Semmelweis University School of Ph.D. Studies School of Mental Health Sciences Behavioral Sciences Program Psychosocial correlates of Hungarian women’s mental health: focusing on the life-course perspective

Budapest 2004 INTRODUCTION Good mental health is an important resource for individuals, families, communities and nations. Mental health is an obscure part of general health, reflecting an equilibrium between the individual and environment. Mental health basically has two dimensions, positive and negative mental health. According to the WHO World Health Report 2001 determinants of mental health problems on a large scale are poverty, female gender, age, conflicts and disasters, major physical diseases, family and environmental factors. Depression occurs more frequently among women and is the leading cause of years of life lived in disability (YLDs) which was estimated to cause 14.0-18.6% of disability in 2000. Panic disorder ranked twentieth place among the causes of disability among women of all ages, but ranked ninth among women of 15-44 years of age. (World Health Organization, 2001). The prevalence of health damaging behavior is rising among women. In the European Union smoking is responsible for 5% of the overall mortality (European Commission, 1997). Mental and behavioral disorders caused by excessive alcohol consumption rank fifteenth among causes of disability in the 15-44 years old group. Women's mental health can be influenced by different protective and risk factors than men's, partly due to different biological make up, but also because of the different social position women assume in society. Among some of the risk factors that have been associated with the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and health damaging behavior among women are social disadvantage (e.g. low educational level, unemployment), role strain, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, and the use of emotion oriented coping strategies. Studying mental health is important according to the life-course perspective because of the different stressors affecting younger and older women's lives. According to certain studies age itself is not a risk factor for depression (Blazer, 2003), and argue that loneliness is the key factor for older women, while among young women role strain (Lee & Powers, 2002) and/or domestic violence (Wainwright & Surtees, 2002) increases the risk. The knowledge of psychosocial determinants of mental health is crucial for health policy makers, health professionals, and the whole society in order to promote mental health and to prevent mental disorders, thus increasing quality of life, the physical, psychological, and social well-being of women. A higher effectiveness of mental health interventions could be reached if they are planned by taking age-groups into consideration even in adulthood. The primary aim of my study was to …