THE SOCIO-CULTURAL MODEL

 Social and cultural context can influence the kinds of stresses

people experience, the kinds of disorders they are likely to

develop, and the treatment they are likely to receive.

 Understanding cross-cultural perspectives on abnormality helps

in better framing questions about human behavior and

interpretations of data. Understanding the context of the
abnormal behavior is essential.
 Social and cultural context can influence the kinds of stresses

people experience, the kinds of disorders they are likely to

develop, and the treatment they are likely to receive.

 A socio cultural model of abnormality emphasizes the social and

cultural context, it suggest that abnormality is a direct function

of society's criteria and definitions for appropriate behavior. In
this model, abnormality is social, not medical or psychological.
 Outside of biological and psychological factors on mental illness,
race, ethnicity, gender, religious orientation, socioeconomic status,
sexual orientation, etc. also play a role, and this is the basis of
the sociocultural model.
 The sociocultural model of abnormality points out that other
models fail to take into account cultural variations in accepted
behavior patterns. Understanding cross-cultural perspectives on
abnormality helps in better framing questions about human
behavior and interpretations of data.
 This model comprises two major perspectives: the family-social
perspective and the multicultural perspective
How do family-social theorists explain abnormal
functioning?

 Proponents of this model argue that theorists should

concentrate on forces that operate directly on an individual,

including:

A. The role of social labels and roles (a) Diagnostic labels

B. The role of social connections and support

C. Family structure and communication

 Abnormal functioning within a family leads to abnormal

behavior in its members (i.e., an insane environment causes

insane behavior)
 Family-social treatments
 Treatments based on this model may include traditional
individual therapy, but the model has been credited with
broadening therapy to include:
1. Group therapy—A therapy format in which people with
similar problems meet together with a therapist to work on
those problems
This also include “self-help” (or mutual help) groups
comprising people with similar problems who help and support
each other without the direct leadership of a therapist.
2. Family therapy—A therapy format in which the therapist
meets with all members of a family and helps them change
in therapeutic ways.

It is a type of psychological counseling (psychotherapy)

that can help family members improve communication and
resolve conflicts.
3. Couple therapy—A therapy format in which the therapist
works with two people who share a long-term relationship

 (a) May follow the principles of any of the major therapy

orientations, for example, cognitive-behavioral couple

therapy

 (b) May include integrative couple therapy

4. Community treatment—A treatment approach that
emphasizes community care, such as agencies, group homes,
and community mental health centers (CMHCs) .

Community-based mental health care for individuals

experiencing serious mental illness that interferes with their
ability to live in the community, attend appointments with
professionals in clinics and hospitals, and manage mental
health symptoms.
 How do multicultural theorists explain
abnormal functioning?
 Gives importance to the role of culture

 Culture refers to the set of values, attitudes, beliefs, history,

and behaviors shared by a group of people and communicated
from one generation to the next.
 Multicultural, or culturally diverse, psychology is a growing
field of study
 According to multicultural theories of abnormality,
psychological problems come from society, not from within an
individual.
 Multicultural psychologists seek to understand how culture,

race, ethnicity, gender, and similar factors affect behavior

and thought and how people of different cultures, races, and
genders differ psychologically

 The model holds that an individual’s behavior is best

understood when examined in the light of that individual’s

unique cultural context
 The impact of poverty

 The role of prejudice and discrimination

 Socioeconomic Factors

 Gender Factors

 Environmental Factors
 Multicultural treatments
 Studies have found that members of ethnic and racial
minority groups tend to show less improvement in clinical
treatment than do members of majority groups.
 Two features of treatment can increase a therapist’s
effectiveness with minority clients:
a. Greater sensitivity to cultural issues
b. Inclusion of cultural models in treatment, especially in
therapies for children and adolescents
 3. Given such findings, some clinicians have developed

culture-sensitive therapies as well as gender-sensitive, or

feminist, therapies
Strengths of this model:
 This model has added greatly to the clinical understanding

and treatment of abnormality

 This model has increased awareness of clinical and social

roles.

 Practitioners have demonstrated clinical success with this

model when other treatments have failed

Weaknesses of this model:
 Research is difficult to interpret due to the overwhelming
number of possible confounds and the difficulty in
designing true experiments.
 Research findings also are limited by the correlation design
of most sociocultural research.
 While the model can successfully explain abnormality
within and across cultures, it is unable to predict
abnormality in specific individuals