Social Locations – Mental Health

Equity Framework > Social Locations > Mental Health

Mental health is an important determinant of health and development. Positive mental health and emotional development begin at the earliest stages of a child’s life. It can impact academic success and the formation of healthy relationships. During adolescence children can face extra stresses that contribute to poor mental health. Social determinants of health, such as gender, poverty, and ethnicity, can influence a child’s stress exposure. They can also affect the child’s ability to access quality mental health resources [1].

Positive mental health is about more than the absence of a mental health condition:

• it is a positive sense of well-being
• or the capacity to enjoy life and deal with challenges [2].

People with mental health disabilities can experience positive mental health. It is also possible to experience poor mental health without a mental health condition. Mental health is fluid. It is influenced by a range of factors, including:

• life experiences, and
• social and economic conditions.

Almost 75% of people with mental health disabilities live in low and middle income countries. Evidence suggests that communities marginalized by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality are disproportionately affected in high income countries as well. Differences in mental health reflect social and developmental inequities. Institutional and public policies worsen these differences. The drivers of these inequalities are the structures, systems and power relations that shape distribution of resources across communities and populations and impact poor mental health either directly, or through the support available [3].

People often experience mental health challenges and other inequities simultaneously [4]. In turn, access to culturally appropriate and responsive programs and services where and when people need them is a priority in the child and youth mental health sector [5]. To learn more please visit the Indicators page on Raising the Village to learn about the Mental Health & Social Development and Family Health outcomes.

References

1. Raising the Village. (2019). Growing Up in Toronto Challenge 3:Making Room for Feelings. Retrieved September 15, 20213 from https://raisingthevillage.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/RTV-Challenge-3-AODA-Sept-25.pdf
2. Canadian Institute for Health Information (2009). Improving the Health of Canadians: Exploring Positive Mental Health. Retrieved September 1, 2023 from https://secure.cihi.ca/free_products/summary_mh_mar0309_e.pdf
3. The Mariwala Health Initiative Journal (2021). ReFrame: Unpacking Structural Determinants of Mental Health. Retrieved December 1, 2023 from https://mhi.org.in/media/insight_files/CallProposalsReFrame_2021__sc.pdf
4. Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario (2014, May). Advancing Equity in Ontario: Understanding Key Concepts. Retrieved February 19, 2020 from http://ontario.cmha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Advancing-Equity-In-Mental-Health-Final1.pdf
5. Turner, T., & Sharma, P. (2022). Honouring Our Promise: Ending Anti-Black Racism. Research Report. Anti-Black Racism Task Force Toronto. Retrieved September 15, 2023 from https://www.hope-strategy.com/reports.html