Global politics encompass relationships between countries, international organisations, and other world affairs (1). Global events refer to events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, wars and terrorist attacks, globalisation, or technical advancements, and global social movements, protests and campaigns such as Black Lives Matter, the #MeToo campaign, and collective action to protect human rights of refugees and ethnic groups facing persecution in various regions of the world.
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Global politics, events, and social movements can impact mental health in many ways. Global events, especially when uncontrollable, can contribute to a feeling of uncertainty, which has been linked to increased stress in adults and heightened anxiety in children and young people (3,4).
International terrorism represents a significant short-term and long-term threat to mental health( 5).There is evidence that the impact of terrorist attacks on mental health is likely not limited to inhabitants of the country under attack; it also extends to people far away and without immediate relation to it (6). Indirect exposure to terrorism acts and threats through the media affects the mental health of children, in both short- and long-term ways that differ completely from the effects in adults (7).
Protests even when nonviolent can be associated with adverse mental health outcomes (8). The impacts of global social movements such as #MeToo are complex, with the potential to heal or retraumatise — and sometimes both at the same time (9).
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References
1. Heywood A. Global Politics. 1st ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2011. 2–12 p.
2. American Psychological Association. Stress in America: Coping with Change. 2017.
3. 4 in 10 British parents indicate children are anxious about threat of terrorism | Mental Health Foundation [Internet]. Mental Health Foundation. 2018 [cited 2021 Feb 15]. Available from: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/news/4-10-british-parents-indicate-children-are-anxious-about-threat-terrorism
1. Heywood A. Global Politics. 1st ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2011. 2–12 p.
2. The Oxford Handbook of Global Studies
3. American Psychological Association. Stress in America: Coping with Change. 2017.
4. 4 in 10 British parents indicate children are anxious about threat of terrorism | Mental Health Foundation [Internet]. Mental Health Foundation. 2018 [cited 2021 Feb 15]. Available from: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/news/4-10-british-parents-indicate-children-are-anxious-about-threat-terrorism
5. Fischer P, Ai AL. International Terrorism and Mental Health: Recent Research and Future Directions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2008;23(3):339-361. doi:10.1177/0886260507312292
6. Bertel T Hansen, Søren D Østergaard, Kim M Sønderskov, Peter T Dinesen, Increased Incidence Rate of Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders in Denmark After the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks in the United States, American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 184, Issue 7, 1 October 2016, Pages 494–500, https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kww089
7. Leiner, Marie et al. “Mental and Emotional Health of Children Exposed to News Media of Threats and Acts of Terrorism: The Cumulative and Pervasive Effects.” Frontiers in pediatrics vol. 4 26. 23 Mar. 2016, doi:10.3389/fped.2016.00026
8. Ni, M. Y. et al. (2020) ‘Mental health during and after protests, riots and revolutions: A systematic review’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 54(3), pp. 232–243. doi: 10.1177/0004867419899165.
9. Tatz, Kaley. (2021). #MeToo: A Qualitative Approach to Understanding a Social Movement and its Impact on Survivorhood. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1158&context=edissertations_sp2
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