Social Factors in the Development of Psychopathology

Catalog description

Environmental risk factors for psychopathology are numerous; specific social factors, such as bullying, peer pressure, and social adversity are often linked with the development of psychiatric disorders. Which begs the questions: Can Facebook cause depression? Do television shows like 13 Reasons Why increase the rate of suicide? Are "fitspiration" communities dangerous? This course will review the role social factors (social support, social interactions, social functioning, and the broader social context of communities) relate to the development and maintenance of psychopathology on biological and behavioral levels. In the context of disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, depression (including suicide), eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder, this course will look at how social factors might contribute to the development of mental illness, as well as how social factors might be indicators of mental illness, and finally how social factors might mediate the severity of or even prevent the development of mental illness. Prereq: PSCL 101 and PSCL 321 .