Join Strategic Needs Assessment Topic Report: Mental Health
Who’s at highest risk and why?
Mental health is as important as physical health for our health and wellbeing. It underpins our ability to build strong relationships, to do well at school or in our jobs, and shapes how we interact with the world around us. Good mental health and well-being often leads to better physical health as well as a reduced chance of dying at a younger age. There are factors that can protect our mental health and well-being and others that can be a risk at individual, family, community and structural levels. These are summarized below.
Individual level
Socio-demographic
Socio-demographic factors that can affect mental health include:
- education
- employment
- unemployment
- financial security
- housing/homelessness
Life experiences
Life experiences that can affect mental health include:
- transitions
- hobbies
- migration
Trauma or adversity
Trauma or adversity can affect mental health such as:
- experiences
- bullying
Health
Health factors include:
- lifestyle
- mental
- perinatal
Personality
Personality actors include:
- resilience
- aspirations
- ambitions
- autonomy
Identity
Identity factors include:
- ethnicity
- gender
- LGBT+
- religion or faith
Family level
Structure
Family structure can affect mental health such as:
- households
- carers
- poverty
Dynamics
Family dynamics can affect mental health such as:
- attachment
- parenting
- relationships
Community level
Social or physical
Social or Physical factors include:
- neighbourhood
- community safety
- networks and support
- communities
- nature
Access to services
The following can also impact mental health:
- quality health, social services
- prisons or probation
Structural level
Broad factors
Other factors include:
- inequalities
- social norms
- climate change
Global and political
Global and political factors that could affect mental health include:
- economics
- welfare systems
- global events
Summary
Positive mental health and wellbeing are vital for building good population health, with strong overlap between these factors across the key life stages. Most of the risk factors for mental ill health in children are also relevant to adults and half of all mental health problems in adults are estimated to begin before the age of 14 years. Poor mental health and well-being can occur as a result of a cumulative effect of disadvantages over the life course or from new issues that may develop during adulthood. The causes or predictors of mental health and well-being are wide-ranging and it is likely that, for many people, there is a combination of risk and protective factors at play.
Good mental health and wellbeing enables us to get the most from life and feel connected to friends, family, and neighbours, fulfil our potential, contribute to communities and to adopt healthy lifestyles. Conversely, poor mental health and serious mental illness can be a significant burden to individuals, their families, and communities, affecting the quality of lives lived and leading to preventable early deaths.
While the risk and protective factors listed in this section can affect everyone, some residents in Buckinghamshire, and across England, are more likely to be vulnerable to poorer mental health and well-being. For example, residents who belong to particular groups are more likely to experience poorer mental health than others. This includes residents with physical health conditions, those living in poverty, from some ethnic groups, from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and those with caring responsibilities.