Comparative Study between Family Income and Hopelessness

Introduction: Hopelessness can be defined as a condition in which a person experiences negative expectations about future associated with symptoms such as motivational deficit, sadness and lack of concentration ultimately resulting in depression and suicide.

There have been associations of hopelessness with various factors such as depression, suicide etc. Low socio-economic status also imparts a negative impact on an individual’s psychology. Therefore, we came forward with the idea to figure out the association of hopelessness with family income in our society. It has been observed that there are direct as well as indirect effects of socio-economic conditions on mental health, setting up vicious cycle between poverty and mental disorders. This study demonstrates the vandalization of low socioeconomic status on the mental wellbeing of the individuals of underdeveloped countries.

Objective: To assess hopelessness among population of Karachi from different socio-economic status using Beck’s hopelessness scale.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study done in Karachi. We used SPSS-20 to analyze our research proposal. Data was collected from individuals aged 20-50. They were asked to fill Beck’s Hopelessness Scale.

Results: Of 295 individuals there were 44% males of which 55.3% were married and 44.6% were unmarried. Of 56% females 48%.1% females were married and 52.9% females were unmarried. 0-3 was scored by 67.2% individuals, 4-8 by 28.4% individuals, 9-14 by 4% individuals. One way ANOVA was applied to family income and BHS score, then p-value was found to be <0.05. Of those who scored between 0-3, 47% belonged to low socio-economic status, 48.8% to middle socio-economic status, 4% to high socio-economic status. Of people who scored between 4-8, 41.6 % belonged to low socio-economic status, 48.6% to middle socio-economic status, 9.7% to high socio-economic status. Of those who scored between 9 to 14, 25% belonged to low socio-economic status, 66% to middle socio-economic status, 8.3% to high socio-economic status.

Conclusion: This study provides the impact that there is positive association between low socio-economic status and hopelessness. Thus it shows that societies where there are economic crises are liable to more mental disorders, therefore this study highlights the need of proper initiatives towards the quality of life especially in the under developed parts of the world ,to avert the casual of psychiatric illness due to low social economic status & encourage further research in this discipline.