Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

Stigma In Class: Mental Illness, Social Status, And Tokenism In Elite College Culture, Katie R. Billings

Masters Theses

The majority of mental illness on college campuses remains untreated, and mental illness stigma is the most cited explanation for not seeking mental health treatment. Working-class college students are not only at greater risk of mental illness, but also are less likely to seek mental health treatment and hold more stigmatized views toward people with mental illness compared to affluent college students. Research on college culture suggests that elite college contexts may be associated with greater stigmatization of mental illness. This study bridges the social status and college culture literatures by asking—does social status and college context together predict students’ …

Disabled And Out? Social Interaction Barriers And Mental Health Among Older Adults With Physical Disabilities, Raeda Anderson

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Over one-third of older adults in the U.S. are physically disabled. Having a disability is a chronic stressor for older adults, and this chronic stress significantly compromises mental health. Because disablement likely restricts older adults' ability to engage in interpersonal interactions, the link between physical disability and mental health may reflect consequences of such unmet social needs. Social interactions are associated with better mental health, yet prior work on social context of disablement focuses on the quality of social relations or perceptions of support, not on actual access to social interactions. There remains a need to understand how and why …

Out Of The Night, Riley Gryc

SURGE

I did not graduate.

After four years of college, waiting for the day I could shake President Riggs’ hand, receive my diploma, and depart our campus with pride and honor, that day never came. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was watch from the back row of the audience as everyone I had attended school with for the last four years, my classmates, my friends, all received their diplomas and moved on without me. The stares from teachers I knew, the surprised looks from underclassmen, the careful tact with which everyone avoided the subject of not …