Psychosis Risk: Social and Ethnic Factors

A branch of epidemiology that investigates the social distribution and social determinants of health.

Factors like social isolation, disorganization, and urbanicity that contribute to higher psychosis rates in some communities.

Migrant populations may have a higher risk of psychotic disorders, possibly due to conditions such as differing cultural contexts, income, and other factors.

Ethnicity, often intertwined with income, education, linguistic barriers, and discrimination, can be a contributing factor in psychosis risk.

Higher rates of psychosis may occur in urban centers, but the relationship is complex and could include reverse causality.

A condition in communities where social structures break down, leading to a lack of social control, increased crime, and potentially higher rates of psychosis.

Individuals with a migrant history may have a higher risk of developing psychosis. This could be due to differences in cultural context, income, and other factors.

While ethnicity itself may not directly increase psychosis risk, lower income levels associated with some ethnicities can increase the risk.

When someone lacks power or control over their social environment, usually due to belonging to a minority group. This can contribute to increased risk of psychosis.

A hidden variable that influences both the risk factor you study (mediator) and the outcome (psychosis) in a way you don't see.

'Inner city tracts' refers to densely populated areas within cities, often characterized by higher rates of poverty and social challenges, which have been linked to increased psychosis rates.

A confounder is a variable that influences both the risk factor being studied (e.g., migration) and the outcome (e.g., psychosis), muddying the relationship between the two.

'Linguistic distance' refers to how different a person's native language is from the dominant language of the society they live in, which can create social barriers and impact well-being.

Income acts as a mediator because lower income levels, often associated with certain ethnicities, increase the risk of psychosis, potentially due to stress, discrimination, and lack of resources.

Reverse causality occurs when the outcome (psychosis) potentially influences the risk factor (urbanicity), rather than the other way around. For example, people with psychosis might move to urban areas for better access to treatment.

The study of how social factors contribute to the distribution of psychosis in populations.

A variable that influences both the risk factor and the outcome of interest, making it difficult to determine the true relationship between them.

Income can confuse the relationship between migration and psychosis risk. This means income itself could affect both migration and psychosis risk, making it hard to see if migration directly influences psychosis.