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READING LIST FOR THE Qualifying Examination in Medical Sociology (Revised April 2005)

The Medical Sociology Reading list consists of a set of core readings and modules that address specific areas in the sociology of health and illness. The modules address the following topics:

Medical Demography Mental Health and Mental Illness Social Construction of Health and Illness. Social Inequality and Health Stress, Coping, Social Support, and Health

Students preparing for the qualifying examination in medical sociology are expected to complete the core readings and two modules of their choice.
Students should not confine their preparation to this reading list. It is expected and appropriate that sources other than those on the reading list be used in the preparation of the qualifying examination.

Core Readings

Andersen, R.M. (1995). Revisiting the behavioral model and access to medical care: Does it matter? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 1-10.

Andersen, R.M. & Newman, J.F. (1973). Societal and individual determinants of medical care utilization in the United States. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 51, 95-121. Unavailable.

Aneshensel, C.S. (1992). Social stress: Theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 15-38.

Aneshensel, C.S. & Phelan, J.C. (1999). Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, Stress, and Coping. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cassel, J. (1976). The contribution of the social environment to host resistance. American Journal of Epidemiology, 104, 107-123.  Unavailable

Conrad, P. & Kern, R. (1990). The Sociology of Health and Illness: Critical Perspectives (third edition). New York: St. Martin=s Press.

Dannefer, D. (2003). Cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the life course: Cross-fertilizing age and social science theory. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58B, S327-S337

George, L.K. (1996). Social factors and illness. In R.H. Binstock & L.K. George (eds.), Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences (fourth edition). San Diego: Academic Press.

George, L.K. (2001). The social psychology of health. In R.H. Binstock & L.K. George (eds.), Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences (fifth edition). San Diego: Academic Press.

Horwitz, A.V. & Scheid, T.L. (eds.) (1999). A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

House, J., Landis, K., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241, 540-545.

House, J.S., Lepkowski, J.M., Kinney, A.M., Mero, R.P., Kessler, R.C., & Herzog, A.R. (1994). The social stratification of aging and health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35, 213-234.

Kessler, R.C., Mickelson, K.D., & Williams, D.R. (1999). The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 208-230.

Lin, N., Ye, X., & Ensel, W.M. (1999). Social support and depressed mood: A structural analysis. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 344-359.

Link, B.G. & Phelan, J.C. (1995). Social conditions as fundamental causes of disease. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, extra issue, 80-94.

Pearlin, L.I., Lieberman, M.A., Menaghan, E.G., & Mullan, J.T. (1981). The stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 337-356.

Pearlin, L.I. & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2-21.

Ross, C.E. & Mirowsky, J. (2001). Neighborhood disadvantage, disorder, and health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 258-276.

Wheaton, B. (2001). The role of sociology in the study of mental health...and the role of mental health in the study of sociology. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 221-234.

Zola, I.K. (1972). Medicine as an institution of social control. Sociological Review, 20, 487-504. Unavailable

Medical Demography

Adelmann, P.K.  (1994). Multiple Roles and Psychological Well-Being in a National Sample of  Older Adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 49:S277-S285.

Balfour, J.L. & Kaplan, G.A. (2002). Neighborhood environment and loss of physical function in older adults: Evidence from the Alameda County Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 155, 507-515.

Browning, C. & Cagney, K.A. (2002). Neighborhood structural disadvantage, collective efficacy, and self-rated physical health in an urban setting.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 383-399.

Crimmons, E.M., Hayward, M..D., & Saito, Y. (1994). Changing mortality and morbidity rates and the health status and life expectancy of the older population. Demography, 31, 159-175.

Crimmons, E.M. & Saito, Y. (1993). Getting better and getting worse: Transitions in functional status among older Americans. Journal of Aging and Health, 5, 3-36. Unavailable.

Crimmons, E.M., Saito, Y., & Ingegneri, D. (1997). Trends in disability-free life expectancy in the United States. Population and Development Review, 23, 555-572.

de Leon, C.F.M., Glass, T.A., Beckett, L.A., Seeman, T.E., Evans, D.A., & Berkman,
L.F. (1999). Social networks and disability transitions across eight intervals of yearly data in the New Haven EPESE. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 54B, S162-S172. Unavailable

de Leon, C.F.M., Gold, D.T., Glass, T.A., Kaplan, L., & George, L.K. (2001). Disability as a function of social networks and support in elderly African Americans and whites: The Duke EPESE 1986-1992. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56B, S179S190.

