Rutgers Study: Anxiety Disorders In Poor Mothers More Likely To Be The Result Of Poverty, Not Mental Illness
Judith C. Baer, an associate professor in the School of Social Work, and her team, in the study, “Is it Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Poverty? An Examination of Poor Mothers and Their Children,” published online in Child and Adolescent Social Work, argue that although high levels of stress over long periods can lead to psychological problems, there is no evidence that generalized anxiety disorder in poor mothers is because of an “internal malfunction.”
A Rutgers study has found that anxiety in poor mothers is usually not a psychiatric problem.
The findings confirm earlier studies that the poorest mothers have the greater odds of being classified as having generalized anxiety disorder. But Baer and her team wrote, “…there is no evidence for a malfunction of some internal mechanism. Rather, “there is a physical need in the real world that is unmet and produces anxiety.”
“The distinction is important because there are different ways to treat the problem,” Baer said. “While supportive therapy and parent skills-training are often helpful, sometimes the most appropriate intervention is financial aid and concrete services.”
Rutgers researchers argue that changing and broadening definitions for GAD have caused, in some cases, mental health experts to categorize the reactions of these mothers to the extreme conditions they face daily as symptoms of the anxiety disorder.
Baer’s team has been exploring relationships between poor mothers and their children and whether links between poverty and maternal anxiety might play a part in their offspring developing anxiety of their own.
The latest research by Baer and colleagues MiSung Kim, who completed her doctorate in May, and Bonnie Wilkenfeld, a doctoral candidate, analyzed data from the ongoing Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study with 4,898 participants conducted at Princeton University, consisting of surveys and home observations when children were 3-years-old. It confirmed that the poorest mothers had greater odds of being classified as having GAD but that the path from anxiety to parenting stress was not supported.
“This suggests that mothers can be poor and anxious, but still provide positive parenting for their children,” Baer said.
Currently, psychiatric diagnoses are based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which uses symptom-based criteria to determine disorders. Recent versions do not consider context, such as poverty conditions, in determining diagnoses, Baer said.
“Our findings suggest that anxiety in poor mothers is usually not a psychiatric problem but a reaction to severe environmental deficits,” she continued. “Thus, assessment should include careful attention to contextual factors and environmental deficits as playing a role in the presentation of symptoms. Labeling an individual with a diagnosis, especially if it is inaccurate, has a serious social stigma.”
Read more at Nano Patents and Innovations
Source:
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world. Anyone can join. Anyone can contribute. Anyone can become informed about their world. "United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
LION'S MANE PRODUCT
Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules
Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, but it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.
Our Formula includes: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity. Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins. Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system. Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome. Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function. Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules Today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.
| Visits: | 1,708,523,085 |
| Stories: | 8,450,546 |
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
Well actually Chronic Anxiety is a psychiatric problem.
It’s a problem if you have it you crazy ass cracker bitch!
The DSM is so full of shit. Every single human being displays the ‘symptoms’ of every psychiatric disorder at various times.
I’ve been called Clinically Insane by a bunch of retarded monkeys.
Seriously? We needed a study to state the obvious, huh? Of COURSE any decent mother is going to be anxious if she can’t keep a roof over her kids’ heads, food in their bellies, etc, etc. I’d be more worried about the mothers who are poor and don’t give a crap! But, as usual, being poor in America means you automatically must be crazy, lazy, or both.
As I’ve said before, most “mental illnesses” Americans are being treated for are actually symptoms of bad life circumstances, not actual illnesses. But I don’t have a Ph.D, so of course I don’t know wth I’m talking about.