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19 - Cities, Psychosis, and Social Defeat

from Part II - Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

Laurence J. Kirmayer
Affiliation:
McGill University, Montréal
Carol M. Worthman
Affiliation:
Emory University, Atlanta
Shinobu Kitayama
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Robert Lemelson
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
Constance A. Cummings
Affiliation:
The Foundation for Psychocultural Research
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Summary

Three broad social factors – childhood adversity, immigration, and urban living – are robustly associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia. To date, however, there is no consensus on what it is about these phenomena that raises the risk of psychotic illness. In 2005, J. P. Selten and E. Cantor-Graae proposed a “social defeat” hypothesis according to which the social determinants of schizophrenia are best characterized as experiences of social subordination. In recent years, the social-defeat hypothesis has been broadened to include experiences of social exclusion. In this chapter, we review the different versions of the social defeat hypothesis and argue that it fails to account for the urban effect. We further argue for the potential utility of paying greater attention to social science when theorizing about the social determinants of schizophrenia.

Type
Chapter
Information
Culture, Mind, and Brain
Emerging Concepts, Models, and Applications
, pp. 450 - 460
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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