Ferraro, K.F. & Kelley-Moore, J.A. (2001). Self-rated health and mortality among black and white adults: Examining the dynamic evaluation thesis. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56B, S195-S205.

Hays, J.C., Pieper, C.F., & Purser, J.L. (2003). Competing risk of household expansion or institutionalization in late life.  Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58B, S11S20.

Hughes, M.E. & Waite, L.J. (2002).  Health in household context: Living arrangements and health in late middle age.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 1-21.

Huie, S.A.B., Hummer, R.A., & Rogers, R.G. (2002).  Individual and contextual risks of death among race and ethnic groups in the United States.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 359-381.

Hummer, R.A., Rogers, R.G., Nam, C.B., & Ellison, C.G. (1999). Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality. Demography, 36, 273-285.

Idler, E.L. & Kasl, S.V. (1997). Religion among Disabled and Nondisabled Persons II: Attendance at Religious Services as a Predictor of the Course of Disability.  Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 52B:S306-S316. Unavailable

Leveille, S.G., Penninx, B.W.J.H., Melzer, D., Izmirlian, G., & Guralnik, J.M. (2000). Sex differences in the prevalence of disability in old age: The dynamics of incidence, recovery, and mortality. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55B, S41-S50.

Manton, K.G. (1988). A longitudinal study of functional change and mortality in the United States. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 43, S153-S161. Unavailable

Manton, K.G., Stallard, E., & Corder, L.S. (1995). Changes in morbidity and chronic disability in the U.S. elderly population: Evidence from the 1982, 1984, and 1989 National Long Term Care Surveys. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 50B, S194-S204. Unavailable

Manton, K.G., Stallard, E., & Tolley, H.D. (1991). Limits to human life expectancy: Evidence, prospects, and implications. Population and Development Review, 17, 603657.

Melzer, D., Izmirlian, G., Leveille, S.G., & Guralnik, J.M. (2001).  Educational Differences in the Prevalence of Mobility Disability in Old Age: The Dynamics of Incidence, Mortality, and Prevalence.  Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56B:S294-S301

Musick, M.A., House, J.S., & Williams, D.R. (2004).  Attendance at Religious Services and Mortality in a National Sample.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45:198-213.

Schoeni, R.F., Freedman, V.A., & Wallace, R.B. (2001). Persistent, consistent, widespread, and robust? Another look at recent trends in old-age disability. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56B, S206-S218.

Strawbridge, W.J., Cohen, R.D., Shema, S.J., & Kaplan, G.A. (1997). Frequent attendance at religious services and mortality over 28 years. American Journal of Public Health, 87, 957-961.

Strawbridge, W.J. & Wallhagen, M.I. (1999). Self-rated health and mortality over three decades: Results from a time-dependent-covariate analysis. Research on Aging, 21, 402-416.

Mental Health and Mental Illness

Aseltine, R.H., Jr. (1996). Pathways linking parental divorce with adolescent depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 37, 133-148.

Barrett, A.E. & White, H.R. (2002).  Trajectories of gender role orientations in adolescence and early adulthood: A prospective study of the mental health effects of masculinity and femininity.   Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 451-468. []

Barrett, A.E. (2000). Marital trajectories and mental health.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41, 451-464.

Dooley, D., Prause, J., & Ham-Rowbottom, K.A. (2000). Underemployment and depression: Longitudinal relationships. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41, 421-436.

Ellison, C.G., Boardman, J.D., Williams, D.R., & Jackson, J.S. (2001). Religious involvement, stress, and mental health: Findings from the 1995 Detroit Area Study. Social Forces, 80, 215-249.

Ge, X., Lorenz, F.O., Conger, R.D., Elder, G.H., Jr., & Simons, R.L. (1994). Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 30, 467-483.

