Poverty Has Negative Impacts

When thinking of and developing a personal theory, I wanted to discuss something that is always a topic of discussion. I wanted it to be relevant and I wanted to be able to find lots of information pertaining to this topic. I also wanted to discuss something that was of interest to me. Poverty is a major problem in the world and so many people are impacted by it. Growing up I wasn’t directly affected by poverty, but one of my best friends was and I got to see second hand how it impacts families.

Without experiencing poverty firsthand, it’s hard to imagine a life without the luxuries we are lucky to have. For example, having a car isn’t something that I have always been very thankful to have; this was always just a necessary item, but to some people it isn’t a luxury that they are able to afford. And when people in low socioeconomic status aren’t able to afford these luxuries that others take for granted, it can impact them in many different ways.

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Socioeconomic status influences your health both mentally and physically. Low socioeconomic status impacts our society including lower educational achievement, poverty, and poor health (APA, n.d.). The many sources of information available to us show that there are multiple factors of low socioeconomic status and how they impact society. When society as a whole is being impacted by low socioeconomic status, this signifies that it isn’t a slight problem society has to deal with, it is a major one.

Although not everyone in society is impacted negatively by socioeconomic status, there are many in the world who struggle to stay afloat. Many people have jobs that do not pay enough, have families they need to raise, and bills they need to pay.

My personal theory of counseling is that Poverty has negative impacts on individuals and our society because socioeconomic status influences your health both mentally and physically. As a member of society and as someone who volunteers at the local food bank, I have been able to witness those who live in poverty and those who do not. For those who do live in poverty, they are very grateful for what they have and what they are able to get their hands on. These people living in poverty also show signs of emotional and mental distress which impacts their daily lives. Some of the people who come to the food bank have emotional and mental distress because they have to be there in the first place, they feel ashamed that they have to receive assistance from the community. Although this isn’t something to be ashamed of, it is much easier said than done.

In Lesson 1 we learned that a theory is known as an explanation of observations or facts which includes four main components. These four main components are falsifiability, defined theoretical structure, defined elements and stating the relationship between the theory and research. I will include these four components below and explain how my theory pertains to each of these components.

Falsifiability means that we have to be able to prove the theory wrong. My theory that poverty has negative impacts on the mental and physical health of individuals can be proven wrong. There can be multiple factors that influence an individuals mental and physical health. Some individuals might have problems in school that can impact their mental health while others may have problems in the workplace that contribute to their mental health as well. My theory also has a defined theoretical structure because it predicts that those who live in poverty will have negative impacts on their physical and mental wellbeing. I do not think my theory contains fallacious reasoning because it contains a clear and logical statement about poverty and its relationship to the physical and mental health of individuals. My theory stated discusses the relation between theory development and research because by conducting research we are able to test this hypothesis. In my theory, poverty may negatively impact mental and physical health. If you take someone out of poverty and their circumstances improve, then you will be positively impacting their mental and physical health.

I have noticed a variety of negative impacts low socioeconomic status has on members of society. Research has shown that low socioeconomic status not only impacts families as a whole, but children and youth as well. Children are susceptible to behavioral problems in school and a decline in their educational achievements (Sheridan & McLaughlin, 2016) while adults are also impacted with a higher risk for obesity (Levine, J. A. 2011). There are many impacts to psychological health such as higher level of aggression, hostility, perceived threat, and discrimination for youth. There are also higher rates of depression, morbidity, anxiety and heavy drinking among others (APA). Along with the psychological health related impacts, there are also physical health related impacts that are just as important to be aware of. While adults of low socioeconomic status are susceptible to obesity, so are children and with restricted access to playgrounds, children are unable to get the activity they need. Since healthy food is much more expensive, parents are unable to provide healthy options for their children. Both of these things are contributors of high body mass index. (Chen & Paterson, 2006). I have noticed that there are a lot of factors involved in low socioeconomic status among society. There isn’t just one contributor. This theory will continue to explain all the impacts of low socioeconomic status and the damage it does to our society. An article posted by the American Journal of Sociology states that there were multiple results of socioeconomic status being related to mental disorders among a study done of adolescents (Miech, 1999).

In Lesson 1 we learned about how important it is to use theories when counseling. Without using theories, the counselor is unable to properly diagnose a client’s specific needs and what will work best for treating them. Without being able to understand a client’s behavior and why they act a certain way you are unable to figure out how to change it. My theory is connected to both counseling and research. We can use this theory to generate new knowledge of socioeconomic status and any other factors that are impacted by it. There could be some things impacted by socioeconomic status that we have yet to know about that will be important information to us. I believe this theory can also help inform therapeutic practices. The more we know about these problems and how they impact society, the more we can do to try and reverse the problems and help society. By learning about this theory and conducting research on it will help to improve the conditions of those living in low socioeconomic status. Being able to conduct more research on this problem will benefit the society of future generations. Knowledge of mental health related issues, physical health related issues and others alike will be important information to obtain to keep these issues from reoccurring. When we find the biggest issues of socioeconomic status and we learn more about them, we are better able to understand how to put an end to them. We will bring new information to light and will be able to share this new information with others as well as use this information for continuous research of the issue.

Looking at our lessons throughout the course, we learned in Lesson 4 that the goal of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is to change a person’s thoughts and behaviors. Using CBT in individuals who are struggling with poverty can improve their way of thinking and allow them to think about their socioeconomic status in a different light. Behavioral therapy is another kind of therapy that can be used for individuals in low socioeconomic status. Behavioral therapy has been used to help a variety of people with a wide range of problems. It serves those young and old and from multiple backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. It also does not take a lot of time to change a person’s viewpoints unlike other therapies such as Freud’s psychoanalysis. Behavioral therapy also allows the client to make the change themselves; they change their own behaviors and feelings using the therapists help and guidance. I believe that using therapies such as these will provide a starting point for the improvement of client’s mental and physical health. Allowing clients to change through therapy can improve their thoughts and feelings about living in poverty.

In conclusion, it is important to have a theory to be able to properly assess and determine how to work with the client and find a resolution to their issues. As stated in Lesson 1, we are able to develop a theory through observations, developing a hypothesis, and then researching how that hypothesis will work and whether or not you can prove or disprove the theory. My personal theory that poverty negatively impacts the physical and mental health of individuals includes each of the factors included in a theory. This theory includes individuals of all genders, ages, and cultures.

References

APA. (n.d.). Children, Youth, Families and Socioeconomic status. Retrieved September 9, 2018, from http://www.apa.org/pi/socioeconomic status/resources/publications/children-families.aspx

Sheridan, M. A., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2016). Neurobiological models of the impact of adversity on education. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 108-113. DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.05.013

Levine, J. A. (2011). Poverty and obesity in the U.S. Diabetes, 60, 2667-2668. doi:10.2337/db11-1118

Molnar, B. E., Cerda, M., Roberts, A. L., & Buka, S. L. (2008). Effects of neighborhood resources on aggressive and delinquent behaviors among urban youths. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 1086-1093. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.098913

Chen, E., & Paterson, L. Q. (2006). Neighborhood, family, and subjective socioeconomic status: How do they relate to adolescent health? Health Psychology, 25, 704-714. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.25.6.704

Richard A. Miech, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie E. Moffitt, Bradley R. Entner Wright, and Phil A. Silva, 'Low Socioeconomic Status and Mental Disorders: A Longitudinal Study of Selection and Causation during Young Adulthood,' American Journal of Sociology 104, no. 4 (January 1999): 1096-1131.