Psycho-sociocultural influences on psychopathological symptoms in the open community: ecosystemic inequalities

Abstract

Mental health problems in the general population tend to be related to social determinants which also influence health inequity. However, these determinants are usually taken into account only for clinical populations and often go unnoticed at the community level. The purpose of the present study was to identify the psycho-socio-cultural factors that influence the presence of psychopathological symptoms in the open population. In this study, 229 women and men, Mexican adults, participated. Two self-report instruments were used: the SCL 90-R to evaluate psychopathological symptoms, and the Questionnaire of Factors Associated with Health. The results show differences between men and women, both in the symptoms and in the factors evalu-ated, where women are more disadvantaged. Predictive models indicate that in women the factors predicting the symptomatol-ogy are: conflicting thoughts, domestic violence, lack of confidence in their abilities and gender discrimination; while in men they were: family violence, poverty and lower well-being. It is concluded that psychosocial and ecosystemic models enable to understand that psycho-socio-cultural factors influence the presence of incipient symptoms in the community population, following different paths for women and men, showing that the context has a differential impact on mental health.