Foreclosures leading to mental depression

September 1st, 2009 | Tags: Foreclosure Crisis

gdepress-foreclose

Ongoing research is showing that foreclosures for sale are intimately related to mental depression. On the other side those who have houses of their own usually have higher earnings, better health insurance coverage and fewer rates of mental depression. When houses slip into foreclosure the mental and physical health of the borrowers suffer according to latest researches being conducted.

Nearly a third of those suffering foreclosure are suffering from “major depression” according to Craig Evan Pollack and Julia Lynch of University of Pennsylvania. The study also noted that the persons undergoing foreclosure usually do not have health insurance coverage and avoid taking prescribed drugs because of the cost factor.

Pollack said, “I was extremely struck by the high rate of depression. Whether or not it’s obvious, people have not been talking about the ramifications.” The national average for depression is 13% but it is three times higher in the group suffering foreclosure pains.

The survey studied 250 house owners in Philadelphia where the rate of foreclosure had jumped by 98% from 2007 to 2008. Of those going through it, 57.7% said they jumped meals because of slim wallets. Many of these families have children. A third of the foreclosed group increased their drinking habits. One in three in this group were smokers and 65% of them reported to be smoking more after getting the foreclosure letter.

Pollack said, “There’s been a big push toward getting people to stay in their homes. We need to think about how that push may be leveraged toward health.” Considering the past figures on medical costs and bankruptcy, Pollock said he was not taken aback to see that one tenth of those under the study complained that it was primarily their health problems that pushed them into foreclosure. Nearly 27.7% of those in foreclosure said they owed money to the medical creditors. More than a quarter of the foreclosure victims surveyed had medical debts of $1,000 at least.

It was more likely for the owners who were facing foreclosure to suffer from heart problems and hypertension. Nearly 22% were sans any medical insurance. Across the nation 8.2% of the general public was without medical insurance coverage. Research showed that foreclosures were most among those with modest or low income, which were without medical insurance and carry medical debts.

Traditionally the house owners always had an edge over the tenants but foreclosures have erased that advantage. Stress is taking away all the gains that come with ownership of property.

Search Images:

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.