Recovery From Schizophrenia: Psychiatry And Political Economy

52 BACKGROUND• Residents of rural areas appear to be protected from the adverse effects onphysical and mental health of low socio-economic status and fluctuations in theeconomy.• Early studies of the business cycle found that most social pathology increased inthe boom, except suicide which became more common in the slump.• Research tying social pathology to rising unemployment can often be faultedfor over-enthusiastic reliance on the notion of lagged effects.• Infant mortality increases during the boom.• Both the stresses of working and unemployment can create significant healthhazards.• Work problems, economic stress and unemployment appear to be important inprecipitating suicide.• Mental hospital admissions for working-age people increase during the slump,probably in response to economic and labor-market stresses.