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Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in the Sociology of Mental Health

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Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

The growing racial and ethnic heterogeneity of the U.S. population will require mental health researchers to think more seriously about socioculural variation. To date, researchers have not given sufficient attention to how race, ethnicity, and culture are linked to one another and to mental health. For instance, race can be an important factor in predicting exposure and vulnerability to stress, coping strategies, social support, and, in turn, mental health status. Race, however, grossly aggregates people and often hides subtle, and not so subtle, variations in mental health status and functioning. This aggregation masks and perhaps distorts ethnic differences and cultural influences within racial groups. It is neither scientifically nor clinically valid to categorize, sample or theorize about racial groups—such as Whites, Asians, Hispanics, or Blacks—without recognizing the ethnic variation and cultural influences within these populations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48106, USA

    Tony N. Brown, Sherrill L. Sellers & James S. Jackson

  2. Department of Psychology, Macalaster College, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55105, USA

    Kendrick T. Brown

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  1. Tony N. Brown
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  2. Sherrill L. Sellers
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  3. Kendrick T. Brown
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  4. James S. Jackson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, 90095-1772, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Carol S. Aneshensel

  2. Division of Sociomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, Columbia University, 10032, New York, New York, USA

    Jo C. Phelan

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Brown, T.N., Sellers, S.L., Brown, K.T., Jackson, J.S. (1999). Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in the Sociology of Mental Health. In: Aneshensel, C.S., Phelan, J.C. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-36223-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-36223-1_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-32516-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-36223-6

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