Mental Health, Social Mirror

While mental health figured prominently in the writings of classical sociologists, contemporary sociologists often view research on mental health as peripheral to the "real work" of the discipline. The essays in this volume reassert the centrality of research in mental health to sociology. First, they articulate the contributions that mental health research has made and can make to resolving key theoretical and empirical debates in important areas of sociological study. Second, they draw from mainstream theories and concepts to reconsider the potential of sociology to provide answers to critical questions regarding the social origins of and social responses to mental illness. As reflected in the title, the sociological study of mental health provides a reflection of the central processes that characterize our society.

Reflections Through The Sociological Looking Glass.- Through the Looking Glass: The Fortunes of the Sociology of Mental Health.- Sociology, Psychiatry, and the Production of Knowledge about Mental Illness and Its Treatment.- The Changing Role(s) of Sociology (and Psychology) in the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program.- Sociological Theory And Mental Health.- Classical Sociological Theory, Evolutionary Psychology, and Mental Health.- Contemporary Social Theory and the Sociological Study of Mental Health.- The Social Origins Of Mental Health And Mental Illness.- Class Relations, Economic Inequality and Mental Health: Why Social Class Matters to the Sociology of Mental Health.- Work and the Political Economy of Stress: Recontextualizing the Study of Mental Health/Illness in Sociology.- Race and Mental Health: Past Debates, New Opportunities.- Life Course Perspectives on Social Factors and Mental Illness.- Transition to Adulthood, Mental Health, and Inequality.- Contributions of the Sociology of Mental Health for Understanding the Social Antecedents, Social Regulation, and Social Distribution of Emotion.- Social Psychology and Stress Research.- Social Responses To Mental Illness.- Stigma and the Sociological Enterprise.- Social Integration: A Conceptual Overview and Two Case Studies.- Sociological Traditions in the Study of Mental Health Services Utilization.- An Organizational Analysis of Mental Health Care.- Recognizing a Role for Structure and Agency: Integrating Sociological Perspectives into the Study of Recovery from Severe Mental Illness.- Mental Health, Social Mirror: Looking Forward, Reflecting Back.- Mainstream Sociology and Sociological Specialties: Toward Understanding the Gap and Its Consequences.