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Risk factors that effect mental health and mental well-being
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In today’s society, there is substantial variation in the number of incidences of mental health disorders between individuals within a population. Even though most individuals with mental health problems do not seek professional help, the rehabilitation and treatment of those who do, does not decrease the number of psychological problems in a population. Instead, the number of mental disorders remains the same and/or possibly increases. It is therefore crucial to practice and use preventative approaches to control and possibly eliminate biological, psychological and social stressors that are detrimental to one’s psychological health. As a result, the use of promotional and protective factors thereby improves the overall mental health and well-being of an individual. In accordance with Dozois & Firestone (2010), mental health promotion falls under a continuum where minimal mental health is a result of poor coping skills and decreased self-esteem within an individual, and where optimal mental health suggests good coping skills, and a high self-esteem (p.442). The authors also indicate that risk factors (which increase negative mental health outcomes) and protective factors (which increases positive mental health outcomes or acts as a buffer to reduce risk factors) operates at three ecological levels: the individual level (e.g. biological, cognitive, etc.), the microsystem level (peers, family, schools etc.), and the macrosystem level (society as a whole). Everyone at some point in their lifetime experiences some risk factors and protective factors that can have a significant influence on their mental health and well-being. In this paper, I will discuss some of these risk and protective factors from my childhood, adolescence and adul...
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...vention and Mental Health Promotion in the Community. Abnormal Psychology: Perspectives – 4th ed. (pp.440-457). Toronto: Pearson Education, Inc..
Emerson, E., Einfeld, S. & Stancliffe, R.J. (2010). The mental health of young children with intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45(5), pp. 579-587. DOI: 10.2007/s00127-009-0100-y
Raviv, T. & Wadsworth, M.E. (2010). The efficacy of a pilot prevention program for children and caregivers coping with economic strain. Cognitive Therapy and Research. 34(3), 216-228. DOI: 10.1007/s10608-009-9265-7.
Sleskova, A., Salonna, F., Geckova, A.M., Nagyova, I., Stewart, R.E, Van Dijk, J.P. & Groothoff, J.W. (2006). Does parental unemployment affect adolescent’s health? Journal of Adolescent Health, 38(5), pp. 527-535. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.03.021.
Over the last two decades, there have been numerous research studies that link mental health as the foundation for all health, social, organizational and educational recovery (Ormston, 2014; McLaren, Belling, Paul, Ford, Kramer, Weaver, Singh, 2013). The American society and the global world continues to witness catastrophic human induced incidences that often times point to the increasing need to pay attention to the declining state of a global mental health community. Evidence links the interconnectedness of the mind and body and attributes health and social problems direct linkage to inattention to mental health (Rubin, 2014). Despite medical, social and technological advances, we continue to lack understanding of the complexities of the human mind which has further alienated our understanding of ourselves.
The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1992. Print.
Over the course of a lifetime, one experiences a multitude of thoughts and emotions. Collectively, these thoughts and emotions relate to one another as they affect one’s mental health and well-being. According to the Oxford University Summer School program, “mental health refers to the psychological and the emotional well-being of an individual” (Mental Health). When one does not have a positive mental health state they struggle in quite a few areas. These areas involve coping, positivity, personal connections, expressing emotions properly, and their personal belief towards their value in society. One can cause a rift in relationships they have with others and can further deteriorate their mental health and overall well-being when they do not
Najman, Hayatbakhsh, Clavarino, Bor, O'Callaghan & Williams, 2010,'Family Poverty Over the Early Life Course and Recurrent Adolescent and Young Adult Anxiety and Depression: A Longitudinal Study', Am J Public Health,vol. 100, no. 9, viewed 13 May 2014, (electronic PubMed Central).
The Social Determinants of health are what people experience in terms of birth, living, work and age all of which can contribute to the overall well being of individuals. This essay will focus on the social determinants of housing, which will examine the issue of income, poverty, overcrowding, the difference between social and private housing, unsatisfactory living arrangements, and green spaces; all of which can go on to affect the individual and their family’s physical health and mental health state.
Rojahn, J., Rowe, E. W., Kasdan, S., Moore, L., & van Ingen, D. L. (2011). Psychometric properties of the aberrant behavior checklist, the anxiety, depression and mood scale, the assessment of dual diagnosis and the social performance survey schedule in adults with intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32(6), 2309-2320. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2011.07.035.
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.
Within the study of mental health, socioeconomic status has been used as a major determinant of mental health. Module 3a, discusses the social determinates of mental health. From the studies conducted, household income levels had an effect on the perceived levels of mental health. The lowest levels of incomes had the highest percentage of mental illness. With mental health, stressors are considered to be the factors that contribute to a person’s negative mental health. These stimuli typically provided feelings of distress, feelings of a person about their affective state, or can result in deviance, the perception of others and are a violation of social norms.
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...
Due to parents having to take on 2-3 part-time jobs or low wage jobs, parents are required to deal with long hours, unusual hours, lack of benefits that cover paid sick days, paid medical, parental leave, and vacation time. This prevents parents from participating in their children’s development. (Spross, Jeff. "Low-Wage Jobs Don’t Just Harm Workers — They Harm Their Children." ThinkProgress RSS. 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.) Parents are not home to look after their children. When parents are home, it is for a short period that allows parents to feed the children, bath them and put them to bed. Parents have to choose their family time or making income and income is priority to try and provide the necessary needs like a home, electric, and food. This struggle between income and family has put tremendous stress on parents which lead to a higher level of depression which affects the whole family. Some young adult children are forced into the work force before they graduate to help the family. If these young adults are one of the fortunate ones that don’t need to join the workforce, they are still faced with taking on an adult role due to having to play mommy or daddy to their younger siblings. Having this kind of responsibility at such a young age causes some of these young adults to fall into a depression or stressed out with all the responsibility that they start rebelling authority or looking for
Health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ and health promotion is understood as ‘actions that support people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles and which create supportive living situations or environments for health’. In these definitions it is clearly standard that mental health promotion is an essential component of health promotion. Not only are there complex interconnections between physical and mental health, they share many
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...
"Useful Psychology Information: Importance of Mental Health." Importance of Mental Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2014.
The purpose of this paper is to understand the effects that unemployment has on the family as a whole. In today’s society being unemployed impacts greatly on almost every aspect of an individual’s life and depending on their personal circumstances, it is likely to impact on other family members lives too.
Today, the numbers of people with mental health issues are considerably high. The problem increases the national and global social and economic burdens as governments try to find means of empowering the people with the issue and solve the problem. Today, one in five adults in the United States has a mental health problem (“Mental Health Facts,” 2016). “Mental Health Facts” (2016) also states that the adults that received mental health services are about 60%. Only 50% of the youth with mental health issues received mental health services in the previous year. Further, mental health issues are also related to drug use and addiction. Of all the mental illnesses and disorders, depression affects the most people and has the biggest burden globally. Due to the increasing burden and the gap in service utilization, the mental health policy seeks to address several factors. Some of the key issues to address include early diagnosis of mental disorders, provision of appropriate and adequate intervention a particular problem, education and counseling for the family members, and research to help reduce the numbers and reverse the trend. Another key area of focus is the use of mass media to create awareness about mental health issues and help clear the