Resumo

ALVES, Ana Alexandra Marinho  e  RODRIGUES, Nuno Filipe Reis. Mental health: social and economic determinants. Rev. Port. Sau. Pub. [online]. 2010, vol.28, n.2, pp.127-131. ISSN 0870-9025.

The concept of "mental health" is comprehensive, and it isn't always easy to define or to identify its determinants. However, in the same way that "health" isn't merely the absence of disease, mental health is also more than just the absence of mental disorder. Thus, it has increasingly been understood as the product of multiple and complex interactions that include biological, psychological and social factors. This article reviews some of the social and economic determinants of mental health, including factors like working conditions and unemployment, education, poverty, housing conditions, urbanization, sexual discrimination and gender based violence, early experiences and family interactions, social exclusion and stigma, culture, and stressful life events. Finally, the importance of the knowledge of social and economic determinants of mental health in a Public Health perspective is also highlighted, as well as its relevance to reduce the global burden of disease and to improve the mental health of populations.

Palavras-chave : Mental health; Social determinants; Economic determinants; Mental illness; Poverty; Public health.

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