How Socioculture Affects Mental Health and Income Essay Example

Social culture (also known as pop culture) has ever since the flourishing of society everyone has been trying to keep up with the latest technology, fashion, and so much more. It may sound exciting to keep up with the latest trends, but for certain social groups, it is a huge burden. The impacts of income, or how society views them, on mental health are profound for many unfortunate people. There are poor people that try to keep up with trends but do so at the expense of their finances, which causes more stress. According to an article by Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), “a society’s culture also impacts a person’s beliefs, norms, and values. It impacts how you view certain ideas or behaviors” (MHFA July 11, 2019). 

People with low incomes have struggled to regain their health and better their lives. People from lower social classes often strive to get back to the upper classes as they are under tremendous pressure and anxiety from society to improve or else be associated with being lazy, pathetic, and inferior. Dressing in nice clothes, no matter what is yet another way culture brainwashes people. Some people who don't have access to high incomes dress "rich" to give the impression that they are financially stable while purchasing expensive fashion items rapidly diminishes their savings. In an article by Inesad, they used the Chinese socio-culture as an example. According to the text “In China, however, this masking of poverty has taken on new dimensions, particularly because of the judgemental nature of its urban elite society. Young girls from rural migrant families (as well as upper-class Chinese women) cover themselves in whitening cream with the idea that looking more white makes them look less ‘peasantlike’ and thus more wealthy. Many women save up to undergo plastic surgery in order get accepted at well-paying jobs” (Insead January 15, 2013). In modern times, appearances say thousands of words about who we are, including wealth, responsibility, financial stability, and much more. In an interview, appearance can also be a deciding factor for getting the job. Race is also a factor of how socio-culture affects mental health. Race has been a defining characteristic of the U.S., with large parts of races being excluded from jobs and racial exclusion rampant.  In an article by CAP they state “In contrast, African American workers are less likely to obtain well-paying employment than white workers because of discrimination1 and occupational segregation2, which results in lower-paying employment, and segmented labor markets, which make it harder for African American workers to get employment.” ( CAP December 5, 2019). Since they are living in such extreme conditions it's no secret that they are not able to get proper jobs due to utter discrimination. This damages their morale and gives them a bad name in the society. In turn, they then get into illegal activities like selling drugs, robbing, and many others to at least get their hands on some money. According to an article published by JSTOR “For property crime rates, the results consistently indicate that unemployment increases crime. The magnitude of these effects is stable across specifications and ranges from a 1 to a 5 percent decline in crime caused by a 1 percentage point decrease in unemployment” (JSTOR April 2001).