Does one’s socioeconomic status affect their mental health? Mental health is a broad category that refers to our mental well-being. Mental illness refers to many different conditions that impact our mood, our emotions, our thinking, and our affect. Depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia are all examples of mental health conditions. Socioeconomic status (SES) is a term that social scientists use to capture many different factors. It refers to a person's income level, education, and general position in society. It's essentially a combined measure of how we're doing. Lower socioeconomic status is related to higher levels of mental illness. This is known as a negative correlation in research terms. In other words, as one variable increases, the other decreases. In this case, as SES decreases, the incidence of mental health issues generally increases. Socioeconomic status (SES) is evaluated as a combination of factors, including income, level of education, and occupation. It is a way of looking at how individuals or families fit into society using economic and social measures. Likewise, according to Psychiatry.org, mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion or behavior, or a combination of these. Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities. Mental health is the foundation for thinking, communication, learning, resilience and self-esteem. Mental health is also key to
Socio-economic class or socio-economic status (SES) may refer to mixture of various factors such as poverty, occupation and environment. It is a way of measuring the standard and quality of life of individuals and families in society using social and economic factors that affect health and wellbeing ( Giddens and Sutton, 2013). Cockerham (2007 p75) argues: ‘Social class or socioeconomic status (SES) is the strongest predictor of health, disease causation and longevity in medical sociology.’ Research in the 1990s, (Drever and Whitehead, 1997) found out that people in higher SES are generally healthier, and live longer than those in lower SES.
Socioeconomic status is ordinarily broken into three classes to portray the three zones a family or an individual may fall into. While setting a family or individual into one of these classes, any or the majority of the three variables can be surveyed. Furthermore, low salary and education have been appeared to be solid indicators of a scope of physical and emotional wellness issues, including respiratory infections, joint pain, coronary illness, and schizophrenia. These issues might be because of natural conditions in their working environment, or, on account of dysfunctional behaviors, might be the whole reason for that individual 's social problem regardless. Education in higher socioeconomic families is ordinarily pushed as a great deal more vital, both inside of the family and additionally the nearby group. In poorer zones, where nourishment and security are need, education can take a secondary lounge.
People that live in socially deprived areas are more likely to have mental illness, poverty, poor education and low socioeconomic status. This is mainly because of the conditions they have been brought up in and live in; if they lived in better conditions then they probably wouldn’t have health problems like this.
Low socioeconomic status is often associated with higher prevalence of depression. Depressive disorders which develop in socioeconomically tight situations have lower rates of remission and higher risks of becoming chronic, hence increasing prevalence (Bramesfeld, Platt & Schwartz, 2006). Mental health problems like depression and anxiety have a higher prevalence in
Socioeconomic Status is where a particular person or group of people stand in regards to social class. The main measurement that determines one's socioeconomic status is level of education, occupation and income. Although it may not be considered a factor in child development, socioeconomic status can actually play a huge role in determining what kind of adolescent a child develops into. It can influence a child’s morals, self-esteem, grades and many more aspects of a child's life. Socioeconomic status can play a role in determining where a person resides, the occupation they end up getting, their education and their income as well. So, although one’s socioeconomic status is technically made up of these aspects, one can be born into a low socioeconomic status which could result in them continuing to have one throughout their life. It is a cycle that one must break in order to change the outcome. Low socioeconomic status can result in child poverty. Child poverty over the years has risen and fallen but has remained consistently apparent in America. Child poverty can have detrimental effects on developing children and adolescents. It may influence the way they are raised, taught, cared for and many more aspects of the child's life which are important for successful development. Low socioeconomic status can determine how well children and adolescents develop and the type of person they develop into, including
In the segment of Unnatural Causes, “In Sickness and in Wealth”, the documentary highlights the health disparity created by different socioeconomic statuses. There are several factors that lead to these health differences, including but not limited to policies or lack of policies, and racism. Unnatural Causes draws on several family stories to exemplify the wealth health gradient. Within the family anecdotes, I was most intrigued by the idea of health access. This concept is highlighted throughout the different life cases in the segment. However, it is not just limited to these individuals, communities, and time period. Although health access is considered a universal right, access is not equal among individuals in the US. Access to health is determined by an individuals’ wealth. This is exemplified by the poor health outcomes of those in low-income communities; whereas, individuals in higher income communities have better health outcomes.
