For seventy years, however, research has repeatedly demonstrated not only that poverty is a powerful predictor of who develops psychosis, and who is diagnosed 'schizophrenic' (with or without a family history of psychosis), but that poverty is more strongly related to 'schizophrenia' than to other mental health ...
The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition. Some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event might trigger a psychotic episode.
Inequalities in society are associated with a significant increased risk of mental ill health. Poverty is a key player. People in poverty can face constant, high levels of stress, for example due to struggling to make ends meet, overcrowded or unsafe housing, fear of crime, and comparatively poor physical health.
Children in the 1970s who were raised in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods were at the greatest risk of being consistently diagnosed with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder with psychosis by the time they were in middle adulthood.
For example, research has linked early poverty to a reduction in the size of the hippocampus, a brain region critical for healthy stress response and memory function.
This Is the Brain on Poverty
These findings suggest that while children start their lives with similar levels of gray matter, those from lower income households develop significantly lower gray matter volume in their early years than children from higher income households in their early years.
This has negative physical and psychological health consequences, along with reduced educational and professional attainment. Poverty increases the risk of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and substance addiction.
Adults aged 26 or older living below the poverty line were more likely to experience SMI than those living at and above the poverty line (7.5 percent vs. 4.1 and 3.1 percent, respectively). In contrast, the percentage of young adults with SMI was similar in each of the levels of poverty. Vick B, Jones K, Mitra S.
You may have financial trauma if, at a young age, your caregiver lost their job, you grew up in poverty, or your basic needs weren't met due to a financial struggle. These traumatic events associated with money can carry into your adult life.
Risk factors
Having a family history of schizophrenia. Some pregnancy and birth complications, such as malnutrition or exposure to toxins or viruses that may impact brain development. Taking mind-altering (psychoactive or psychotropic) drugs during teen years and young adulthood.
The truth is that while schizophrenia is influenced by genetics, it isn't directly inherited.
Unfortunately, most people with schizophrenia are unaware that their symptoms are warning signs of a mental disorder. Their lives may be unraveling, yet they may believe that their experiences are normal. Or they may feel that they're blessed or cursed with special insights that others can't see.
Trauma may cause changes in the body and affect neurotransmitters in the brain, increasing the risk of psychotic symptoms or schizophrenia. Childhood trauma may trigger schizophrenia in those susceptible to it, and people may experience symptoms between their late teens and early 30s.
In most people with schizophrenia, symptoms generally start in the mid- to late 20s, though it can start later, up to the mid-30s. Schizophrenia is considered early onset when it starts before the age of 18. Onset of schizophrenia in children younger than age 13 is extremely rare.
Depression. Impacting an estimated 300 million people, depression is the most-common mental disorder and generally affects women more often than men.
Women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from major depression than men. However, men and women are equally likely to develop bipolar disorder. While major depression can develop at any age, the average age at onset is the mid-20s.
According to the CDC, 8.7% of people who have incomes below the poverty level report severe psychological distress.
A poverty mentality is one that influences behaviors consistent with beliefs that money shouldn't be spent, opportunities are limited, any risk at all is dangerous, any success is temporary and non-replicable, and generally remaining in the back of the pack is safest.
Usually by the age of six they can be enrolled in child labor. Nearly all the potential effects of poverty impact the lives of children—poor infrastructure, unemployment, malnutrition, domestic violence, child labor, and disease.
Not just being poor, but living in areas blighted by poverty can mean a shorter life span and a stolen future for many people. Underperforming schools, few job opportunities, higher crime rates, poor nutrition and food access, lack of health care and housing all add up to shorter, unhealthier, impoverished lives.
Poverty is associated with substandard housing, hunger, homelessness, inadequate childcare, unsafe neighborhoods, and under-resourced schools.
As a result, people in extreme poverty face harmful, deadly consequences in the short- and long-term, including poor health, a lack of education, homelessness, an inability to support a family, and an overall lack of stability that results in shorter lifespans.
All areas of a child's life are adversely affected by poverty: home, school, friendships and more. The most visible aspect is that they do not have what their friends have. Child poverty affects children's ability to enjoy their childhoods and achieve their aspirations.