Low Ses Connected With Mental Health

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 to mitigate the social and psychological stressors contributing to perceived low SES. 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.

Race is linked with low SES, and the collective issues associated with the experience of prejudice, discrimination, and low SES stressors can combine to exacerbate the risk factors for mental illness. Research has revealed a connection between violence and poverty, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities living in poverty (APA, 2015a). Furthermore, a disturbing study published by the Office of the Surgeon General (2001) reveals "racial and ethnic minorities have less access to mental health services than do whites. They are less likely to receive needed care. When they receive care, it is more likely to be poor in quality." Institutionalized racism and the frustration it entails, systematic discrimination, social change in unstable environments, overall uncertainty, and urban stress can all have adverse effects on the development of abnormal behavior. Without the normative systems in place to encourage health seeking behaviors early, small problems can develop into mental illnesses.