Introduction
Mental health should be considered as a primary element of people’s well-being and the possibility of being a full-fledged member of society. However, it seems rational to state that there are some socio-economic factors that hinder a person’s opportunities to access mental healthcare services, especially when it comes to minorities. It is essential to indicate the disproportionate access to mental health care services within different communities, as well as explore the factors that led to the decision of people from those communities to get mental health care.
Body Point I
The first body point is that there are a number of issues regarding access to mental care services as the demands of modern lifestyles have resulted in many cases related to anxiety and depression. This causes the necessity for individuals to have access to mental health care in order to enhance their psychological state. Recognized scholars claim that socio-economic issues should be considered as crucial aspects resulting in the increasing numbers of problems within the scope of mental health (Delgadillo et al., 2016). Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to state that a plethora of people cannot access mental health care in their state.
Supporting Point A
The scholarly dimension provides essential insights into the topic, identifying factors that affect access to mental health care. Among these are low income, age, community characteristics, as well as the appeal to psychotherapy (Delgadillo et al., 2016). It seems apparent that the topic in focus has a significant theoretical basis.
Supporting Point B
Despite the fact that socio-economic factors that tend to hinder people’s access to mental health services are investigated considerably, there is a lack of specifics in the framework of what helps individuals from minorities to address their psychological issues. Given this, it is important to conduct research that would fill the gaps in the context given.
Body Point
African Americans are often underserved within the scope of healthcare generally and mental health care particularly (Assari et al., 2017; Villatoro et al., 2018). The latter fact made African Americans a target population for this study.
Supporting Point A
A social class is intersected with many aspects, for instance, income and ethnicity. The mentioned factors substantially affect the possibilities of a person to obtain mental health care (Becker et al., 2017). Hence, if there is proper identification of these factors inherent to a particular group, there is the opportunity to impact their decisions to address their mental issues timely.
Supporting Point B
In the US, social classes remain in direct correlation with the capability of an individual to access healthcare – as well as mental healthcare, particularly (Becker et al., 2017). Thus, it is appropriate to appeal to social class theory in order to realize how individuals from various societal strata gain and percept mental health care.
Conclusion
To conclude, the study aims to reveal disproportions within the scope of access to mental healthcare services and discuss socio-economic factors that hinder the mentioned access. It was claimed that the modern lifestyle has led to many psychological disorders – especially among minorities that are to be addressed. Then, it was stated that African Americans have lesser access to mental care than other communities, and it is important to investigate the topic from this perspective.
References
Assari, S. (2017). Social determinants of depression: The intersections of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Brain Sciences, 7(12), 156-168.
Becker, J. C., Kraus, M. W., & Rheinschmidt-Same, M. (2017). Cultural expressions of social class and their implications for group-related beliefs and behaviors. Journal of Social Issues, 73(1), 158–174.
Delgadillo, J., Asaria, M., Ali, S., & Gilbody, S. (2016). On poverty, politics and psychology: The socioeconomic gradient of mental healthcare utilisation and outcomes. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 5, 429-430.
Villatoro, A., Mays, V. M., Ponce, N. A., & Aneshensel, C. S. (2018). Perceived need for mental health care: The intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Society and Mental Health, 8(1), 1–24.