The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire

Human Development Report 2006

Welfare and well-being have traditionally been gauged by using income and employment statistics, life expectancy, and other objective measures. The Economics of Happiness, which is based on people’s reports of how their lives are going, provides a complementary yet radically different approach to studying human well-being. Typically, subjective well-being measures include positive and negative feelings (e.g., momentary experiences of happiness or stress), life evaluations (e.g., life satisfaction), and feelings of having a life purpose. Both businesses and policymakers now increasingly make decisions and craft policies based on such measures. This chapter provides an overview of the Happiness Economics approach and outlines the promises and pitfalls of subjective well-being measures.

The Economics of Happiness

Life events and suicidal ideation and behavior: A systematic review

As part of a community-based survey of 529 homeless adults, the authors analyzed factors associated with their use of mental health services. Homeless persons who had had a previous psychiatric hospitalization were the least likely to sleep in an emergency shelter, had been homeless nearly twice as long as the rest of the sample, had the worst mental health status, used alcohol and drugs the most, and were the most involved in criminal activities. The majority had not made an outpatient mental health visit in 5 years. It is suggested that diverse systems of care are needed for homeless persons.

Mental health, alcohol and drug use, and criminal history among homeless adults

The present paper describes the results of an analysis of individual differences—using multidimensional strategies—in stressful life event data collected from a representative sample of homeless people (N = 289) in Madrid, Spain, which revealed the existence of three subgroups within the sample. Each subgroup can be defined by the following differentiating characteristics: The first cluster (n = 124) was characterized by economic problems; the second (n = 80) by health problems, alcohol abuse, and death of one or both parents; and the third cluster (n = 50) by an accumulation of stressful life in childhood events and alcohol abuse. In order to define the subgroups, the article also examines the differences found in other variables such as total duration of homelessness, mental and physical health status, and social support availability, among others. The existence of such subgroups within the homeless population emphasizes the importance of designing different interventions for each of these groups, adapted to their diverse needs.

Role of stressful life events in homelessness: an intragroup analysis.

This article describes a study of 136 female intimate partner violence victims living in poverty in Nicaragua. The paper aimed to analyze the relationship between experiencing stressful life events (SLE) and perceived social support with suicide attempts, and to evaluate the differences in the SLE experienced by female suicide attempters versus non-attempters. The results showed the existence of a high level of SLE among the interviewees, and that women who have attempted suicide have experienced substantially more of these events. Experiences of violence and less social support were especially related to suicide attempts among the interviewees.

Suicide attempts and stressful life events among female victims of intimate partner violence living in poverty in Nicaragua.

Suicide attempts and stressful life events among homeless people in Madrid (Spain)

People living in extreme poverty or social exclusion mainly come from poor families, and their social difficulties tend to become chronic. This situation appears to be especially pronounced in countries with lower levels of development. This article analyzes different aspects of people (n = 99) who make their living collecting trash from dumps in Leon, Nicaragua, one of the countries with the lowest levels of development in Latin America. This group is difficult to access, heavily stigmatized, lives in chronic and extreme poverty and their families were also poor. The results show that the pickers in Leon whose families were poorest had the highest illiteracy rates, were poorest in health, had experienced more stressful life events, and had poorer future expectations. Negative health and life circumstances, low levels of education, and fatalism may lead to the pickers’ situations of social exclusion becoming chronic.

Chronicity and Pseudo Inheritance of Social Exclusion: Differences According to the Poverty of the Family of Origin Among Trash Pickers in León, Nicaragua

The article analyzes various aspects of overall happiness expressed by 136 women in poverty who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nicaragua, a country with low levels of development. The information was gathered using a structured interview. Results obtained show that despite the hardships they face, one half of the women in poverty who are victims of IPV say they are happy, and the vast majority are optimistic about their future. The main sources of happiness among the interviewees are in areas outside their economic life and are mainly associated with social relations.

Sonia Panadero

Papers

Role of stressful life events in homelessness: an intragroup analysis.

Suicide attempts and stressful life events among female victims of intimate partner violence living in poverty in Nicaragua.

Suicide attempts and stressful life events among homeless people in Madrid (Spain)

Chronicity and Pseudo Inheritance of Social Exclusion: Differences According to the Poverty of the Family of Origin Among Trash Pickers in León, Nicaragua

Happiness among poor women victims of intimate partner violence in Nicaragua.