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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

Moving Beyond Deaths of Despair: Understanding Rising Mortality and Morbidity among Americans without College Degrees

Edited by
Anne Case, Princeton University
Andrew J. Cherlin, Johns Hopkins University
Angus Deaton, Princeton University

In articles published in 2015 and 2017, economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton, two of the co-editors of this issue of RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, reported that mortality rates were rising among middle-aged white Americans without four-year college degrees. Case and Deaton pointed to the cumulative effects of decades of industrial decline on successive cohorts, and they argued that when decent-paying, often unionized work is in short supply, people who are unable to obtain these jobs experience a loss of purpose and dignity that can lead to self-destructive behaviors. In making this argument, the authors drew upon, in part, the writings of the other co-editor of this issue, sociologist Andrew Cherlin, on the working-class family. Cherlin argued that the psychological distress among the white working class stemmed from the comparisons that young adults were making between their standard of living and the standard of living of their parents when they were growing up—a comparison that often showed that the young adults were not doing as well as their parents.

But mortality rates have evolved over time, and the metaphor of despair is not as useful as it was a decade ago. For Case and Deaton, "deaths of despair" was simply a label for the three causes, suicide, drugs, and alcohol; and they never proposed a clinical definition of "despair." The overdose problem, however, is no longer simply about prescription opioids or even heroin usage, as it was in the early 2010s. It has also become a fentanyl problem, and it is not limited to white people. By 2021, as fentanyl flooded urban drug markets, two things had happened: First, the prevalence of heroin use had risen not just among white Americans but also among Black Americans (and to a lesser extent among Hispanic Americans). Second, the rate of overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl had become larger among Blacks than among whites (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). The huge increase in overdose deaths due to fentanyl since 2014 has more to do with the deadly power of this synthetic opioid than with feelings of despair among its users. This broader focus on the topic should be guided by a central finding that has been consistent and unchallenged since the early Case and Deaton articles: the widening difference in mortality rates by educational level.

We invite scholars to submit proposals that address the questions of what explains the growing educational divide in physical and mental health and what this widening means for the lives of Americans without college degrees. We expect that many of the papers will directly address differences in mortality, including not only drug abuse, alcohol-related disease, and suicide but also major causes of death such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. But we also encourage papers that will encompass topics as diverse as the changing labor market; social class; gender, racial, ethnic perspectives; studies of family and personal life; spatial variation; political processes; and social policy. Papers that primarily continue the debate that has occurred over the past decade about the appropriateness of the deaths of despair framing are not the focus of this issue. Rather, we wish to move forward by de-emphasizing that framing and focusing on important research questions for the next decade. We welcome evidence-based proposals from all social science disciplines and all methodological approaches. Below we offer a (non-exhaustive) list of the kinds of thematic questions that are well-suited for this issue.

Please click here for a full description of the topics covered in this call for papers.

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE

Prospective contributors should submit a CV and an abstract (up to two pages in length, single or double spaced) of their study along with up to two pages of supporting material (e.g., tables, figures, pictures, etc.) no later than 5 PM EST on September 4, 2024 to:

https://rsf.fluxx.io

NOTE that if you wish to submit an abstract and do not yet have an account with the Russell Sage Foundation, it can take up to 48 hours to get credentials, so please start your application at least two days before the deadline. All submissions must be original work that has not been previously published in part or in full. Only abstracts submitted to https://rsf.fluxx.io will be considered. Each paper will receive a $1,000 honorarium when the issue is published. All questions regarding this issue should be directed to Suzanne Nichols, Director of Publications, at journal@rsage.org. Do not email the editors of the issue. In September, Suzanne Nichols will notify all applicants if they have been accepted or not.

A conference will take place at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City on March 27-28, 2025. The selected contributors will gather for a two-day workshop to present draft papers, which are due a month prior to the conference on February 27, 2025, and receive feedback from the other contributors and editors. Travel costs, food, and lodging for one author per paper will be covered by the foundation. Papers will be circulated before the conference. After the conference, the authors will submit their revised drafts by 7/24/25. The papers will then be sent out to three additional scholars for formal peer review. Having received feedback from reviewers and the RSF board, authors will revise their papers by 10/7/25. The full and final issue will be published in fall 2026. Papers will be published open access on the RSF website as well as in several digital repositories, including JSTOR and UPCC/Muse.

Please click here for a full description of the topics covered in this call for papers.