Low socio-economic status (SES) is linked with a number of mental health outcomes in both adults and children. For young people, low SES has been associated with higher rates of attempted suicide, higher levels of behavioral and emotional issues, higher levels of aggression, higher rates of specific behavioral and mental health concerns including anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders (APA, 2015a). Regardless of the specific environmental conditions, "type of hardship," or type of mental illness evaluated, a study of 34,000 patient records revealed "the poorer one's socioeconomic conditions are, the higher one's risk is for mental disability and psychiatric hospitalization," (Hudson, 2005). While correlation does not signal causation, there are certainly reasons to consider low SES a major risk factor for mental illnesses of all types. One of the proximate causes of some mental illnesses are environmental stressors like unemployment, housing uncertainty, and general material insecurity (Hudson, 2005). For adolescents and particularly white adolescents, perceived social status was even more closely correlated with mental health conditions than actual SES (McLaughlin, et al., 2012). Because perceived social status is "more amenable to interventions than objective aspects of SES," psychologists can work with this particular at-risk population...
Actual low SES is more difficult to address without tremendous societal, economic, and political changes. Therefore, it becomes critical to ensure that low SES children and adults at risk for mental illnesses receive outreach, advocacy, and access to mental health services. It is possible that one of the causes for the link between low SES and poor mental health outcomes is that persons from low SES backgrounds have less access to, familiarity with, or insurance coverage for mental health services. Social stigmas in low SES communities may be another reason why mental health outcomes are not as robust for at risk communities as for privileged communities. Finally, low SES adults and children may not engage in the types of health seeking and health promoting behaviors that could become ameliorative or protective factors.
However, more empirical studies have been published in recent years which have both reported outcomes but also have acknowledged the complexity of the interaction of the number of variables involved in predicting outcome effects on children whose parents are substance abusers (Dworkin & Hirsch, 2004). This literature is particularly important because of the large number of children affected by substance abuse of various kinds and the social policy directed
Figure 1 portrays the state of Maryland, the location for the focus of this DRP. Figure 1: Map of Maryland, the State (Google Maps, 2009) 1.3 Study Structure Organization of the Study The following five chapters constitute the body of Chapter I: Introduction Chapter II: Review of the Literature Chapter III: Methods and Results Chapter IV: Chapter V: Conclusions, Recommendations, and Implications Chapter I: Introduction During Chapter I, the researcher presents this study's focus, as it relates to the
Forgiveness on human health. In its simplest form, the purpose of the study is to evaluate human psychological stress that might constitute a risk factor for heart disease. Further, the study will also evaluate the impact of forgiveness on heart disease. However, such a simple dissertation clearly demands further definition. What, exactly, do we signify when we speak of heart disease? What is properly considered as forgiveness? What impact does
Childhood Obesity and Interventions There is a strong relationship between childhood obesity and exposure to environmental factors -- most notably socio-economic status. There are exposures that trigger both positive and negative outcomes, and these have to be discussed along with the possible interventions that can be undertaken. Low socio-economic status (SES) has been associated with a large number of problematic outcomes where health is concerned, including obesity and related issues
Reducing Childhood Obesity in the USAIntroductionObesity among teenagers and younger children has exacerbated epidemic proportions in America, adversely impacting millions of lives. In the last thirty years, childhood obesity rates have increased threefold among teenagers and more than twofold among younger children (Hales et al., 2017). CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) discoveries stem from one of the gold-standard health surveys, measuring participants� weight and height. The most recent
Depression in African-American Adolescents Etiology of Depression Mental illnesses like depression can be very difficult to diagnose or to recognize: There is no serum to test for when looking for depression. In some real if rather vague way, mental health is simply the absence of mental disorders. And in the reverse we define mental illness as the absence of mental health. The circularity of this definition is certainly confusing, but it reflects
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