Although many believe that low rates of perceived mental health need and service use among racial/ethnic minorities are due, in part, to somatization, data supporting this notion are lacking. This study examined two hypotheses: (1) increased physical symptoms are associated with lower perceived...

News media coverage can affect how Americans view health policy issues. While previous research has investigated the text content of news media coverage of obesity, these studies have tended to ignore the photographs and other images that accompany obesity-related news coverage. Images can...

As medical reports over the last decade indicate that food allergies among children are on the rise, peanut allergies in particular have become a topic of intense social debate. While peanut allergies are potentially fatal, they affect very few children at the population level. Yet, peanut...

This paper uses the domain of breastfeeding in the U.S. and the work of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants to refine the concept of medicalization–demedicalization. Given lactation consultants' origins and current role in maternity care, they provide a unique lens on these...

Scholars call for greater attention to social contexts that promote and deter risk factors for health. Parenthood transforms social contexts in a myriad of ways that may influence long-term patterns of weight gain. Life course features of parenthood such as age at first birth, parity, and living...

Turbulent social environments are associated with health and developmental risk, yet mechanisms have been understudied. Guided by a life course framework and stress theory, this study examined the association between turbulent life transitions (including frequent residential mobility, school...