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Mental Health And Substance Abuse Disorders

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Introduction
Policy makers and researchers have paid attention to behavioral health problems due to significant burden of morbidity and disability, as well as health care cost. The term behavioral health refers to a state of mental or emotional being and choices and actions that affect wellness. It encompasses both mental health and substance use, including such as depression, substance abuse or misuse, serious psychological distress, and suicide (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2011). In 2012, an estimated 16 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. This represented 6.9 percent of all U.S. adults (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2013). People with mental and substance abuse disorders may find difficulties to maintain interpersonal relations, find and sustain employment, and care for themselves and family members because behavioral health problem may affect individual’s ability to function in daily life. Although mental health problems are both common and important in general population, they are especially common in women than men (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2013), and in particular in individuals who are socially disadvantaged (Heflin & Iceland, 2009).
Although a variety of factors are related to psychological wellbeing among low-income women, decades of research find poverty to be a correlate of behavioral health problem

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