George, L.K. (1999). Life course perspectives on mental health. In C.S. Aneshensel & J.C. Phelan (eds.), Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Illness. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

George, L.K., Blazer, D.G., Hughes, D.C., & Fowler, N. (1989).  Social Support and the Outcome of Major Depression.  British Journal of Psychiatry, 154:478-485. Unavailable

Johnson, T.P. (1991). Mental health, social relationships, and social selection: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 408-423.

Kessler, R.C. (2002). The Categorical versus Dimensional Assessment Controversy in the Sociology of Mental Illness. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43:171-188.

Kessler, R.C., McGonagle, K.A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C.B., & Hughes, M. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-IIIR psychiatric disorders in the United States: Results from the National Co-morbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8-19.

Koenig, H.G., George, L.K., & Peterson B.L. (1998).  Religiosity and the remission of depression in medically ill older patients.  American Journal of Psychiatry, 155: 536542

Link, B.G., Cullen, F.T., Struening, E., Shrout, P.E., & Dohrenwend, B.P. (1989). A modified labeling theory approach to mental disorders: An empirical assessment. American Sociological Review, 54, 400-423.

Link, B.G., Struening, E.L., Rahav, M., Phelan, J.C., & Nuttbrock, L. (1997).  On stigma and its consequences: Evidence from a longitudinal study of men with dual diagnoses of mental illness and substance abuse.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38, 177-190.

Lynch, S.M. & George, L.K. (2002). Interlocking trajectories of loss-related events and depression among elders. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 57B:S117-S125, March issue.

Markowitz, F.E. (2001). Modeling Processes in Recovering from Mental Illness: Relationships between Symptoms, Life Satisfaction, and Self-Concept.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42:64-79.

Ross, C.E. & Mirowsky, J. (1989). Explaining the social patterns of depression: Control and problem-solving or support and talking? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 230-243.

Schulz, A., Williams, D., Israel, B., Becker, A., Parker, E., House, J.S., & Jackson, J. (2000). Unfair treatment, neighborhood effects, and mental health in the Detroit metropolitan area. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41, 314-332.

Simon, R.W.  (1997). The Meanings Individuals Attach to Role Identities and Their Implications for Mental Health.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38:256-274.

Simon, R.W. (1997). The meanings individuals attach to role identities and their implications for mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38, 256-274.

Turner, R.J. & Lloyd, D.A. (1995). Lifetime traumas and mental health: The significance of cumulative adversity. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 360-376.

Turner, R.J. & Lloyd, D.A. (1999). The stress process and the social distribution of depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 374-404.

Wade, T.J. & Pevalin, D.J. (2004).  Marital Transitions and Mental Health.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior.  45:155-170

Social Construction of Health and Illness

Abrums, M. (2000). AJesus will fix it after awhile:@ Meanings and health. Social Science and Medicine, 50, 89-105.

Barondess, J.A. (1979). Disease and illness: A critical distinction. American Journal of Medicine, 66, 375-376. Unavailable

Brown, P. (1995). Naming and framing: The social construction of diagnosis and illness. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35, 34-52.

Charmaz, K.C. (1983). Loss of self: A fundamental form of suffering in the chronically ill. Sociology of Health and Illness, 5, 168-195.

Charmaz, K.C. (1991). Good Days, Bad Days: The Self in Chronic Illness. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Ferraro, K.F. & Feller, J.R. (1996). Self and age differences in defining health situations: A comparison of measurement strategies. Research on Aging, 18, 175-201. Unavailable

Ferraro, K.F. & Wilmoth, J.M. (2000). Measuring morbidity: Disease counts, binary variables, and statistical power. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55B, S173S189.

Idler, E.L., Hudson, S.V., & Leventhal, H. (1999). The meanings of self-ratings of health: A qualitative and quantitative approach. Research on Aging, 46, 258-276.

Kleinman, A. (1988). The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition. ew York: Basic Books.

Meeuwesen, L., Schapp, C., & Van Der Staak, C. (1991). Verbal analysis of doctor-patient communication. Social Science and Medicine, 32, 1143-1150. Unavailable

Mirowsky, J. & Ross, C.E. (1989). Psychiatric diagnosis as reified measurement. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30, 11-25. Also read the three sets of comments and the rejoinder that follow on pages 26-40.

