SOC102H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Whitehall Study, Occupational Stress, Social Inequality
Document Summary
Lecture 14 consequences of inequality; sickness and death. Leading causes of death in canada today: degenerative, not infectious. Social determinants of health; how affected by social inequality. Sociology is made of two things; social inequality and social cohesion (beneficial effect of people being connected by one another) Considers how both biological factors and social factors influence wellbeing. The biomedical model attributes heart disease to genetics. The behavioral model attributes it to an unhealthy lifestyle. The biopsychosocial model includes the effect of social inequality and disadvantage. For both absolute and relative economic inequality are important. Poverty (an absolute shortage of dollars) causes poor health. People experience negative health outcomes when they become so poor they can"t afford necessities like food, shelter, and medicine. Relative income inequality: a more surprising influence on health. Relative inequality (having fewer dollars than your neighbor, even if you survive) can also harm health.
