Social Processes Associated With Health and Health Behaviors Linked to Early Mortality in People With a Diagnosis of a Serious Mental Illness

Abstract

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) experience a 10- to 25-year reduced life expectancy compared with the general population. Early mortality for people with SMI has mainly been attributed to unhealthy behaviors (e.g., poor diet, sedentary lifestyle), which has led to the development of health promotion and self-management interventions specifically for people with SMI to promote health behavior change. Yet after decades of research, the mortality gap between people with SMI and the general population is increasing. To address this early mortality disparity for individuals with SMI, a new paradigm must be explored. In this article, we present the social processes impacting early mortality in people with SMI paradigm, which highlights the powerful role of social processes in shaping the health and health behaviors of people with SMI. This paradigm explores how loneliness, stigma (social and self), trauma, social exclusion, social isolation, and social norms are related to early mortality in people with SMI. This new paradigm is an important step in understanding and potentially addressing early mortality in people with SMI.