Radloff, L.S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401. Unavailable

Stoller, E.P. (1993). Interpretations of symptoms by older people: A health diary study of illness behavior. Journal of Aging and Health, 5, 58-81. Unavailable

Verbrugge, L.M. & Jette, A. (1994). The disablement process. Social Science and Medicine, 38, 1-14. Unavailable

Waitzkin, H. (1989). A critical theory of medical discourse: Ideology, social control, and the processing of social context in medical encounters. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30, 220-239.

Social Inequality and Health

Adler, N.E. & Newman, K. (2002). Socioeconomic disparities in health: Pathways and policies. Inequality in education, income, and occupation exacerbates the gaps between health Ahaves@ and Ahave-nots.@ Health Affairs, 21, 60-76.

Adler, N.E., Boyce, T., Chesney, M.A., Cohen, S., Folkman, S., Kahn, R.L., & Syme,
S.L. (1994). Socioeconomic status and health: The challenge of the gradient.
American Psychologist, 49, 15-24.

Bassuk, S.S., Berkman, L.F., & Amick, B.C. (2002). Socioeconomic status and mortality among the elderly: Findings from four U.S. communities. American Journal of Epidemiology, 155, 520-533.

Beckett, M. (2000). Converging health inequalities in later life - An artifact of mortality selection? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41,106-119
Also read the comments on this piece and Beckett's rejoinder that immediately follows: Noymer, A. (2001). Mortality selection and sample selection: A comment on Beckett. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 326-327.

Hayward, M.D., Crimmins, E.M., Miles, T.P., & Yang, Y. (2000).  The Significance of Socioeconomic Status in Explaining the Racial Gap in Chronic Health Conditions. American Sociological Review, 65:910-930.

Hummer, R.A., Rogers, R.G., Nam, C.B., & LeClere, F.B. (1999). Race/ethnicity, nativity, and U.S. adult mortality. Social Science Quarterly, 80, 136-153.

Karlsen, S. & Nazroo, J.Y. (2002). Relation between racial discrimination, social class, and health among ethnic minority groups. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 624-631.

Krause, N. (1997). Received support, perceived support, social class, and mortality. Research on Aging, 19, 387-422.

Long, J.A., Ickovics, J.R., Gill, T.M., & Horwitz, R.J. (2001). The cumulative effects of social class on mental status decline. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 49, 1005-1007.

MacIntyre, S. (1997). The Black Report and beyond: What are the issues? Social Science and Medicine, 44, 723-745.

McDonough,P. & Berglund, P. (2003). Histories of poverty and self-rated health trajectories.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44, 198-214.

McLeod, J.D. & Kessler, R.C. (1990). Socioeconomic status differences in vulnerability to undesirable life events. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 31, 162-172.

Moen, P., Dempster-McClain, D., & Williams, R.M., Jr. (1992). Successful aging: A life course perspective on women=s roles and health. American Journal of Sociology, 97, 1612-1638.

Mulatu, M.S. & Schooler, C. (2002).  Causal Connections between SES and Health: Reciprocal Effects and Mediating Mechanisms.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43:22-41.

Mutchler, J.E. & Burr, J.A. (1991). Racial differences in health and health care service utilization in later life: The effect of socioeconomic status. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 342-356.

Pavalko, E., Mossakowski K.N., & Hamilton, V.J. (2003).  Does perceived discrimination affect health? Longitudinal relationships between work discrimination and women=s physical and emotional health.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44, 18-33.

Reid, J. & Hardy, M. (1999). Multiple roles and well-being among midlife women: Testing role strain and role enhancement theories. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 54B, S329-S338. Unavailable

Ross, C.E. & Bird, C.E. (1994). Sex stratification an health lifestyle: Consequences for men’s and women’s perceived health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35, 161-178.

Ross, C.E. & Wu, C. (1995). The links between education and health. American Sociological Review, 60, 719-745.

Ross, C.E. & Wu, C. (1996).  Education, age, and the cumulative advantage in health.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 37, 104-120.

Williams, D.R. & Collins, C. (1995). U.S. socioeconomic and racial differences in health. Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 349-386.

