great Britain, West Germany and Austria--where the state of the field ranges from highly developed to underdeveloped. The focus of the paper is to explore the problem of applied versus purely theoretical medical sociology and assess the direction of the field. The trends noted in the analysis clearly indicate that contemporary medical sociology is primarily an applied subject. The evolution and implications of this situation for the subdiscipline are discussed.

Psychological distress, perceived health status, and physician utilization in America and west Germany

This paper reports on findings pertaining to levels of psychological distress, perceived health status, and physician utilization among a sample of Americans (N = 1204) and West Germans (N = 1266) living in Illinois and North-Rhine Westphalia, respectively. The conflicting perspectives of labeling theory and the clinical approach to cross-cultural variations in mental disorder are discussed. There were no significant differences between the two population groups with respect to anxiety tendencies or psychological distress generally, with the exception of Germans having significantly more tendency toward depression. In both countries, persons with the lowest expressions of anxiety were the most likely to perceive symptoms of physical problems as requiring a doctors attention, thereby suggesting that anxiety operates to influence a denial of general readiness to deal with symptoms. Yet persons with the highest anxiety, depression, and overall psychological distress were most likely to report having experienced physical symptoms and visiting a doctor because of it. Persons with the highest anxiety, depression, and overall psychological distress also rated their health status the lowest.

Symptoms, social stratification and self-responsibility for health in the United States and West Germany☆

This study compares the responses of a sample of Americans in Illinois and West Germans in North-Rhine Westphalia on the basis of symptom perception, symptom experience, physician utilization and health-locus-of-control. The hypothesis that as socioeconomic status increases, the more likely the individual is to manifest and behavior favorable toward self-control and acceptance of personal responsibility in health care matters was tested. The hypothesis was supported by the American data, but not the West German. Possible trends in West German society accounting for a significant lack of socioeconomic variance in illness behavior are discussed.

Minor ailments and illness behavior among physicians.

This study examined the illness behavior of a sample (n = 375) of physicians in regard to the treatment of their own minor ailments. The symptoms for each of 13 minor ailments were clearly worded to describe a common ailment which in the normal course of events should disappear if left untreated. For 3 of the ailments, however, there was a high frequency of physician-dependent action; 4 other ailments showed a moderate frequency of physician-dependent action. Assuming that physicians are role models for illness behavior, in the sense that they have the authority to define what illness “is” and that they will then do what they think “best,” this sample of physicians is implicitly demonstrating what lay persons should do. These data suggest that the normative expectation to seek professional assistance (a medical solution) is reinforced by physicians through their own behavior.

Health lifestyles and self-direction in employment among American men: A test of the spillover effect

This paper examines whether American males with a high degree of control over their work situation pursue healthy lifestyles and rate their physical health more positively than those who score low on occupational self-direction. That is, are persons who control their work more likely to also try to control their health through living in a particularly healthy manner? We found that there was no support for a spillover effect from high occupational self-direction to enhanced participation in health lifestyles or more positive self-rated health. The findings suggest health lifestyles have spread throughout occupational work groups in the U.S. and support research that maintains such lifestyles have spread across social strata in America.