United States – One-third of the homeless population live with mental disorders, according to recent research that has looked into the subject in more detail.
Gender Disparities
The study observed that the rate of mental illness was higher among men experiencing homelessness than women, nevertheless, the rates for both genders were higher when compared to the population at large.
There are hints that the rates of mental illness among homeless people might be on the increase, especially in the United States and Canada, reported the researchers with Rebecca Barry, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Calgary, Canada.
“The most common mental disorders include substance use disorders, antisocial personality disorders, major depression, and general mood disorders,” Barry and colleagues reported on April 17 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Her research team had reviewed thousands of studies published worldwide on the link between mental illness and the homelessness. They selected 85 randomized tight studies.
Reporting on more than 48,000 homeless individuals, the majority of whom were from developed nations such as the United States, Canada, and Germany, most of these studies were based.
Participants in the study’s psychological health was measured by standard psychiatric tests.
Common Disorders and Prevalence
In Barbara’s research, the team has found that 67% of homeless people currently are suffering from some type of mental illness. In comparison, as high as 77% had mental illness anytime, even during their lifetimes.
Men (67%) currently experienced higher rates of mental illness than women (57%), and this trend was seen in lifetime rates of mental illness among men (86%) versus women (69%).
These figures considerably exceed the percentage of mental disorders in the normal population, presenting the latest data of 13% to 15% of people who are suffering from some psychiatric disorders.
Implications and Factors
Homelessness prevalence, as shown in this report, was 8 times higher than the normal population (8% vs 0.7%), according to a new study. Furthermore, a variety of other disorders – including antisocial personality disorder, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – major depression, substance abuse, and mood disorders also have increased rates among the homeless.
According to Barry and her teammates, a greater number of mentally ill homeless could live on the streets or in shelter houses.
They noted a “higher prevalence of mental health disorders among people experiencing homelessness among studies published more recently.”
Or, this could be new adjustments to the methodology of mental illness diagnoses among the homeless.
However, this finding doesn’t necessarily mean that more people with mental illness are finding themselves on the streets due to the growing number of social stressors that cause the condition.
It’s possible that “people with mental health disorders are increasingly likely to experience homelessness due to factors like housing affordability, limited mental health care access, low income or challenges reintegrating [with society] after mental health treatment,” Barry’s team wrote.
They think these factors may be behind the fact described that “North America has the highest mental health disorder prevalence among people experiencing homelessness.”
Preventive measures
As per the researcher, “housing first” initiatives directed towards finding permanent shelter for the needy seek the highest priority but equally, so do “assertive community treatment” programs, where people receive comprehensive and cohesive care from multiple resources.
These programs have “demonstrated effectiveness in reducing mental health disorder severity and homelessness among people with persistent and difficult to treat mental health disorders,” the researcher noted.