It is well documented that lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with worse health among adults(Adler, Boyce, Chesney, Folkman, & Syme, n.d.) and adolescents.(Finkelstein, Kubzansky, & Goodman, 2006; Goodman, 1999; Starfield B, Riley AW, Witt WP, Robertson, 2002) Objective measures of SES such as level of education, income, and occupation are the most common methodology used in health literature to describe socioeconomic-based health disparities.(Shavers VL, 2007) However, subjective social status (SSS) is also a relevant predictor of health, independent of SES. (Adler NE, Epel ES, Castellazzo G, & Ickovics, 2000; Aneshensel CS, Sucoff, 1996) Indeed, there is a small but growing body of literature about people’s perceptions of
Mental health has been a recurring topic in present society and it is a very large section of health care in general. Health can be termed as an absence of disease, but it really is much more than that and should encompass every facet of the human, mind and body. The WHO defines mental health as a state of well-being in which an individual can function properly and productively, cope with life stressors, and contribute to community. Mental health is dependent on many factors, mainly social, biological, and psychological (WHO). A mental disorder is a condition of alterations
Mental health is defined as an individual’s optimal care in managing the stress of everyday life, through their own unique approach and can efficiently and successfully make vital contribution within the community they live in (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, 2013). Since a break in a person’s optimal mental state affects not only the individual but society, it is important to understand what it means to have a break in one’s state of mental health and the different categories that is associated with mental illness. Focus will also be paid to why there is a need for the reformation of the mental health act in Canada; the social determinants that is associated with mental health and their contribution to society’s health’s. Finally, focus also need to be placed on how mental health is being promoted to society the stigma generally associated with it.
This essay will discuss ways in which a person’s socioeconomic class and his/her social situation can have an impact on his/her health, using examples. We believe that there is a direct link between socioeconomic/social class and health (Adler et al. 1994). I will be defining the key terms: socioeconomic and health, social class then proceed to discuss about how poverty, income, employability, environment and housing can impact on a person’s social situation and their health.
The author of Poverty And Mental Health: How Do Low-Income Adults And Children Fare In Psychotherapy? Writes about the effects of poverty on adults and children’s mental health. Families who are struggling with poverty may not receive the same education and they are not able to afford the same type of health care as someone who is well off. If you are not able to see a doctor due to financial problems then your mental/physical issues go unchecked/cured. I plan on using this source as a tool to reflect on the husband of the young woman. It could be used in a theoretical view into his motives as to why he kills and continues to kill. This source is a build off of the first source
Culture has a great effect on attitudes toward therapy. According to the National Institution of Mental Health each individual or groups of people bring a variation of beliefs to the therapeutic setting such as communicating what issues to report, types of coping styles, social support, and cultural stigma towards mental health. More often it is culture that bears on whether or not an individual will seek help. For example there is a widespread tendency to stigmatize mental illness in Asian countries. People with mental illness are considered dangerous and create social distance and
Mental and physical health are extremely important to stay on top of on a day to day basis, it can effect how you think, feel, and perform. Studies found that lower class people have more health problems than higher class, however higher class is less emotionally stable than lower class. (Psychological Science, 1) “ Low SES and its correlates, such as lower education, poverty, and poor health ultimately affect or society as whole.” (Apa, 1) By having poor health not only is it affect one person, its just a domino affect of other people as well, if people cannot afford to be seen by a doctor of a higher class, then it could be putting everyone else's health in danger from that class. Although, not only is physical heath the main concern. Mentally
Income can impact both your physical health and your mental health in a multitude of ways. Income plays a role in determining the level of health care you can afford, surgeries you can have done, and even the food you choose to eat. Stress from lack of income can have detrimental effects on your mental state as well.
Families besides providing for the basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clothes for their children, they also pass on cultural and educational values onto their children. According to the American Psychological Association, an important factor in poverty is a family’s socioeconomic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation. It is commonly thought of as the social position or class of an individual or group. Socioeconomic status in families is a key factor that influences quality of life for young children and their families. Low socioeconomic status is linked with lower education, poverty, and poor health. Proven studies show that low socioeconomic status is connected with higher levels of emotional, behavioral difficulties, and hostility. Socioeconomic status is proven to create achievement differences among children from low income families from those who come from well off families (Children, Youth and Families & Socioeconomic Status).