Religion
Which theoretical perspective views religion as an institution that depends on society for its existence, value, and significance, and vice versa?
Functionalism
What is the difference between a family of orientation and a family of procreation?
A family of orientation is the family you are born into and the family of procreation is the family formed through marriage
Why are there such large disparities in infant and maternal mortality between Black and White mothers?
Unconscious, systemic racism in healthcare, creating a bias that affects the birth experience of black women in America.
Causes of maternal mortality and racial disparities in maternal mortality can be grouped based on timing and include:
Maternal health before pregnancy
Access to care and quality of care during pregnancy and childbirth
Recovery, support, and access to care after childbirth
Toxic stress
Aggressions related to perception of them by society and institutional discrimination faced by black women manifest physically, aging the body prematurely.
What is happening to the Salton Sea? How is it impacting residents’ health?
The Salton Sea is drying up as a result of water being transferred to San Diego instead of the sea
Impacts residents’ health in toxic dust and asthma rates that are three times higher than the rest of the state of California, as well as hospital rates that are much higher than the rest of the state due to dust in the air
Dealing with increased usage of inhalers, inhibits breathing due to the amount of dust clogging their noses
Exposed playa, where the dust originates, is contaminated with numerous heavy metals, including arsenic, selenium, mercury, and lead, which are linked to neurological conditions, immune suppression, and cancer
What is neocolonialism?
Neocolonialism is the control of less-developed countries by developed countries through indirect means
Applies to places where the power of developed countries was used to produce a colonial-like exploitation of formerly colonized countries and developing countries
What is Secularization? And what is the main cause of it?
The transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions; modernization, freedom to leave religion
What type of family is it where mothers and fathers share authority equally?
Egalitarian Families both mothers and fathers share authority equally.
What does it mean to say that health is socially constructed?
The idea of the social construction of health emphasizes the socio-cultural aspects of the discipline’s approach to physical, objectively definable phenomena
Our culture, not our biology dictates:
Which illnesses are stigmatized and which are not
Which illnesses are considered disabilities and which are not
Which illnesses are deemed contestable (meaning some medical professionals may find the existence of this ailment questionable) as opposed to definitive (illnesses that are unquestionably recognized in the medical profession)
What impact did the DuPont chemical plant have on the environment?
Affected water, killing fish, wildlife, and livestock; caused “hemorrhaging disease,” resulting in bleeding from orifices and high fevers, causing their death
Resulted in a global presence of PFOA in the bloodstream of people and animals
What is relative poverty? Absolute poverty? Subjective poverty?
Relative poverty: A state of living where people can afford necessities but are unable to meet their society’s average standard of living.
Absolute poverty: Defined by the World Bank (2014a) as when someone lives on less than $1.25 a day. According to the most recent estimates, in 2011, about 17% in the developing world lived at or below $1.25.
Subjective poverty: It is subjectively present when your actual income doesn’t meet your expectations and perceptions. In short, subjective poverty has more to do with how a person or a family define themselves.
Name three sociological characteristics of a cult
Authoritarianism
Elitist Mentality
Charismatic Leader
Isolationist
Legalistic Lifestyle
Difficult Exit Process
Persecution Conscious
Sanction Oriented
Esoteric (mysterious, private)
Why is divorce more common today than it was in the 1950s? What are some main reasons people get divorced?
Divorce is more common today because it is less stigmatized by society today, common reasons for getting divorced are; financial stress, the stress of having a child, marital dissatisfaction, and it is seen as an acceptable solution today.
How does healthcare in the US compare to other countries?
Medical education in the US is significantly longer and more expensive than in European countries
The United States is the only high income country:
With a private health insurance system
With a large percentage of the population that is uninsured or sees cost as a barrier to accessing health services
~10.9% of Americans are uninsured
In 2019, 73.7% of uninsured adults said that they were uninsured because the cost of coverage was too high
US per capita healthcare spending is nearly three times the average of other developed nations
US healthcare ranks last among wealthy countries
What is environmental racism? Give an example of this.
