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(this is another reprint from my old blog)
an article on depression and poverty
Low-income people with depression are less likely to respond to treatment and more likely to be suicidal than those who have higher incomes, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Socioeconomic factors, including income, education and occupation, have long been linked to health status, illness and death. Research has shown that people with lower socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to develop a depressive illness and that their depression is more severe than that of people higher on the SES scale. Several studies have hypothesized that socioeconomic factors, including income and education, would also affect how people respond to medications and other therapies for depression, but have ultimately proved inconclusive, according to background information in the article.
… and my response to it:
It is laudable that Harvard has taken up the research on the connection between poverty and depression. Not having read the full article, I don’t know into how much detail the authors go regarding this connection.
However, as someone who has worked with very low income populations, I would suggest that some of the connections are quite obvious and should be checked out. Let me just cite a few.
Poverty affects people’s lives on all levels; “bumping” into the issue of lack of money is incredibly stressful and grinds people down.
People with disabilities are more likely to be poor and more likely to suffer from depression.
Lastly, we live in a culture where success is measured by how much we earn. People with low income are automatically assumed to be unsuccessful. This impacts their self esteem. These are just a few examples. And they are examples of situations that tend to create or exacerbate depression in addition to other causes of depression (chemical imbalances, tiggers such as loss of a loved one, PTSD, etc.)
what do you think?
isabella mori
counselling in vancouver
www.moritherapy.com
2 responses so far ↓
1 kevin // Jul 15, 2008 at 6:52 pm
It depends on the individual and if they were raised in poverty or became poor. For example I was raised in a wealthy suburb of NYC and then in my adult life spent about 4 years in TJ Mexico ( a good deal of extreme poverty). There is no doubt in my mind that the stress of poverty if you were not poor and became poor can cause a great deal of distress and triger depression.
2 J Stoker // Feb 25, 2009 at 8:09 pm
The above response fromKevin is ridiculous. Bottom line is that when you are poor you dont have what you need, which causes severe stress and depression despite whether you were raised in poverty or not. It sucks to be poor, especially in the good old United States where so many prosper and thrive while so many are in hopeless debt and poverty. I know because I suffer from severe stress and depression and suicidal thoughts due to being so poor and the future looks hopeless and I am an intelligent, multi-talented, college educated woman stuck in a poverty stricken hell hole that I cant get out of, after spending my 20’s and early 30’s working jobs that pay minimum wage or below (by the way if you can only afford to pay your workers minimum wage and thats it and no insurance or benefits you should be ashamed, you know exactly what you are doing and who you are taking advantage of and how many lives you are damaging). There is a general attitude among those in middle class or above, and its to feather their own nests and forget about the rest. Being poor is not something to be ashamed of though, especially if its all you have ever known and you are doing your best to get out of it in a land of little opportunity though we claim that this is THE land of opportunity, apparently that is only true for some people here, certainly not for everyone and certainly not for those truly born into poverty. Good grades in school can only go so far. You need a streak of luck and if you are dealt a bad hand in life, as I have consistently my whole life, well you’re just screwed and thats it and nobody gives a crap. Trust me, call me negative if you like, but whatever you do you have to believe me on this one. I am speaking from experience.
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