Health Sociology - Mental illness is a Social Problem - Assessment Answer

Health Sociology Assignment

Assignment Task

Students should write a 2250-word essay on One of the following topics:

1) Analyse the statement, \' Mental illness is a social problem\' . To examine this question draw on one or two of the concepts of class, poverty, ethnicity, gender or race.

2) Analyse this statement, \'Debates about health in Australia are more about allocation of scarce resources than about efficacy of care\'.

To examine this use the concepts of power, politics and ideology that underpin health policy as determined by the major parties in Australia.

Preparation: Students should read widely prior to completing the essay. This includes all required readings but they should move beyond these to include some other sources.

A bibliography is available on Learnline to help you with this process. For any essay of this length you will need to include 9-11 references. Majority of the references (7-9) should be based on journal articles, books, book chapters and peer reviewed papers.

You can use websites but citations from Wikipedia are unacceptable.

Presentation: See details within this folder. Assessment Criteria: An indicative rubric may be found here: Assignment FEEDBACK Sheet - NUR210 _2.pdf

The problem of mental illness is prevalent in the Australian population. It is a significant social health problem in the country. Mental illness is considered as a social problem, because it originates from the roots of social structure and social functioning. Human beings are the social animals, their every aspect of life is associated with functioning of the society, and thus their mental health is also affected by society. There are various social factors associated with mental illness. These factors are defined by many social perspectives and theories. Various social problems are defined through social theories. Some of the common social concepts and perspectives are Functionalist perspective, conflict theory and Symbolic Interactionism. These perspectives explain that how mental illness is social construct, thus mental illness has various social dimensions. Essay will discuss that how mental illness is a social problem and socially constructed. The essay will further discuss the concept of poverty and ethnicity in Australia, which are also significant, factors causing mental illness. Mental illness is prevalent in the society due to various cultural aspects and individuals react and perceive it meaning. Sometimes mental illness is not characterized by the nature of an individual, but developed and claimed by the higher power of the society. Thus, essay aims to define the problem of mental illness through two different concepts.

How Mental Illness is a Social Problem

Mental illness in people poses many challenges for the social functioning and thus viewed as the social problem. Mental illness is a serious problem not just because large number of people suffers from them, but social institutions have to take more efforts to address this issue. It is considered as social problem, because it is socially constructed. Various aspects and elements of the society affect the mental health and well-being of people. Humans are affected by society at every step of life. Social construction is a complete framework that has gained much attention in the recent researches related to mental illness. The growth and developmental aspects of human life are affected by society. The malfunctioning of the society affects the thinking and social interactions of people. Mental illness in the society is affected by the various healthcare resources and policies. Society is a kind of platform that displays the distribution of power between unprivileged and privileged people. The higher authorities of the society have all power in their hands. They decide the functioning of the society and distribution of resources. Distribution of power is like that between bourgeois and proletarians. This could also be called as the class struggle. There are different classes in the Australian society, which are suffering with the problem of mental illness. The main concepts in Australian society are poverty and ethnicity.

Poverty and Mental Illness

Mental illness and poverty are related to each other in a very complex yet understandable manner. These both concepts have a poisonous relationship between them. Poor people of the society are more vulnerable to mental disorders. Due to the low socio-economic status these people are at higher risk of suffering from mental disorders. Poor people are unable to have appropriate housing facilities, food resources and healthy living environment. Poor people have very low household income and crowded household makes it impossible to spend enough on healthcare and disease prevention services (Lora et al, 2012). More than one million people in Australia suffer from mental disorders, and these people are mainly from the minority groups, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Despite of high economic growth in Australia, poor and unprivileged people are unable to access better living facilities.

Thus, poverty is considered as a predicator of mental illness, and mental illness is considered as a social problem. Poverty is very high in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, refugee groups and immigrants. These are the people who have been displaced from their original lands and are forced to live with limited resources. ATSI people in Australia faced a destructive past due to European colonization and were forced to leave their lands. ATSI people lived in the places, where there not enough food and water resources. Due to lack of economic resources, these people could not receive quality education, which reduced their future chances of getting appropriate employment. The various epidemiological researches have been done to analyze the impact of poverty on mental health of people. Thus, socially and economically disadvantage people develop more health related disparities and problems (Lora et al, 2012).

Poor refugees come from the countries, where they have faced trauma, sexual abuses and many life threatening events. After resettlement, they have to face many other problems such as, unemployment, language barriers and limited access to food resources. Trauma and stigma lead them to the risk of mental illness. The burden of diseases is also very high in poor people, and due to their limited financial resources, these people are not able to receive costly medication and treatments (Fitch et al, 2011). Poor people are not even able to afford health insurances and thus, lead to social problem of mental illness. Poverty leads to poor education, homelessness, limited income and lack of employment resources.

Thus, these people suffer more from mental disorders like anxiety, depression, post traumatic disorders, suicidal tendencies, emotional break downs and bipolar disorder. Alcohol and substance abuse is also highly prevalent in poor minority groups. Substance abuse and more alcoholism disturb the mental state of poor people. Family and domestic violence is also very high in minority groups (Campbell, 2013). The adult people in the household, who suffer from physical disabilities, are often the target of family violence. This leads them to vulnerability of suffering from mental disorders (Jones et al, 2012). Due to poverty and lack of food resources, parents are not able to provide healthy diet and adequate education to their children. This further increases the chances of not getting significant employment opportunities, and thus, poverty keeps on rising. The economic stressors impact the mental well-being of poor people. Poor people also have to face many socio-demographic factors, family history of mental illness, genetic reasons and various other environmental stressors (Knapp et al, 2011). Thus, poverty is a very relevant concept that exposes people more towards mental illness.

