The link between social class issues and depression for women in Scotland - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Besides, evidence also suggests that social issues such as poverty and discrimination can “undermine the recovery of people” from mental health problems (Myers, McCollam & Woodhouse, 2005, p.1). It further transpires that despite various initiatives taken to mitigate the problem, various challenges to mental health in Scotland arising out of “poverty, deprivation, discrimination and inequality” still remain unresolved (p.1). The problem appears to be more compounded in the case of Scottish females from lower social strata as they are unlikely to be financially independent and, thus, have to cope with various other stress elements. In this scenario, a research into the relationship between social class and depression in females in Scotland can facilitate reasonable insights into the mental health problems of this segment, which the logic behind the choice of this topic. The research will primarily be based on the information gleaned from various articles published on the topic, which have been discussed in detail in the annotated bibliography appended below. Scotland’s Mental Health and Its Context: Adults 2009, written by Taulbut M, Parkinson J, Catto S, and Gordon D: This report, co-authored by four professionals in the public health field, on behalf of NHS Health Scotland, identifies the improvement of mental health as a “national priority” and sets out the objectives of the Scotland government (Taulbut et al, 2009, p.1). It attempts to describe the concept of mental health, identify the risk factors that may cause mental problems as well as the “difference within the adult population by selected dimensions of equality” (p.1). The report has relied on both quantitative and qualitative data in arriving at its findings and overall it captures the situation in Scotland, especially in the context of specific social status. The data considered for the report are from reliable sources such as public surveys or published by organizations in public or mental health. The surveys relating to 2003 suggest that women and people who live in “deprived communities” are “significantly more likely” to become victims of the mental health problems (p.17). It further points to the findings that women have higher risk of mental health problems and “17%” females have been found to be having ailing from mental health problem while the percentage of males remained at 13 (p.18). In the specific context of depression, the report maintains that it did not “significantly” differ among gender or age (p.20). Available data further suggests that the adults from lower social strata are more likely to manifest the symptoms of mental health problems at “12% compared with 8%” of those from higher echelons of the society (p.21). The findings of the study further suggest about three-fourth of the indicators of equalities analysis indicate an “association between poor mental health” and socio-economic disadvantages (p.155). The report finally provides benchmarks for “mental health improvement in Scotland” but concedes to one limitation that the data in most cases relate to the year 2000. However, the authors believe that when the availability and quality of data improves in the future the benchmarks can be modified suitably. The ...Download file to see next pagesRead More