Social Causation (social + causation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The Prevalence of Headache and Its Association With Socioeconomic Status Among Schoolchildren in Istanbul, Turkey

HEADACHE, Issue 5 2009

Objective., The etiology and pathogenesis of migraine and other types of headache are still under discussion. An interaction of organic, psychological, and psychosocial factors is operative. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of headache and its association with socioeconomic status among schoolchildren. Study Design., A cross-sectional study was performed on 2669 schoolchildren via a parental questionnaire. Socioeconomic status was determined according to the Turkish socioeconomic status scale. Results., The mean age of the students was 8.2 ± 2.4 years. The headache prevalence was 46.2% (95% CI: 44.3-48.1). The prevalence of migraine was 3.4% (95% CI: 2.8-4.1), the prevalence of probable migraine was 8.7% (95% CI: 7.6-9.8), and that of non-migraine headache was 34.1% (95% CI: 32.3-35.9). Multivariate analysis revealed that older age, being a girl, having a family history of headache, and exposure to passive smoking at home were independently associated with headache. There was an inverse association between socioeconomic status and all 3 types of headaches after adjusting for age, sex, family history of headache, and presence of passive smoking. When the group with the lowest socioeconomic status was taken as the reference category, the odds ratios for the highest socioeconomic group were 0.33 (95% CI: 0.16-0.69, P = .003) for the migraine, 0.30 (95% CI: 0.11-0.89, P = .029) for the probable migraine, and 0.34 (95% CI: 0.16-0.72, P = 0.005) for the non-migraine headache. Conclusion., Headache is more common among children with lower socioeconomic groups. Social causation can play a role in the pathogenesis of headache. [source]


THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL TIES ON CRIME VARY BY CRIMINAL PROPENSITY: A LIFE-COURSE MODEL OF INTERDEPENDENCE,

CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 2 2001
BRADLEY R. ENTNER WRIGHT
Previous studies have explained the transition from criminal propensity in youth to criminal behavior in adulthood with hypotheses of enduring criminal propensity, unique social causation, and cumulative social disadvantage. In this article we develop an additional hypothesis derived from the life-course concept of interdependence: The effects of social ties on crime vary as a function of individuals' propsensity for crime. We tested these four hypotheses with data from the Dunedin Study. In support of life-course interdependence, prosocial ties, such as education, employment, family ties, and partnerships, deterred crime, and antisocial ties, such as delinquent peers, promoted crime, most strongly among low self-control individuals. Our findings bear implications for theories and policies of crime. [source]


Exploring the Concept of Causal Power in a Critical Realist Tradition

JOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2007
TUUKKA KAIDESOJA
ABSTRACT This article analyses and evaluates the uses of the concept of causal power in the critical realist tradition, which is based on Roy Bhaskar's philosophy of science. The concept of causal power that appears in the early works of Rom Harré and his associates is compared to Bhaskar's account of this concept and its uses in the critical realist social ontology. It is argued that the concept of emergence should be incorporated to any adequate notion of causal power. The concept of emergence used in Bhaskar and other critical realists' works is shown to be ambiguous. It is also pointed out that the concept of causal power should be analysed in an anti-essentialist way. Ontological and methodological problems that vitiate Bhaskar's transcendental account of the concept of causal power are examined. Moreover, it is argued that the applications of the concept of causal power to mental powers, reasons, and social structures in the critical realist social ontology are problematic. The paper shows how these problems might be avoided without giving up the concept of causal power and the notion of structural social causation. [source]


Social and Financial Resources and High-Risk Alcohol Consumption Among Older Adults

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2010
Rudolf H. Moos
Background:, This study examined long-term mutual predictive associations between social and financial resources and high-risk alcohol consumption in later life. Method:, A sample of 55- to 65-year-old older adults (n = 719) was surveyed at baseline and 10 years and 20 years later. At each contact point, participants completed an inventory that assessed social and financial resources and alcohol consumption. Results:, Over the 20-year interval, there was evidence of both social causation and social selection processes in relation to high-risk alcohol consumption. In support of a social causation perspective, higher levels of some social resources, such as participation in social activities, friends' approval of drinking, quality of relationship with spouse, and financial resources, were associated with a subsequent increased likelihood of high-risk alcohol consumption. Conversely, indicating the presence of social selection, high-risk alcohol consumption was associated with subsequent higher levels of friends' approval of drinking and quality of the spousal relationship, but lower quality of relationships with extended family members. Conclusions:, These findings reflect mutual influence processes in which older adults' social resources and high-risk alcohol consumption can alter each other. Older adults may benefit from information about how social factors can affect their drinking habits; accordingly, information about social causation effects could be used to guide effective prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing the risk that late-life social factors may amplify their excessive alcohol consumption. [source]


Longitudinal linkages between perceived social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms: Sequential roles of social causation and social selection

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2008
Krzysztof Kaniasty
The authors examined social causation and social selection explanations for the association between perceptions of social support and psychological distress. Data came from a sample of 557 victims of natural disaster in Mexico. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that social causation (more social support leading to less posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) explained the support-to-distress relationship in the earlier postdisaster phase, 6 to 12 months after the impact. Both causal mechanisms emerged as significant paths in the midpoint of the study (12 and 18 months). Only social selection (more PTSD leading to less social support) accounted for the support-to-distress relationship at 18 to 24 months after the event. Interpersonal and social dynamics of disasters may explain why these two contrasting causal mechanisms emerged over time. [source]