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

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

A social care system can also help people learn to care for themselves, including new social and work skills, so they feel less isolated and more competent

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

Instead of always expecting the state to provide this care, some communities take on personal responsibility for looking after people with mental health problems

• This is the case in the town of Geel in Belgium, where residents have taken people with mental illness into their own homes as carers for centuries

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

Research does suggest a genuine link between mental health problems and an increased risk of violence:

• Walsh et al. (2002) found that patients with mental health problems had an increased risk of violence, as much as four times greater than those without mental health problems

However, there are misconceptions about mentally ill people and their propensity to violence:

• Many people believe that crime is strongly linked to mental illness, but Fazel and Grann (2006) found that only 1 in 20 violent crimes were actually linked to mental health problems

• This suggests that although individuals with mental health problems may be at greater personal risk of violence, they contribute to only a small proportion of violent crime overall

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

Looking after people with mental health problems costs a considerable amount of money

• The McCrone report suggests that the direct cost of mental health in England is about £22 billion a year, roughly the same as is spent on education

  • This figure includes spending on health and social care, but does not include indirect costs such as the impact on the criminal justice system and lost employment

There are several further 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

The McCrone report recommended that more research be directed towards drug treatments for mental health problems, since these are a far less expensive method of treatment than psychological therapies such as CBT and counselling, which in turn has implications 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