“Mental health and addictions are a profoundly social phenomena” Ferran Muntané, from JHU-UPF Public Policy Center, appears before the Parliament of Catalonia
“Mental health and addictions are a profoundly social phenomena” Ferran Muntané, from JHU-UPF Public Policy Center, appears before the Parliament of Catalonia
“Mental health and addictions are a profoundly social phenomena” Ferran Muntané, from JHU-UPF Public Policy Center, appears before the Parliament of Catalonia
In Catalonia, nearly one million people —around 13 % of the population— live with some form of mental disorder, according to data from the World Health Organization (PNSMC, 2022). Although causes are often attributed to biological or genetic factors, research demonstrates that mental health and addictions are strongly shaped by living conditions, such as employment, housing, education, and the social environment.
“Mental health is not a dichotomous category —being well or being unwell— but a gradient,” Muntané noted. “The fewer resources, dignity, and protection a person has, the greater their likelihood of experiencing poorer mental health or developing addictions.”
Scientific evidence shows that:
- Women are more affected by precarious work and unemployment in terms of depression.
- There is a clear gradient according to occupational social class.
- Having a job is not enough: precarious work is a structural determinant of mental health.
With respect to addictions specifically, these can be understood as responses to situations of chronic stress or as coping strategies in contexts of uncertainty and suffering. The so-called commercial determinants of health also play a key role, including the availability and accessibility of substances, the marketing strategies employed, and the regulatory framework.
This set of factors leads to a central conclusion: if mental health and addictions depend largely on how society is organised, they cannot be addressed exclusively through the healthcare system. “It is like trying to bail out a boat that keeps filling with water without plugging the leak,” Muntané illustrated.
In response to this reality, three lines of action are proposed:
- Acknowledging that all public policies are also mental health policies, and legislating accordingly.
- Strengthening the regulation of commercial determinants of health — for instance regarding alcohol, gambling, and digital environments — to prevent the market from acting as the de facto regulator.
- Rebalancing research on mental health and addictions by broadening the focus beyond the biomedical perspective and reinforcing research on social determinants of health.