Analyse how socioeconomic and environmental determinants can contribute to TWO major health issues affecting young people. (12 marks)
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Overview Statement
- Socioeconomic and environmental determinants interact significantly with mental health and substance use among young people.
- These relationships create complex pathways that amplify health risks through multiple interconnected social and environmental factors.
Component Relationship 1: Mental Health
- Low socioeconomic status directly influences young people’s mental health through reduced access to psychological services and increased family stress.
- Educational disadvantage is associated with limited future employment prospects, which creates anxiety about economic security.
- Environmental factors interact with these socioeconomic pressures when young people live in areas with poor infrastructure, limited recreational facilities and high crime rates.
- Geographic isolation compounds mental health challenges by restricting access to counselling services, youth programs and peer support networks.
- For instance, rural youth may wait months for specialist appointments while urban disadvantaged youth cannot afford private counselling/psychology sessions.
- These combined determinants result in higher rates of depression and anxiety among disadvantaged youth because they face multiple stressors simultaneously without adequate coping resources.
Component Relationship 2: Substance Use
- Socioeconomic disadvantage creates pathways to substance use through peer group influences and limited parental supervision.
- Low family income correlates with parents working multiple jobs, reducing parental monitoring and increasing unsupervised time for risky behaviours.
- Environmental determinants amplify these risks when young people live in areas with high availability of alcohol, cannabis and other substances.
- Geographic location affects substance use patterns, with rural youth often experiencing higher alcohol consumption rates due to social isolation and limited recreational alternatives.
- Additionally, disadvantaged urban areas often have greater drug accessibility and normalised substance use cultures.
- The relationship between these determinants demonstrates how economic stress combines with environmental factors to increase vulnerability to substance experimentation and dependency.
Implications and Synthesis
- These determinant relationships reveal that health issues among young people result from interconnected social and environmental systems rather than individual choices alone.
- Effective interventions must therefore address multiple determinant levels simultaneously to achieve meaningful health improvements.
Show Worked Solution
Overview Statement
- Socioeconomic and environmental determinants interact significantly with mental health and substance use among young people.
- These relationships create complex pathways that amplify health risks through multiple interconnected social and environmental factors.
Component Relationship 1: Mental Health
- Low socioeconomic status directly influences young people’s mental health through reduced access to psychological services and increased family stress.
- Educational disadvantage is associated with limited future employment prospects, which creates anxiety about economic security.
- Environmental factors interact with these socioeconomic pressures when young people live in areas with poor infrastructure, limited recreational facilities and high crime rates.
- Geographic isolation compounds mental health challenges by restricting access to counselling services, youth programs and peer support networks.
- For instance, rural youth may wait months for specialist appointments while urban disadvantaged youth cannot afford private counselling/psychology sessions.
- These combined determinants result in higher rates of depression and anxiety among disadvantaged youth because they face multiple stressors simultaneously without adequate coping resources.
Component Relationship 2: Substance Use
- Socioeconomic disadvantage creates pathways to substance use through peer group influences and limited parental supervision.
- Low family income correlates with parents working multiple jobs, reducing parental monitoring and increasing unsupervised time for risky behaviours.
- Environmental determinants amplify these risks when young people live in areas with high availability of alcohol, cannabis and other substances.
- Geographic location affects substance use patterns, with rural youth often experiencing higher alcohol consumption rates due to social isolation and limited recreational alternatives.
- Additionally, disadvantaged urban areas often have greater drug accessibility and normalised substance use cultures.
- The relationship between these determinants demonstrates how economic stress combines with environmental factors to increase vulnerability to substance experimentation and dependency.
Implications and Synthesis
- These determinant relationships reveal that health issues among young people result from interconnected social and environmental systems rather than individual choices alone.
- Effective interventions must therefore address multiple determinant levels simultaneously to achieve meaningful health improvements.
♦♦ Mean mark 35%.