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Poverty and its effects on mental health
Poverty and its effects on mental health
Socioeconomic factors that affect mental health
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When relating mental health policies and children living in poverty, the availability of financial coverage for mental health illness is usually a barrier to care. Studies have proven that poor family access to mental health care is because of health policies that do not support access. For example, in a study done by Gyamfi, he points out that “despite receipt of Medicaid and SSI, poor families received fewer services in general. He pointed out that, although it is easier to participate in Medicaid than SSI due to eligibility criteria, it has been well documented that as welfare caseloads decline, so does enrollment in Medicaid, which in consequent means that many people are losing health insurance and not receiving services”. Therefore, state action expanding insurance coverage for low income children and families can lead directly to increased service access (Behrens, et al. 2013). An example of this is implemented in Massachusetts, where the children’s behavioral health initiative, a component of MassHealth, requires primary care providers to offer standardized behavioral health screens at well child visits. However, it is still unknown how many are identified as needing follow up services (Behrens, et al. 2013). It is clear across the board that policy implications include the need for expansion of health insurance coverage for all children and the need to achieve parity for mental health benefits in private health insurance, regardless of family income (DeRigne, 2010). However, parents of children with long-term emotional or behavioral conditions often struggle to access and afford mental health services for their children (DeRigne, 2010). In his article DeRigne (2010) pointed out an interesting fact, “that when a child has ... ... middle of paper ... ...Odar, C., Canter, K. S., & Roberts, M. C. (2013). Future Directions for Advancing Issues in Children’s Mental Health: A Delphic Poll. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(7), 903-911. Stroul, B. A., Pires, S. A., Armstrong, M. I., & Meyers, J. C. (1998). The impact of managed care on mental health services for children and their families. Future of Children, 8, 119-133. Tolan, P. H., & Dodge, K. A. (2005). Children's mental health as a primary care and concern: a system for comprehensive support and service. American Psychologist, 60(6), 601. Tuma, J. M. (1989). Mental health services for children: The state of the art. American Psychologist, 44(2), 188. Yoshikawa, H., Aber, J. L., & Beardslee, W. R. (2012). The effects of poverty on the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of children and youth: Implications for prevention. American Psychologist, 67(4), 272.
Mental health care disparities can be rooted in inequalities in access to good providers, differences in insurance coverage, or discrimination by health professionals in the clinical encounter (McGuire & Miranda, 2008). Surely, those who are affected by these disparities are minorities Blacks and Latinos compare to Whites. Due to higher rates of poverty and poor health among United States minorities compared with whites. Moreover, the fact that poverty and poor health are
It is not difficult to document that poor children suffer a disproportionate share of deprivation, hardship, and bad outcomes. More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level – $23,550 a year for a family of four. (Truman, 2005) Living in poverty rewires children 's brains and reports show that it produces prolonged effects. Also, growing up in a community with dangerous streets, gangs, confused social expectations, discouraging role models, and few connections to outsiders commanding resources becomes a burden for any child. The concern about the number of children living in poverty arises from our knowledge of the problems children face because of poverty.
In the released research, the National Alliance on Mental Illness told the public that, “1 in 5 children ages 13-18 have, or will have, a serious mental illness” (Source A). This proven fact, along with the other statistics provided, emphasize the rapidly growing issue of the large number of untreated and treated mental illnesses in adolescents. New processes and technologies have made the screening process easier; however, it is still not available to everyone who needs it. The cost of the technology is not the primary concern of those who are discouraging the allowance of making screening processes available at schools; their concern is that once a mental illness is detected many believe the schools, who have the ability to screen, must also have the resources available to service every uncovered mental health issue and many facilities do not have the funds to even allow for screening or can barely afford the screening processes (Source D). Experts say, in concern to the rising number of reported violence in schools, that these issues may be related to the amount of students who struggle with untreated or undiagnosed mental illness; in light of this, schools are working to find “the best way to offer mental health services in a
I think we should really value the mental health of our children in the society if we want to develop this great Nation. The psychological well-being of our children affects us both directly and indirectly whether we accept this fact or not. It is very important that we ensure that our beloved children have the capabilities to adapt to the stresses, working productively both in school and also contribute to the developments in the community. Problems associated with mental illness or health are very common in this society especially in the institutions of learning be it high schools, colleges or even universities. Some health problems associated with mental health include depressions, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders and at time schizophrenia. It is therefore of vital importance to encourage and promote the improvement of mental health among our children.