Ethnicity

Australia is the multicultural country. People from various cultures, race and ethnicity live in Australia. These people come from various backgrounds and have their own cultural values. The relationship between ethnicity and mental illness is important to be identified to understand the effectiveness of the healthcare policies in Australia. There are various ethnic and refugee groups in Australia, who have settled in Australia in search of better life. Thus, Australia becomes the home for many people from different cultures and ethnicity. Ethnicity is associated with culture, and every culture has their values and beliefs (Henderson, Evans-Lacko, & Thornicroft, 2013).

Different ethnic groups in Australia have to face various kinds of discrimination in society. Discrimination is the violation of the human rights and hinders the way of people towards happy living. Cultural and linguistically diverse groups in Australia have to face many problems after their settlement in the country. The overseas migration in Australia is very high, and also it is believed that different ethnic groups in Australia will make 32% population of Australia by the year 2050 (Minas et al, 2013). Due to the cultural and language barriers, these people are unable to express themselves and ask for help, which leaves them to a more vulnerable situation. Ethnic groups have to face many social and economic problems, and metal health becomes a major concern, when these people have to face unemployment, language barriers, and lack of education, which is combined with various immigration stressors. Most of the immigrants do not possess valid visa, which stops them to receive effective healthcare services (Campbell, 2013).

Some of the groups within different ethnic communities are higher risk of getting affected with mental illness. These groups are women, children and old age people. Different ethnic groups comes from the countries, where they have patriarchal societies, man is considered as the whole and sole of the family and women have the responsibility of bearing children and taking care of their families. Trauma associated with their condition can also be a great reason behind high risk of mental illness. For example, Iraqi refugees come from the country where they have faced violence, war and physical and sexual abuse. War is a social conflict that affects different aspects of human life. People, who are affected by war and its consequences, go through various mental and physical problems. The functionalist perspective of society explains that, social functioning affect human life, thus mental illness becomes a social problem (Minas et al, 2013).

According to the conflict theory, the conflicts arise between various groups of the society to have access over different resources. Every human wants more for their life, and this gives rise to conflict. The conflict between ethnic groups and general population of Australia also arises due to unequal distribution of resources and thus, ethnic groups suffer from more mental disorders due to scarcity of resources and their helplessness to achieve more. Stigma is also often attached to mental health condition of ethnic groups in Australia (Pincus, & Hugo, 2012). Different cultures have different perspective about mental health. Some of the cultures believe that person suffering with mental illness are “crazy”, thus stigma gets associated with mental health and illness. Due to this people in minority groups are not able to access healthcare services and their mental health deteriorates with time. Ethnic groups are more exposed to risk of mental illness due to lack of healthcare literacy. It is the ability of an individual to understand the need of treatment and to understand the course of action. But, due to lack of education, these people could not understand the seriousness of the illness and burden of disease increases. Ethnicity is itself is a social construct that leads to mental illness (Pincus, & Hugo, 2012). These people receive unequal opportunities of employment and education, and thus, they are not able to have safety and security in life.

Mental health problems can affect people of any age. The people, who come from diverse cultural backgrounds, are affected by many other risk factors, which further impact their well-being. The culture and belief of different ethnic groups also affect their understanding and interpretation as well as their response towards mental health (Pincus, & Hugo, 2012). People with different ethnicity also have different perspective about family structure, family and social functioning, family and societal roles etc. Women and children from different ethnic groups are the most unprivileged people. Every ethnic group has their specific roles for man and woman in the society. Men are considered to be the one who has to support the family and women are not expected to work for their families. When such ethnic groups settle in Australia, they find themselves at the risk of getting disassociated with their cultural and family values.

The stress of being displaced from their country and cultural environment also impacts their mental well-being. They are not able to easily accept the change in their life and find different ways to cope with these stressors. The use of alcohol and substance abuse increases, and when they find their traditional roles are getting affected, they use violence. Women, children and elderly people have to face more violence, which impacts their mental health. Adjusting in the society, which is different from their culture and tradition also influence their mental status. The resettlement country have different values, political structure, social roles, policies and beliefs, thus ethnic groups face challenges in getting access to adequate healthcare facilities, housing facilities, social support and schooling (Burgess et al, 2012). They have to adjust in the environment, which is completely unfamiliar. Lack of social support also reduces their mental well-being. Immigrants and refugees have very limited access to employment opportunities in Australia, as they have culture and language barriers. They also lack education and professional skills as most of them come from poor countries. Sometimes the religious values also limit the type of work, which they can do. Some the people from ethnic groups may have qualification, which is not valid in Australia. Thus, mental illness is a social problem because it is generated from various aspects of the society.

Conclusion

Mental illness is a major health and social issue in Australia. Mental health is considered a major social problem, because it is also socially construct. Mental health problem is considered as social construct because the functioning and structure of the society affects the mental health of people. Society is the most important aspect of human life, various elements of society help humans to grow, develop, learn and enhance their skills. Thus, different concepts of society cal also impact the mental health of people. Essay discussed the problem of mental illness that prevails in Australian Society. Essay discussed that why mental illness is a social problem. The two social concepts affecting mental health and well-being of people are poverty and ethnicity. Poverty is the first and most important concept that impacts the life and mental health of people in a very devastating manner. Poverty is very high in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and different minority groups of Australia. These people do not have sufficient access to employment opportunities, food resources and healthcare services. Thus many social problems are associated with the mental health of people. Thus, mental illness is considered as a social problem. The government of Australia requires making more efforts to monitor these social problems for improving the mental as well as overall well-being of people.