The way in which minority group neighborhoods are burdened with a disproportionate number of hazards, including toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution and foul odors that lower the quality of life
Examples:
56% of the population near toxic waste sites are people of color
People of color have seen 95% of their claims against polluters denied by the EPA
Have 38% higher nitrogen-dioxide exposure
Are 2x more likely to live without potable water and modern sanitation
Why has the terminology changed from “first world”, “second world”, “third world” or “developing” vs “undeveloped” to terms like the ones used in World Systems theory or referring to nations as “high income” or “low income”?
First/Second/Third world gives the appearance of ranking countries and creates negative connotations; Developing v Developed predetermines what it means for a country to be “developed” by the standards of the countries creating these terms. High/Low income more adequately describes a country’s stratification and income inequality.
What is the debate between evangelicals about religion and politics?
Some evangelicals believe it is their duty to vote for the political party that shares the same views as they do, i.e. abortion
Others believe that involving politics takes away from why they gather in the first place, which is to worship god.
What is the Moynihan report? And what effect did this report have on black communities?
The Moynihan report gathered data on the lack of the nuclear family in black communities and used this data to explain the cycle of unemployment and poverty amongst these black families. This report convinced many people that the problems that had manifested in black communities came from the lack of a strong family unit or nuclear family.
How can we see the stigmatization of illness?
Facilities for these diseases may be subpar
They may be segregated from other healthcare areas or relegated to a poorer environment
The stigma may keep people from seeking help for their illness, making it worse than it needs to be
Rates of difficulty in finding a provider and prescriber for mental health are nearly three times higher than for specialty care and primary care
Contested illnesses = illnesses that are questioned or questionable by some medical professionals
This dynamic can affect how a patient seeks treatment and what kind of treatment he or she receives
Which kinds of environments and conditions are Black Americans more likely to live in?
Live in environmentally unsound housing, areas with hazardous waste facilities
Attend schools with asbestos problems
Use facilities and playgrounds with lead paint
Have lead poisoning (5x more likely than white children)
What are the consequences of poverty?
Once poverty becomes entrenched in an area, it is typically very difficult to reverse
Slavery = any situation in which people are sold, treated as property, or forced to work for little or no pay.
Chattel slavery = the form of slavery once practiced in the American South, occurs when one person owns another as property.
Child slavery = may include child prostitution, is a form of chattel slavery
Debt bondage/Bonded labor = the poor pledge themselves as servants in exchange for the cost of basic necessities like transportation, room, and board.
Human trafficking
Wage slavery
What are some of the trends in religion affiliation? What are some ways of explaining these trends?
The church's views on LGBT rights and sexuality. Nearly 42% of Americans have switched their religion, church attendance is declining, Teens are less religious in terms of behavior and values; the modernization of society, that traditional services are not relating to young people and their personal lives
What is conflict theory’s perspective on family? Who do conflict theorists believe benefit more from being married?
Conflict theory views family as a way that social inequality is maintained because inheritance is passed down through the family structure; they believe men benefit more from marriage than women.
What are adverse childhood experiences? How do these relate to health?
Traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being
ACEs can dramatically impact life span and likelihood of developing disease
Examples of how these related to health include the following:
Abuse (emotional, physical, sexual abuse)
Household Challenges (Domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness, parental separation (divorce), incarcerated parent)
Neglect (Emotional neglect, physical neglect)
People with six or more ACEs can die 20 years earlier than those who have none.
Four or more ACEs can lead to:
3x the levels of lung disease and adult smoking
11x the level of intravenous drug abuse
14x the number of suicide attempts
4x as likely to have begun intercourse by age 15
4.5x more likely to develop depression
2x the level of liver disease
How does coal ash get into the water supply?
Coal ash from ponds leaches into the soil of the surrounding environment through leaks. Known as “seeps,” millions of gallons of coal ash a day leaches into soil, finding its way to water supplies, including rivers, groundwater, and private wells.
Massive piles of ash become exposed to water, results in same issues of contamination
Arsenic, chromium, hexavalent chromium (oxidized chromium), selenium, and lead are just some of the 15 toxic heavy metals found in coal ash
Why is Africa still so poor?
Projects to give poor villagers infrastructure (food, clinics) to create self-sustainability draw people from outside of the village, causes nomadic communities become shanty towns, increasing garbage, theft, spread of disease
Introduce cash goods which change the ecosystem
Aid projects in which a purchase creates the donation of a good, such as clothing and apparel, creates dependency, competes with local businesses, makes the people poorer