Patel, V., Flisher, A. J., Hetrick, S., & McGorry, P. (2007). Mental health of young people: a
Stagman, Shannon, and Janice L. Cooper. "Children's Mental Health." WWW.nccp.org. Ed. Columbia University. Columbia University, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
Sturm R, Ringel JS, Andreyeva T. Geographic Disparities in Children’s Mental Health Care. Pediatrics. 2003; 112(4):308-315.
Samaan, R. A. (2000). The Influences of Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty on the Mental Health of Children. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 100-110.
If the United States had unlimited funds, the appropriate response to such a high number of mentally ill Americans should naturally be to provide universal coverage that doesn’t discriminate between healthcare and mental healthcare. The United States doesn’t have unlimited funds to provide universal healthcare at this point, but the country does have the ability to stop coverage discrimination. A quarter of the 15.7 million Americans who received mental health care listed themselves as the main payer for the services, according to one survey that looked at those services from 2005 to 2009. 3 Separate research from the same agency found 45 percent of those not receiving mental health care listing cost as a barrier.3 President Obama and the advisors who helped construct The Affordable Care Act recognized the problem that confronts the mentally ill. Mental healthcare had to be more affordable and different measures had to be taken to help patients recover. Although The Affordable Care Act doesn’t provide mentally ill patients will universal coverage, the act has made substantial changes to the options available to them.
Poverty has many influences on children under the age of 16. The research fined out that in recent year, an increasing number of children become poor, live under the poverty condition- childhood poverty lasted 10 years or more. So, what does the poverty exactly mean to children? According to Brook-Gunn and Duncan, The kids who live in the poverty condition have the low quality of schools; more likely to have domestic violence and become homeless; less access to friends, services, etc. (Brooks-Gunn et all, 1997) That points out the disadvantage and how the family income influence youngsters overall childhood, since under the poverty condition, they children do not have enough money to support for their necessary needs, they will more likely to have low self-confidence and hard to blend in with their peers. Poverty has impact on children’s achievement in several different ways. Payne (2003) maintained that the poverty could affect children achievement though emotional, mental, financial, and role models (Payne, 2003). Thus, the children from low-income family are more likely to have self-destructive behavior, lack of control emotional response and lack of necessary intellectual, that is really important for the students under the age of 16. Nevertheless, the children who suffer from poverty are usually have low birth weight and low cognitive ability
...(as discussed previously), attentiveness for the need of such an intervention is a step in the right direction. Furthermore, Wotherspoon, Laberge, and Pirie (2008) indicate that the “… rapid increase in the number of requests for a consultation from our child welfare partners…” (p. 391) demonstrates the positive benefits of their CMHC program. This program has built a relationship with Child Welfare and included opportunities for those workers to enhance their knowledge (Wotherspoon, Laberge, & Pirie, 2008) on child development, mental health and trauma implications. As highlighted in Bass’s et al. (2004) report, the policies and practices for child welfare agencies are varied between different states, hence their contribution towards alleviating and preventing mental health problems in young foster children is unbalanced and hard to measure in terms of success.
Each year, 52 million Americans have some form of mental health problem and out of those patients 60% are members of a managed care group. (Madonna, 2000, ¶ 8) Managed mental health care’s successes and failures now bear directly on the mental wellbeing of 32 million particularly vulnerable Americans. Initially managed care was intended to be a “comprehensive approach to healthcare that included balancing cost, quality, utilization, and access.” (Madonna, 2000, ¶ 23) In theory, this is an optimal approach to the delivery of health care and it has proven somewhat successful in the area of physical health, but it has not provided the same success in the area of mental health. Mental health is still being treated as a separate and less important aspect of health care despite the fact that some mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia, have shown higher success rates than those of common medical procedure, such as angioplasty. (Etheredge, 2002, ¶ 6)
Children are a crucial part of society. They participate in almost all aspects of a society whether it is in schools, community activities, or in the workforce. However, not all children develop the same skills and are granted the same opportunities as others because of a mental illness. Mental illnesses are as serious as physical illnesses and they negatively affect a child’s life. There are a variety of mental illnesses children may have with different levels of severity; mental illnesses hinder childhood development, and they affect a child’s social and home life.
They are even capable of understanding and dealing with their own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Some of the implications of poverty include educational setbacks, issues with social behaviors and hindrances in psychological and physical development. Poverty deprives children of the capabilities needed to survive, develop and prosper in society. Studies have shown that the income status of a household and even the neighborhoods in which they reside can affect the amount of readily available resources needed to sustain a healthy child. This essay will examine the psychological and physical effects of poverty on children.
The effects of poverty can affect a parent’s mental health that can directly impact children. Mental health problems that parents in poverty face can be related to the stress of not having enough money to care for the children. Other mental health problems, like depression, can als...