Sociocultural Approach

• Overview of Sociocultural Approach

  1. Focus on environmental factors in mental health. Consideration of community resources for coping. Holistic perspective compared to other approaches. Alignment with diathesis-stress model
• Vulnerability Model (Brown & Harris, 1978)

  1. Case study of 458 London women
  2. 8% became clinically depressed in previous year
  3. 90% of depressed women experienced adverse life events
• Three types of factors

  1. Protective factors: Decreases the risk of Depression (e.g., strong community, close family bonds)
  2. Vulnerability factors: Increases the risk of Depression (Loss of mother before age 11. Lack of confiding relationship. More than 3 children under 14 at home d. Unemployment)
  3. Provoking agents (acute and ongoing stress)
• Strengths

  1. Holistic perspective
  2. Explains cultural and gender differences in prevalence
  3. Supports stress-diathesis model
  4. Informs prevention strategies
• Limitations

  1. Causality issues (correlational research)
  2. Measurement challenges for stress
  3. Generalizability concerns from case studies
  4. Cannot fully explain individual differences in vulnerability
  5. Interaction complexity with biological factors
• ACEs:  


  Ten types of Adverse Childhood Experiences, including:

  • Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse
  • Physical or emotional neglect
  • Household dysfunction (e.g., substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence)
• What is the full name of MDD?

  Major depressive disorder
• What do sociocultural explanations for MDD focus on?

  They focus on how environmental and cultural factors contribute to the development of depression
• What are the two key sociocultural explanations for MDD discussed in the essay?

  • The vulnerability model
  • The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) model
• What does the vulnerability model suggest about social factors?

  It suggests that certain social factors can increase susceptibility to developing depression when faced with stress
• Who proposed the vulnerability model?

  Brown and Harris
• In what year was the vulnerability model proposed?

  1978
• What are some vulnerability factors identified in the vulnerability model?

  Loss of a parent at a young age, lack of social support, unemployment, and having multiple young children at home
• How do vulnerability factors interact with provoking agents according to the vulnerability model?

  They can trigger depressive episodes in vulnerable individuals when combined with acute stressors
• What does the ACE model emphasize regarding childhood experiences?

  It emphasizes the cumulative impact of various types of childhood adversity on later mental health outcomes
• Who developed the ACE model?

  Felitti et al.
• In what year was the ACE model study conducted?

  1998
• What types of childhood adversity does the ACE model include?

  Abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction
• What insights do the vulnerability and ACE models provide regarding MDD?

  • Highlight the importance of environmental factors
  • Emphasize the role of life experiences in shaping depression risk
• What was the sample size of the study conducted by Brown and Harris?

  458 women
• What was the main finding regarding the prevalence of clinical depression among the surveyed women?

  8% of the women had become clinically depressed in the previous year
• What percentage of clinically depressed women had experienced adverse life events or serious difficulties?

  90%
• What vulnerability factors were identified by Brown and Harris that increased the risk of depression?

  Loss of one's mother before age 11, lack of a confiding relationship, having more than three children under 14 at home, and unemployment
• What was groundbreaking about Brown and Harris's study on depression?

  • Focused on social and environmental factors
  • Moved beyond purely biological or personality-based explanations