Research Into Mental Illness

by Rethink

Introduction

There is an enormous amount of research into severe mental illness. Here we summarise a small amount of this research, focussing upon those areas most frequently asked about.

What Is The Incidence Of Severe Mental Illness?

Mental illness is amongst the most common health problems. One in six adults will experience some form of mental ill health at some point in their life (Department of Health, 1999; Deb, Thomas & Bright, 2001). Approximately one person in every hundred has a diagnosis of schizophrenia before the age of 45 years and a similar number have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (Johns & van Os, 2001).

The incidence of mental illness is unevenly spread throughout the population, with factors such as age, ethnic origin and gender making a difference. For example, schizophrenia is most frequent amongst men aged between 16 and 25 years and in women aged between 26 and 35 years (Howe, 1991). The overall chance of developing schizophrenia is the same for both men and women but men tend to develop it earlier and tend to develop a more severe form of the illness. In the UK people from ethnic minorities are more likely to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia and the incidence of schizophrenia within ethnic minority communities increases as the proportion of people from ethnic minorities in the local community decreases (Boydell, van Os, Allardyce, Goel, McCreadie & Murray, 2001). Rates of bipolar disorder are similar for men and women. However, women are twice as likely as men to have a diagnosis of major depression .

Low socio-economic classes have a greater proportion of people with a diagnosis of a severe mental illness. There are two theories why this is so. The first theory suggests that factors associated with having low socio-economic status increase the likelihood of developing a mental illness. These factors could include: higher stress levels; increased exposure to environmental and occupational hazards; poorer quality of maternal and obstetric care; and personality traits associated with lower class socialisation. The second theory is that the development of a severe mental illness leads to a downwards drift in socio-economic status. This social drift theory has received much support from research and seems to apply not only to those with diagnosed severe mental illness but also to those with minor (non-clinical) symptoms (Thaker, Adami & Gold (2001). A study by Samele, van Os, McKenzie, Wright, Gilvarry, Manley, Tattan & Murray (2001) found that the best ever occupation that a person with psychosis had but not their educational qualifications predicted prognosis. They also found that downward occupational drift did not result in poorer illness course or outcome.

Violence And Mental Illness

The media often portrays people with mental illness as violent. Not only does this influence the attitudes and beliefs of the public but it also influences policy making (Hallam, 2002). However, evidence shows that people with mental illness are often withdrawn and less aggressive than the general population, are more likely to harm themselves than to harm others and are up to six times more likely to be a victim of crime than people in the general population (Hiroeh, Appleby, Mortensen & Dunn 2001).

Mental Illness: Cost Of Caring

With the shift from long-term hospital care to care in the community, informal carers have become essential and enormously valuable in the care of people with severe mental illness. The vast majority of people with severe mental illnesses are cared for by parents or other relatives. It is estimated that informal carers save the government around three billion pounds a year (Hogman & Pearson, 1995). Most carers provide care willingly. However, many of them experience problems as a result of their caring role. In the survey by Hogman & Pearson (1995) it was found that as many as 71 % of informal carers felt that their health had been affected by their caring role. Caring also places a substantial financial burden on the carer(s). Other needs that are not being met effectively include:

• Information about severe mental illness and their own rights as carers;
• There are often no recognised nor effective local crisis services;
• Day and respite care, providing a much needed break from the full-time job of caring, are also important to carers.

Where Can I Find Mental Illnesses Research Reports?

There is a great deal of research going on into all aspects of mental health, including:

• Causes of mental illnesses;
• The neurobiology of mental illnesses;
• Treatments and therapies, including drugs, talking therapies and complementary therapies;
• Social issues relating to mental illness; and
• Education, training and employment needs and outcomes.

Mental health research is published in many different publications, some of which will be available in local libraries or on the Internet. Other publications will be available in academic libraries.

Remember when looking for research information on the Internet that anybody can publish anything on the Internet so you need to evaluate the quality of the article. Some questions you may want to ask include:

• Has the article been published in print?
• Is it a reputable publisher?
• Has the article been reviewed by experts in the field?
• What are the credentials of the author(s)?
• Are you satisfied that the methods behind the research are sound?

About the Author

www.rethink.org
Rethink is the largest severe mental illness charity in the UK. We are dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by severe mental illness, whether they have a condition themselves, care for others who do, or are professionals or volunteers working in the mental health field.