Deviant Behavior In The United States Essay Example

Deviant behavior is any behavior that goes against societal norms. It is any behavior that society does not see as normal or does not agree with. In American society, examples of deviant behaviors include minor things such as being late to work to very serious things such as murder. Different people and different cultures might have different ideas about what is deviant, though there are some behaviors that are seen as deviant to most. Deviant behavior in itself is actually quite normal and a common occurrence in society (our textbook). 

One behavior that is deviant are the behaviors associated with mental illness. In particular, there is a huge stigma against depression in the U.S. In a study done to address the prevalence and stigmas of depression in medical students, 52.3% of subjects saw depression as a sign of weakness. Vankar wrote “High stigma exists among students about the causation of depression, and there exists an environment in which students discriminate fellow colleagues based on the presence of depression.” The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 6.7% of Americans suffered one major depressive episode in 2016. Depression is a common thing that people experience, but it is still deviant. 

The deviance of depression has varied over time. In particular, there has been a huge effort to end the stigmas associated with mental illness. This is a more recent effort and throughout history a person with mental illness was treated extremely poor. 

For example, institutions were developed during The Enlightenment after years of people not understanding the mentally ill and mistreating them. Mental health stigmas also vary throughout cultures. For many, mental illness is seen as a weakness and this makes it harder to ask for help (Chapter 2 Culture Counts: The Influence of Culture and Society on Mental Health). Other cultures encourage getting help. Overall, the deviance of depression has varied. 

This behavior is seen as deviant because of the particular symptoms and behaviors associated with mental disorders. The symptoms of depression include lack of interest in daily activities, sadness, weight loss or gain, fatigue, suicidal thoughts and inability to concentrate (DSM-5). It is not considered normal in society to have any of these symptoms. For example, in the study done about mental illness stigma in medical students, 36% felt students with depression are to blame for their problems. This shows a huge negative stigma against depression in American culture!