Structural Strain Theory

1. The etiology of the biological (i.e. medical model) approach to the study of mental health and illness states that there is a malfunction in an individual’s biology. This malfunction could be based in the brain, neurochemistry, or genes of the individual, and is unique to them. Treatment based on the biological approach includes medicine, electroshock therapy, and surgery. According to this model, only those who are diagnosed or seek help are considered a target population for assistance. When it comes to a conceptual definition for mental health outcomes, the biological approach focuses on specific disorders, such as schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The etiology of the sociological approach to the study of mental health
Structural strain theory explains how society is organized, while stress theory explains how exposure to stressors and coping resources impacts an individual’s mental health. Structural strain focuses on the overall picture and stress theory focuses more on specific details. They key components of structural strain theory are social integration, social regulation, and social stratification. Social integration explains how ties to others protect us. Different shifts in structure can change how people are tied together in different ways. This component also satisfies the need for connectedness. Social integration provides us with social support, cohesion, and roles. Social roles give us a feeling of importance and integration, and the more roles we have those feelings are enhanced. The key components of stress theory are stressors and coping resources. Stressors are things that activate a stressful response. These stressors can be acute or chronic. Chronic stressors are constant, and include things like finances, work, and family demands. For example, living without the necessary funds is typically something that a person experiences constantly and for an extended period of time, causing that to be a chronic stressor. Structural strain theory argues that similar circumstances will create similar levels of problems for anyone, while stress process argues high stress levels and minimal coping resources are what cause people to develop problems. These two theories are competing theories of mental illness. Structural strain puts the focus on society as a whole, and wants to explain the big picture. Stress theory is more focused on how an individual manifests and experiences stressful live events, instead of lumping everything into one generic