%0 Journal Article
%T Mental health in a context of urban poverty: a qualitative approach
%A Carolina Mart¨ªnez S
%J Revista Facultad Nacional de Salud P¨²blica
%D 2009
%I Universidad de Antioquia
%X Objective: With the premise that there is a strong relationship between mental health problems and the characteristics of the world in which people live, this article analyzes the findings of a qualitative inquiry about the situation of a small group of low-income urban families in Mexico at the end of the 20th century. It proposes also a reflection about the contributions of this kind of approach to achieve a better understanding of the complex constellations that give rise to mental health disturbances in each context. Methodology:The interpretation offered in this paper is oriented by a postkleinian psychoanalytic model developed for the study of the influence of the family and community contexts on the person¡¯s psychic structure. The data analyzed was collected several years ago by means of direct observation and in-depth personal interviews to each member of twenty low-income urban families living in the south of Mexico City. Results:The analysis oriented by this model showed different types of family emotional dynamics and its influence on the psychic structure and function of their members. It was found a low coverage of public health services for this group of population, and specially a lack of preventive and curative mental health services.
%K mental health
%K qualitative inquiry
%K psychoanalysis
%K poverty
%K Mexico.
%U http://aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co/revistas/index.php/fnsp/article/view/1456/1117