TY - JOUR
T1 - Disciplinary differences in the study of the relationship between social variables and mental health: A systematic mapping review
AU - Cruwys, Tegan
AU - Brossard, Baptiste Pascal Marylin
AU - Zhou, Haochen
AU - Helleren-Simpson, Gabriel
AU - Klik, Kathleen A
AU - Van Rooy, Dirk
AU - Batterham, Philip J
AU - Calear, Alison L
PY - 2021/12/8
Y1 - 2021/12/8
N2 - There has been sustained interest in the intersection between social constructs and mental health from diverse disciplines including psychiatry, sociology and public health. However, no systematic attempt has been made to catalogue what is meant by 'social' by different researchers, how variables deemed 'social' constructs are linked to mental health, nor whether these patterns differ by academic discipline. Understanding interdisciplinary differences and commonalities may reveal opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance our understanding of how social factors relate to mental health. This article presents a prospectively registered systematic map of social approaches to mental health using an innovative synthesis methodology (coding all sentences from a random selection of N = 287 articles). Results indicated that although approaches are diverse, disciplinary overlap is substantial. Psychology and psychiatry led articles tend to focus on social skills or emotions as features of mental (ill-)health, while public health and social sciences led articles tend to focus on social relationships, status or context as determinants of mental (ill-)health. Medicine led articles were most likely to focus on social outcomes of mental (ill-)health. Potential growth areas are noted, particularly the relative dearth of intervention research drawing upon social approaches. The findings are discussed with a view towards enabling more effective interdisciplinary collaboration.
AB - There has been sustained interest in the intersection between social constructs and mental health from diverse disciplines including psychiatry, sociology and public health. However, no systematic attempt has been made to catalogue what is meant by 'social' by different researchers, how variables deemed 'social' constructs are linked to mental health, nor whether these patterns differ by academic discipline. Understanding interdisciplinary differences and commonalities may reveal opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance our understanding of how social factors relate to mental health. This article presents a prospectively registered systematic map of social approaches to mental health using an innovative synthesis methodology (coding all sentences from a random selection of N = 287 articles). Results indicated that although approaches are diverse, disciplinary overlap is substantial. Psychology and psychiatry led articles tend to focus on social skills or emotions as features of mental (ill-)health, while public health and social sciences led articles tend to focus on social relationships, status or context as determinants of mental (ill-)health. Medicine led articles were most likely to focus on social outcomes of mental (ill-)health. Potential growth areas are noted, particularly the relative dearth of intervention research drawing upon social approaches. The findings are discussed with a view towards enabling more effective interdisciplinary collaboration.
KW - biopsychosocial model
KW - health services
KW - mental illness
KW - social determinants
KW - social functioning
KW - social support
U2 - 10.1177/13634593211063049
DO - 10.1177/13634593211063049
M3 - Article
SN - 1363-4593
JO - Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health,Illness and Medicine
JF - Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health,Illness and Medicine
ER -