CSP Health Sociology & Well-being 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The social determinants of health framework primarily argues that health outcomes are most strongly shaped by:
- Genetic predispositions and hereditary factors
- Social, economic, and environmental conditions in which people live (Correct answer)
- Individual lifestyle choices and personal behaviors
- Access to advanced medical technology
Correct answer: Social, economic, and environmental conditions in which people live
The social determinants of health framework holds that conditions such as income, education, employment, housing, and social support are the primary drivers of health outcomes across populations.
Question 2: Talcott Parsons' concept of the 'sick role' specifies that ill individuals are expected to:
- Seek multiple medical opinions before accepting treatment
- Adopt deviant behavior patterns that justify their condition
- Be exempt from normal duties while seeking competent medical help (Correct answer)
- Self-diagnose and self-treat minor illnesses independently
Correct answer: Be exempt from normal duties while seeking competent medical help
Parsons defined the sick role as a temporary, socially sanctioned status in which the ill person is relieved of normal obligations but is expected to seek professional help and work toward recovery.
Question 3: Michael Marmot's Whitehall studies demonstrated that among British civil servants, mortality rates were:
- Uniform across all occupational grades
- Higher among the most senior officials due to work stress
- Inversely related to occupational grade, with lower grades having higher mortality (Correct answer)
- Primarily determined by smoking rates within each grade
Correct answer: Inversely related to occupational grade, with lower grades having higher mortality
The Whitehall studies showed a clear social gradient where lower occupational status was associated with higher mortality, revealing that health differences extend throughout the social hierarchy.
Question 4: Medicalization, as defined in health sociology, refers to the process by which:
- Medical care becomes universally accessible to all social groups
- Non-medical problems are redefined and treated as medical conditions (Correct answer)
- Patients take greater control over their own treatment decisions
- Public health campaigns promote preventive health behaviors
Correct answer: Non-medical problems are redefined and treated as medical conditions
Medicalization describes the expansion of medical jurisdiction to encompass human experiences and problems—such as grief, hyperactivity, or addiction—that were not previously considered medical in nature.
Question 5: The concept of 'fundamental causes' of disease, developed by Link and Phelan, emphasizes that socioeconomic status remains a persistent cause of health disparities because:
- Wealthier individuals have superior genes
- Higher-status groups can always access whatever resources protect health, even as those resources change over time (Correct answer)
- Medical technology disproportionately benefits lower-income populations
- Education directly affects immune system function
Correct answer: Higher-status groups can always access whatever resources protect health, even as those resources change over time
Link and Phelan argued that SES is a fundamental cause because high-status individuals can leverage knowledge, money, and social connections to benefit from whatever risk or protective factors are relevant in any era.
Question 6: Social capital in the context of health sociology most directly refers to:
- Financial assets invested in the healthcare industry
- The networks, norms, and trust that facilitate collective action and resource sharing (Correct answer)
- Individual educational credentials that improve health literacy
- Capital funding allocated to public hospitals by government
Correct answer: The networks, norms, and trust that facilitate collective action and resource sharing
Social capital—comprising social networks, norms of reciprocity, and trust—facilitates information sharing, collective action, and emotional support, all of which contribute to better health outcomes.
Question 7: The biopsychosocial model of health, contrasted with the biomedical model, proposes that illness should be understood as:
- Purely a biological malfunction requiring pharmacological intervention
- An interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors (Correct answer)
- A spiritual or moral failing that requires behavioral correction
- A product of rational choice and individual risk assessment
Correct answer: An interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors
The biopsychosocial model, introduced by Engel, expands the biomedical approach by recognizing that psychological states and social contexts interact with biological processes to shape health and disease.
CSP Health Sociology & Well-being 1
The social determinants of health framework primarily argues that health outcomes are most strongly shaped by: