It is the impact that these factors have on ones life that helps determine their mental health outcome (Miech et al., 1999).
Low socioeconomic status, for example, has the potential to greatly influence mental illness, as it poses many adversities that can seriously damage an individual's psychological functioning (Miech et al., 1999). These adversities may include things like poor housing, poor nutrition, economic hardships, unemployment (Mulvany, 2000) high social isolation (Gottesmann, 1999, as cited in Busfield, 2000) and lack of life skills (Miech et al., 1999). As a result of these adversities an individual experiences high levels of stress (Wheaton, 2001), low self-esteem (Brown et al., 1990, as cited in Markowitz, 2001), low self-worth and poor life satisfaction (Markowitz, 2001). All of these things contribute to an increase of mental disorder symptoms leading to the development of mental illness (Markowitz, 2001; Wheaton, 2001).
A significant offshoot of socioeconomic status is the satisfaction that a person obtains from their life. The life satisfaction that one experiences is not only affected by their socioeconomic status but also by their employment and social environment. It is also affected by the relationships that they have with those around them. Family, friends and the general public all contribute to how fulfilled an individual is with their life. The better ones life is, the higher their life satisfaction will be and the fewer symptoms of mental disorders they will have (Markowitz, 2001). Life satisfaction, however, is also tied to how individuals see themselves. If self-esteem and self-efficacy are high, than life satisfaction will also be higher and result in a decrease of mental illness symptoms. The same goes for the reverse as well. Low self-esteem and self-worth contribute to poor life satisfaction, which in turn contributes to and increased symptoms and raises the probability of mental illness (Markowitz, 2001).
