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Chapter 2 - Mental Illness and Social Problems

from Part I - Problems Related to Health, Safety, and Security

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2018

By
Joan Busfield
Edited by
A. Javier Treviño
A. Javier Treviño
Affiliation:
Wheaton College, Massachusetts
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Summary

Mental illness is not only in itself considered a major social problem, it also often results from the diverse social problems individuals have to face. This chapter explores four questions relevant to the extent of mental illness as a social problem and to the way in which social problems generate mental ill health. How is mental illness defined? What do the data show about its extent? What is the evidence that mental illness is often the result of social problems in individuals’ lives? And finally, how should mental illness be dealt with?

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Chapter
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The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems , pp. 23 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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