Mental Health Sociology
This essay will begin by discussing poverty and the groups who mostly live in poverty and who are affected by it. It will then move on to discuss in depth, three different vulnerable/disadvantaged groups, and how poverty negatively influences the health of a person in one of these groups.
"People are living in poverty if their income and resources (material, cultural and social) are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living which is regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally. As a result of inadequate income and other resources people may be excluded and marginalised from participating in activities which are considered the norm for other people in society." (National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016). …show more content…
There are several markers used to identify disadvantage, such as the percentage of people living in a certain area receiving benefits, if it is a high percentage this shows that this area in most likely disadvantaged.
The main most common feelings experienced by living in poverty are stress, isolation and shame (understanding poverty, 2008).
Vulnerability is when a person can be easily hurt or taken advantage off, the groups considered most vulnerable in society are the elderly, people who suffer from mental health illnesses, special needs and children. The reason being that they made need some form of care be it a care home or a carer to help them in their own home, this leaves them dependent on these people.
In the U.S the estimated percentage of children living in poverty is 42% (Gitterman, 2001), when a child crows up in poverty it severely impacts every aspect of their health. Children growing up in poverty may experience dietary inadequacy, which can impact their physical development, causing problems such as the rate of their growth, they are normally smaller than most children of their own age, some studies show that malnutrition can cause poor educational performance (Walker et al., …show more content…
Living in poverty is one of the leading causes of social isolation and loneliness in old age, as the person may not have the means to travel and interact with other people such as the local community, friends, family members and peers. Feeling isolated from the world around them due to poverty can have a severe impact on a person’s mental health and can lead to depression which affects around 22% of men and 28% of women aged 65 years and over in the UK (Mental health statistics: Older people,
"People are living in poverty if their income and resources (material, cultural and social) are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living which is regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally. As a result of inadequate income and other resources people may be excluded and marginalised from participating in activities which are considered the norm for other people in society." (National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016). …show more content…
There are several markers used to identify disadvantage, such as the percentage of people living in a certain area receiving benefits, if it is a high percentage this shows that this area in most likely disadvantaged.
The main most common feelings experienced by living in poverty are stress, isolation and shame (understanding poverty, 2008).
Vulnerability is when a person can be easily hurt or taken advantage off, the groups considered most vulnerable in society are the elderly, people who suffer from mental health illnesses, special needs and children. The reason being that they made need some form of care be it a care home or a carer to help them in their own home, this leaves them dependent on these people.
In the U.S the estimated percentage of children living in poverty is 42% (Gitterman, 2001), when a child crows up in poverty it severely impacts every aspect of their health. Children growing up in poverty may experience dietary inadequacy, which can impact their physical development, causing problems such as the rate of their growth, they are normally smaller than most children of their own age, some studies show that malnutrition can cause poor educational performance (Walker et al., …show more content…
Living in poverty is one of the leading causes of social isolation and loneliness in old age, as the person may not have the means to travel and interact with other people such as the local community, friends, family members and peers. Feeling isolated from the world around them due to poverty can have a severe impact on a person’s mental health and can lead to depression which affects around 22% of men and 28% of women aged 65 years and over in the UK (Mental health statistics: Older people,