Williams, D.R., Yu, Y., Jackson, J.S., & Anderson, N. (1997). Racial differences in physical and mental health: Socioeconomic status, stress, and discrimination. Journal of Health Psychology, 2, 335-351. Unavailable

Stress, Coping, Social Support, and Health

Aneshensel, C.S. & Frerichs, R. (1982). Stress, support, and depression: A longitudinal causal model. Journal of Community Psychology, 10, 363-376. Unavailable

Aneshensel, C.S., Ruter, C.M., & Lachenbruch, P.A. (1991). Social structure, stress, and mental health: Competing conceptual and analytic models. American Sociological Review, 56, 166-178.

Cornwell, B. (2003). The dynamic properties of social support: Decay, growth, and staticity and their effects on adolescent depression.  Social Forces, 81, 955-982.

Elder, G.H., Jr., George, L.K., & Shanahan, M.J. (1996). Psychosocial stress over the life course. In H.B. Kaplan (ed.), Psychosocial Stress: Perspectives on Structure, Theory, Life Course, and Methods. San Diego: Academic Press.

Ensel, W.M. & Lin, N.  (2000). Age, the stress process, and physical distress: The role of distal stressors. Journal of Aging and Health, 12, 139-168.

Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R.S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219-239.

George, L.K. & Lynch, S.M. (2003). Race Differences in Depressive Symptoms: A Dynamic Perspective on Stress Exposure and Vulnerability.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44:353-369

Grzywacz, J.G., Almeida, D.M., Neupert, S.D., & Ettner, S.L.  (2004). A Micro-Level Analysis of Exposure and Vulnerability to Daily Stressors.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45:1-16.

Harnish, J.D., Aseltine, R.H., Jr., & Gore, S. (2000). Resolution of stressful experiences as an indicator of coping effectiveness in young adults: An event history analysis.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41, 121-136.

Krause, N. (1987). Understanding the stress process: Linking social support with locus of control beliefs. Journal of Gerontology, 42, 589-593. Unavailable

Landerman, L.R., George, L.K., Campbell, R.T., & Blazer, D.G.  (1989). Alternative Models of the Stress-Buffering Hypothesis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 17:625-642. Unavailable

Latkin, C.A. & Curry, A.D. (2003). Stressful neighborhoods and depression: A prospective study of the impact of neighborhood disorder.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44, 34-44.

Lin, N. & Ensel, W.M. (1989). Life stress and health: Stressors and resources. American Sociological Review, 55, 209-223.

McLeod, J.D. & Kessler, R.C. (1990). Socioeconomic status differences in vulnerability to undesirable life events. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 31, 162-172.

Pearlin, L.I., Aneshensel, C.S., & LeBlanc, A.J. (1997). The forms and mechanisms of stress proliferation: The case of AIDS caregivers. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38, 223-236.

Ross, C.E. & Mirowsky, J. (1989). Explaining the Social Patterns of Depression: Control and Problem-Solving B Or Support and Talking? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30:206-219.

Roxburgh, S. (2004). AThere Just Aren=t Enough Hours in the Day@: The Mental Health Consequences of Time Pressures.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45:115-131.

Strawbridge, W.J., Shema, S.J., Cohen, R.D., Roberts, R.E., & Kaplan, G.A. (1998). Religiosity buffers the effects of some stressors on depression but exacerbates others. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 53B, S118-S126. Unavailable

Thoits, P.A. (1995). Stress, coping, and social support: Where are we? What next? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, extra issue, 53-79.

Turner, R.J. & Avison, W.R. (2003). Status Variations in Stress Exposure: Implications for the Interpretation of Research on Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Gender.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior.  44:488-505.

Turner, R.J. & Avison, W.R. (1992). Innovations in the measurement of life stress: Crisis theory and the significance of event resolution. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 33, 36-50.

Turner, R.J., Wheaton, B., & Lloyd, D.A. (1995). The epidemiology of social stress. American Sociological Review, 60, 104-125.

Wethington, E. & Kessler, R.C. (1986). Perceived support, received support, and adjustment to stressful life events. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 27, 78-89.
Wheaton, B. (1989). Life transitions, role histories, and mental health. American Sociological Review, 54, 209-223.