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The Impact Of Socio-economic Status On Mental Health
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Considerable and growing evidence shows that mental health and many
common mental disorders are shaped to a great extent by social, economic
and environmental factors. A review of global evidence by Patel et al
(2010) for the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health reported
convincing evidence that low socioeconomic position is systematically
associated with increased rates of depression. Gender is also important,
mental disorders are more common in women, they frequently experience
social, economic and environmental factors in different ways to men.
Taking
action to improve the conditions of daily life from before birth,
during early childhood, at school age, during family building and
working ages, and at older ages provides opportunities both to improve
population mental health and reduce the risk of those mental disorders
that are associated with social inequalities. While comprehensive action
across the life course is needed, scientific consensus is con-siderable
that giving every child the best possible start will generate the
greatest societal and mental health benefits (WHO, 2014).
The
prevalence and social distribution of mental disorders has been
reasonably well documented in high-income countries. While there is
growing recognition of the problem in low- and middle-income countries, a
significant gap still exists in research to measure and describe the
problem, and in strat-egies, policies and programmes to prevent mental
disorders. There is a considerable need to raise the political, and
strategic priority given to the prevention of mental disorders and to
the promotion of mental health through action on the social determinants
of health (WHO, 2014).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Socioeconomic
status is one of the most prominent environmental risk factors of
mental health. People with high income, occupational status, and
education tend to be happier and less likely to suffer from depression
and other psychiatric disorders than people with low socioeconomic
status (Clark, Frijters, & Shields, 2008; Lorant et al., 2003). In
other words, income appears to be important for subjective well-being
insofar as it helps people to satisfy their basic material needs but
becomes less crucial beyond this point (Clark et al., 2008).
People
with mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and
depression are far more likely than the general population to die as a
consequence of their untreated mental or physical health problems (WHO,
2008, Roshanaei and Katon, 2009). For example, people with schizophrenia
and major depression have an overall increased risk of mortality 1.6
and 1.4 times, respectively, greater than for the general population,
and people with schizophrenia have two- to three-fold higher mortality
rates compared with the general population corresponding to 10-25-year
reductions in life expectancy (Laursen et al., 2012).
One of the most
striking reasons for higher mortality rates among people with mental
disorders is the inequitable care and treatment that these individuals
receive for both mental and physical illnesses. Between 75% and 85% of
people with severe mental disorders are unable to access the treatment
they need for their mental health problem in LMICs, compared with 35%
and 50% of people in high-income countries (Demyttenaere, 2004; OECD,
2012).
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