Effects of Mental Health Problems on Society (AQA GCSE Psychology)

The increase in the diagnosis of mental health problems leads to a need for more Social care such as:

• a demand for healthcare, including mental health services, e.g. the NHS

• social housing for people whose mental health problems prevent them from working/working regularly

• benefit payments to cover costs of housing, food, transport, medication

Social care can provide a lifeline for people who are unable to fully support themselves for a range of reasons, mental health problems being one of those reasons

Human beings are social animals so it makes sense that those in need or who are vulnerable because of mental health problems should be cared for

People with mental health problems may abuse alcohol/drugs as a way of self-medicating (relieving their pain and distress), which can become problematic

The abuse of alcohol or drugs may result in violent and anti-social behaviour when mixed with mental health problems, increasing crime rates 

Poor mental health may also lead to social isolation which could in turn lead to increased crime rates as isolated people have no one to check and notice their behaviour

There are, however, misconceptions about mentally ill people and their propensity to violence:

• Many people believe that crime is strongly linked to mental illness when in fact, only 3%-5% of violent acts are committed by individuals living with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia 

• People with a mental illness are more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators

There are several ways in which a society high in mental health problems impacts the economy:

• Higher demands on services like health and social care 

• Increased costs and therefore slower economic growth: more health professionals means more cost in terms of salaries

• Unemployment brings an increased demand on the benefits system and, a lower productive workforce:

  • Days absent from work due to mental health problems means lower productivity, increased costs finding temporary cover for the absent worker, more stress on existing staff

• Increase in the cost of policing linked to increased crime rates

Therapies such as CBT are expensive whereas drug therapy is cheap which in turn has implications for both the economy and for what patients are likely to be prescribed

An ageing population means that future care for dementia sufferers is a foregone conclusion which is extremely costly