Social causes of psychological distress / John Mirowsky, Catherine E. Ross.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-312) and index.

pt. I. Introduction -- 1. Introduction -- Understanding the connections between social and personal problems -- Preview -- pt. II. Researching the causes of distress -- 2. Measuring psychological well-being and distress -- What is psychological distress? -- Diagnosis : superimposed distinctions -- Conclusion : the story of a woman diagnosed -- Appendix of symptom indexes -- 3. Real-world causes of real-world misery -- Establishing cause in the human sciences -- Explaining real patterns -- pt. III. Social patterns of distress -- 4. Basic patterns -- Community mental health surveys -- Socioeconomic status -- Marriage -- Children at home -- Gender -- Undesirable life events -- Age -- Discussion -- 5. New patterns -- Life course disruptions and developments -- Neighborhood disadvantage and disorder -- pt. IV. Explaining the patterns -- 6. Life change : an abandoned explanation -- Conceptual history of life change and stress -- Contradictory evidence -- Variants of the life change index -- Alternative concepts and future research -- 7. Alienation -- Control -- Commitment -- Support -- Meaning -- Normality -- Alienation : the prime stressor -- 8. Authoritarianism and inequity -- Authoritarianism -- Inequity -- pt. V. Conclusion -- 9. Why some people are more distressed than others -- Control of one's own life -- The importance of social factors -- Genetics and biochemistry as alternative explanations -- What can be done? -- "Take arms against a sea of troubles" -- Appendix : description of data sets and measures -- Aging, Status, and the Sense of Control Survey -- Community, Crime, and Health Survey -- Illinois Survey of Well-Being -- Life Stress and Illness Project -- Women and Work Study -- Work, Family, and Well-Being Survey.