Why does low socioeconomic status affect mental health?

“The poorer one’s socioeconomic conditions are, the higher one’s risk is for mental disability and psychiatric hospitalization,” said author Christopher G. Hudson, Ph. D., of Salem State College. This was found regardless of what economic hardship or type of mental illness the person suffered.

What are the implications of having a low SES for treatment of mental health?

Studies have also shown that low socioeconomic status is related to an increased point prevalence of psychological distress ( 3 ) and depression ( 4 ) and to a more chronic course of depression ( 4, 5 ).

How does low SES impact stress?

Low SES is generally associated with distress, prevalence of mental health problems, and with health-impairing behaviors that are also related to stress. Research targeting this hypothesis is needed to determine the extent to which stress is a pathway linking SES and health.

How does low socioeconomic status affect health?

Generally, people in lower socioeconomic groups are at greater risk of poor health, have higher rates of illness, disability and death, and live shorter lives than people from higher socioeconomic groups (Mackenbach 2015).

Does low socioeconomic status cause depression?

There is substantial evidence that lower objective socioeconomic status (SES)—as measured by education, occupation, and income—is associated with a higher risk of depression. Less is known, however, about associations between perceptions of social status and the prevalence of depression.

How does SES affect mental health?

A low socioeconomic status (SES) is known to be associated with more frequent mental health problems. People of the lowest SES are estimated to be two to three times as likely to have a mental disorder than are those with the highest SES.

What is the stress hypothesis for SES and mental disorders?

The social causation theory is an older theory with more evidence and research behind it. This hypothesis states that one’s socioeconomic status (SES) is the cause of weakening mental functions.

How does social class affect mental health?

More specifically, the lower the class, the lower the health self-management ability, which in turn leads to worse mental and physical health statuses. Revealing the importance of health self-management in the influence of social class on mental and physical health.

How can anxiety affect socioeconomic status?

Whether it is income, education, or both of these variables, the results of these studies reveal that low SES is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety and can influence the access to healthcare resources and education attainment, revealing a dynamic relationship between the variables.

How are socioeconomic status SES and stress related?

Many studies indicate that individuals of lower SES report a greater number of stressors related to finances, relationships, transportation and employment than those of higher SES. Residence in lower SES neighborhoods has also been linked to greater levels of stress.

How does SES impact a person’s health?

SES affects overall human functioning, including our physical and mental health. Low SES and its correlates, such as lower educational achievement, poverty, and poor health, ultimately affect our society.

How does socioeconomic status affect behavior?

Higher family SES is also associated with increased self-regulatory behaviors, academic performance, and sense of well-being and less impulsive decision making, learned helplessness, stress, and psychological distress in young individuals (Evans and English, 2002; Evans et al., 2005; Sirin, 2005; Sweitzer et al., 2008)

What causes low socioeconomic status?

Low SES usually refers to individuals with low educational achievement and/or low household income. These factors can form into additional everyday stresses for individuals, ultimately leading to risk behaviors, such as tobacco use.

What does low socioeconomic status mean?

Low-socioeconomic status (SES) households have little income or wealth to buffer against the negative impacts of an adverse health event (health shock) among adult household members.

What are 4 socio economic factors?

Socio-economic factors include occupation, education, income, wealth and where someone lives.