The concept of poverty is complex and has many indicators across different disciplines. The prevalence of poverty is growing and the effects of poverty impacts individuals, families and communities across the lifespan. One area of focus is on poverty in relation to mental illness. The impact of poverty on mental health has been shown to affect those of all ages. Many people are unaware of the widespread poverty and its effects on mental health in the United States and many other countries, therefore it is important to analyze the concept of poverty in mental illness. There are often no or limited resources available to help those affected by poverty and mental illness, and those that provide advanced care need to be knowledgeable of the problems in order to help develop and provide assistance to those in need.
Review of Literature
In the process of researching the concept of poverty and mental illness I found it crossed boundaries into many disciplines. I chose to focus my search to the areas of nursing, psychology, and sociology.
Psychology
Goldman-Mellor, Saxton, & Catalano (2010) investigate the relationship between poverty and mental health. Reports suggest that economic adversity of individuals and of communities may contribute to the onset of mental disorders. The loss of employment causes not only the loss of income but also the loss of a social network. This loss causes material strain and may increase strain on relationships. Those in a community affected by poverty who continues to be employed may also suffer strain due to decreased wages, decreased job security and increased workload. The loss of community resources may also occur. The stresses brought about by these precursors can result in negati...
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...ion and mental health. International Journal of Mental Health, 39(2), 6-31. doi:
10.2753/IMH0020-7411390201
Groh, C. J. (2007). Poverty, ental health, and omen: Implications for psychiatric nurses in primary care settings. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 13(5),
267-274. doi: 10.1177/1078390307308310
Jo, Y. N. (2013). Psycho-social dimensions of poverty: When poverty becomes shameful.
Critical Social Policy, 33(3), 514-531. doi: 10.1177/0261018313479008
Murali, V. & Oyebode, F. (2004). Poverty, social inequality and mental health. Advances in
Psychiatric Treatment, 10(3), 216-224. doi: 10.1192/apt.10.3.216
Perese, E. F. (2007). Stigma, poverty, and victimization: roadblocks to recovery for individuals with severe mental illness. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association,
13(5), 285-295. doi: 10.1177/1078390307307830
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
You don’t have to come from a poor family or be homeless to suffer from a mental illness. For instance, some very well-known people have suffered from the various disorders. This is to further illustrate, that not only poor people, or people from broken homes suffer from these mental disorders that the disorders don’t care about how much money you make or who your parents are. It also could care less about what race you are or what church you belong too. If you are young or old if you work on wall street or ride on the back of a garbage truck picking up the city’s trash. It can strike anyone so let’s take a look at a few of these people well known
The relationship between mental health and poverty can prove to be complicated at times because of an overwhelmingly large number of outside
Unemployment can affect families drastically from suicidal tendencies, marriage breakdowns, alcohol and drug abuse and even family violence (Broman, Hamilton & Hoffman, 1996; House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations, 2000). For many individuals work provides them with a place to social network and it gives them self-esteem and the loss of both when unemployment hits, creates isolation which happens quickly. However, unemployment does not just affect the individual famil...
Undisputedly poverty has been one of the major persistent social problems in the United States for hundreds of years. Poverty does not discriminate against Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, homosexuals, heterosexuals, age, gender, or persons with disabilities. Poverty can strike any population, community, ethnic group, and family. According to the U.S Census Bureau, 43.6 million people were in poverty in 2009 which was an increase from 2008. (Insert citation for website). There are multiple causes of why a family or individual can fall into poverty, which includes but not limited to, disability, unemployment, age, and recessions, as for which we have seen through the 2008 recession and the Great Depression. Throughout this paper I will address poverty as a social problem and its causes. I will also focus on how children and family households headed by single mothers are effected by poverty, and how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families came about to help children and families in poverty.
The lifestyle that people live in can ultimately change what your mental health standing can be. Social status is something that can be a huge determinant for someone’s mental health. Within Canada a lot of people worry what other people think of them. One way someone can feel excluded through life is through economic exclusions. If someone is looked at to be rich they are looked at to have a better mental health status, but if they are poor than they will be more susceptible to mental health issues in their life. When people have more money it means that they will have an easier life where they have nothing to worry about. Poor people are more likely to be mentally ill because they do not have the friends or support to help them get better.
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.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] used the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ definition of mental illness as “health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and/or impaired functioning” (2011). Our community is exposed to a large number of individuals with mental illness. Among those individuals are the widespread homeless populations. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development reported “twenty-five percent of the sheltered homeless report a severe mental illness (as cited in Allender, Rector and Warner 2014 p. 907).” This author found the target population to be predominantly Caucasian, Non-Hispanic, single males of thirty-one years of age and older. In reviewing the research, this author found that multiple health disparities happen in conjunction with mental health and homelessness. This includes cardiac and respiratory issues and HIV/AIDs. Without the proper healthcare services, the homeless mental health population remains vulnerable.
Mental health disparities, “the power imbalances that impact practices influencing access, quality, and outcomes of behavioral health care, or a significant disparity in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, or survival rate in a specific group of people defined along racial and ethnic lines, as compared with the general population” (Safran, 2011). Although there are many mental health care dipartites, I’m going to focus on the impact of poverty and lack of attention given to mental health. By advocating for a prevention, promotion, and intervention related to mental health, will aid in minimizing mental health disparities. Not only is it important to advocate on a macro level, but it is important to educate
This essay will focus completely on Mental illness in the UK. To gather my research I used various resources such as websites and books. I have also viewed YouTube videos in order to expand my knowledge. The statistics gathered may not be totally accurate in discussing mental health within the UK for the sources are secondary but it is reliable for giving a view of what the distribution is like amongst gender, age, class as well as ethnicity.
An alternative explanation or correlation can be that an increase in poverty can lead to an increase risk of mental illness and an increase in abortions. When a woman is pregnant and cannot afford to keep the child, the woman can decide to abort the child. Poverty can also be linked to a higher risk of mental health problems like anxiety and depression. This can be because of someone’s lack of understanding and awareness of mental illness or because of someone’s lack of access to healthcare. Both correlations are positive, as poverty increases, the higher the chance of an abortion and the higher the risk of mental health problems. These are all great predictions
In our culture, money, status, and social power all play a part in how individuals think that others perceive them. There is growing evidence that shows the link between socioeconomic status and unhealthy psychological outcomes in mental health. When looking at higher levels of socioeconomic status for youth it shows a more positive and healthy psychological outcome for youth and their mental health. Studies have shown that there are higher rates of attempted suicide, cigarette smoking and engaging in episodic heavy drinking (“Pardon Our Interruption”). Other studies have shown that lower levels of socioeconomic status have been linked to emotional and behavioral difficulties, like anxiety, depression, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorders (“Pardon Our
Nearly 50,000 people, including 30,000 children, die each day due to poverty-related problems and preventable disease in underdeveloped Countries. That doesn’t include the other millions of people who are infected with AIDS and other incurable diseases. Especially those living in Sub-Saharan Africa (70%), or “the Third-World,” and while we fight to finish our homework, children in Africa fight to survive without food, or clean water. During the next few paragraphs I will give proof that poverty and disease are the two greatest challenges facing under developed countries.
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...
film, Dangerous Minds, follows the story of Louanne Johnson, an ex-U.S. Marine. Set in 1989, the story begins with Louanne entering into her first year teaching at an inner-city school with underprivileged youths, where she explores the challenges of teaching her students, and the necessary steps it takes to reach them. Roughly based on the autobiography, My Posse Don’t Do Homework, Dangerous Minds shows a social depiction of the forces of stratification and poverty, the bureaucracy of our educational system, and the subcultures that exist within that framework (Johnson, 2007).