Mental illness: cause and consequence of inequality
Mental illness is an important cause of social inequality, violence and unemployment as well as a consequence. Mental health problems in childhood and adolescence:
- Reduce educational achievement and employability (37) (38) and also
- Increase the risk of impaired relationships, drug and alcohol misuse, violence and crime. (39) (40)
The experience of mental illness further exacerbates social inequalities because of its impact on employment and housing status. Half of all mental illness starts by the age of 14 (41) (42) and 75% by mid 20s. (43)
Low income, (44) debt, (45) violence, (46) stressful life events (47) and unemployment (48) (49) are key risk factors for mental illness. The two-way relationship between mental illness and social inequality can prove difficult to unravel with common epidemiological approaches.
Although mental illness is unequivocally linked with income inequality at the level of countries or states, there is little evidence to support the belief that mental health is linked with overall GDP in Western nations, especially when measured by mental wellbeing or happiness. Reducing income inequality is therefore likely to lead to improvements in population mental health and wellbeing whereas increasing overall GDP may not.
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References
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