Mental Illness and Health

Social Status and Health

Generally, people belong to numerous social categories that influence and shape their life in different ways. These categories are based on obvious characteristics such as gender and racial background. Nonetheless, there are other less obvious characteristics that influence the identity and behavior of individuals. According to Douglas & Pacquiao (2010), there are 19 characteristics that collectively define one's social status. Based on the 19 categories, my social status can be defined as follows:

Description

Nomads

Not Applicable

People living outside of their country i.e. refugees or immigrants

Immigrant

Indigenous group

Non-indigenous

4

Nationality

USA

5

Ethnicity

Punjabi

6

Race

Asian Indian

7

Religion

Hindu

8

Gender

Female

9

Education

Undergraduate

10

Occupation

Nurse

11

Sexual Orientation

Heterosexual

12

Gender Identity

Female (no abnormalities)

13

Immigrants

Migrated from south India

14

Vulnerable Population

Asian

15

Disability

None

16

Variant or Subcultures

Asian

17

Marital Status

Married

18

Parental Status

3 children

19

Residency Location

Urban

In essence, I am a female American citizen of Indian origin, precisely from the Punjabi ethnic group. Additionally, I am a Hindu by religion, heterosexually married with three children, and reside in an urban location in the U.S. Occupationally, I am a nurse with undergraduate qualifications. I do not have any disability whatsoever.

As mentioned earlier, social categories shape one's life in one way or another. This is particularly true in terms of health status and health outcomes. For instance, some health conditions may be more prevalent in males or the uneducated compared to the general population. One characteristic through which health disparities tend to be evident is culture. Culture generally denotes the deep-seated beliefs, values, customs, practices, and traditions shared by a given group of people (Napier et al., 2014). Though some individuals within a cultural group may behave differently, these norms generally influence how people within the group behave collectively. They influence how the group views different issues, including physical and psychological wellbeing (Napier et al., 2014). The influence of culture on health is particularly significant. Culture commonly influences how individuals perceive the cause of illness and death, pain, treatment, as well as health promotion approaches. Some cultures, for instance, attribute illness to scientific phenomena, while others attribute it to supernatural phenomena. These differences ultimately create disparities in health status and outcomes (Napier et al., 2014).