"El presente libro es producto del Foro sobre salud mental y pobreza que se realiza anualmente en la Unidad Académica de Psicología de la Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, evento que ha sido ocasión para compartir ideas desde diferentes disciplinas como la Psicología, Filosofía, Política y otras ciencias sociales en torno a la búsqueda de explicaciones que nos permitan entender la emergencia de nuevas patologías individuales y sociales. La enfermedad mental es una contingencia a la que ninguna persona puede escapar, sin embargo el diagnóstico y el tratamiento que pueda recibir dependerá de su clase social y el entorno cultural en que se desarrolle. Es indiscutible que no podemos entender al sujeto y sus producciones subjetivas sin el referente social, por esta razón buscamos dialogar de manera interdisciplinaria sobre un tema en común. La oportunidad de ejercer la escritura desde diferentes perspectivas tanto disciplinarias como personales permite enriquecer la discusión, al mismo tiempo que lanza el reto de coincidir respetando las diferencias. Una coincidencia básica es la de que el entorno social y las condiciones de los sujetos que lo conforman, deben ser analizados con una mirada crítica y con los referentes que puede brindar la lectura de lo clásico y de lo nuevo. El producto de estas combinaciones busca refrescar el pensamiento en torno al fenómeno que hemos puesto en el centro del análisis: La salud mental y las vicisitudes que la conforman. Lejos de dar respuestas acabadas a las problemáticas acuciantes y desquiciantes de nuestro mundo, aquí se trataría de ejercer el derecho a repensar libre y creativamente sin una respuesta última"--http://ricaxcan.uaz.edu.mx/jspui/handle/20.500.11845/924.

En el analisis de la pobreza, asi como de las politicas dirigidas a combatirla, se aprecia que en el marco de las desigualdades intradomesticas hay situaciones que hacen que, dentro de la pobreza, las mas pobres sean las mujeres. Estas investigaciones estan dirigidas al estudio de la salud, trabajo y pobreza de las mujeres desde una perspectiva de genero.

A la hora de hacer una aproximación a la salud mental conviene, más que nunca y a fuerza de parecer evidente, partir de la definición que del término salud realiza la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS):"La salud es un estado de completo bienestar físico, mentaly social, y no solamente la ausencia de afecciones o enfermedades". Es necesario hacerlo precisamente para destacar que, a la hora de analizar la realidad en la que se mueven los seres humanos, no debemos aislar ninguno de los tres "bienestares", si no queremos obtener unos resultados parciales, poco consistentes y que con alta probabilidad nos conducirán a diagnósticos y conclusiones erróneas. Diversas investigaciones indican que la alta frecuencia de problemas de salud mental está asociada, fundamentalmente, con la pobreza, bajos niveles educativos, desestructuración social y desempleo. Distintas circunstancias relacionadas con la situación laboral como desempleo, estrés laboral, bajas prolongadas por enfermedad, permisos por maternidad, discapacidad o jubilación, se señalan como factores de riesgo de sufrir trastornos mentales.

Along the coast of northwestern Mexico, "pink gold" may mean wealth for some, but the new global economy has imposed terrible burdens on many sectors of the population. State and regional economic development policies have supported the use of natural resources for commercial export, resulting in the rapid growth of agriculture and shrimp aquaculture. Environmental pressures have contributed to the degradation of marine ecosystems, and once self-reliant rural populations have been driven to wage and subsistence labor in order to survive. This book eloquently explains how contemporary rural communities in southern Sinaloa have responded to economic and ecological changes affecting the entire nation. A political ecology of human survival in one of the most important ecological regions of Mexico, it describes how these communities contest environmental degradation and economic impoverishment arising from political and economic forces beyond their control. Mar’a Luz Cruz-Torres evokes the rich and varied experiences of the people who live in the villages of Celaya and El Cerro, showing how they invent and utilize their own social capital to emerge as whole persons in the face of globalization. She traces the histories of the two villages to illustrate the complex variation involved in community formation and to show how people respond to and utilize Mexican law and reform. Surrounded by limited resources, poverty, illness, sudden death, and daily oppression, these men and women create innovative social and cultural forms that mitigate these impacts. Cruz-Torres reveals not only how they manage to survive in the midst of horrendous circumstances but also how they transcend those impediments with dignity. She details the participation of household members in the subsistence, formal, and informal sectors of the economy, and how women use a variety of resources to guarantee their familiesÕ survival. A sometimes tragic but ultimately vibrant story of human resistance, Lives of Dust and Water offers an important look at a little-studied but dynamically developing region of Mexico. It contributes to a more precise understanding of how rural coastal communities in Mexico emerged and continue to develop and adjust to the uncertainties of the globalizing world.

What difference does culture make? Coping with Alcohol and Drug Problems: The Experiences of Family Members in Three Contrasting Cultures aims to deepen and extend understanding of the experiences of family members trying to cope with the excessive drinking or drug taking of a relative. Comprehensive and thoroughly up to date, this book draws on the results of the cross-cultural study of alcohol and drug problems in the family, and places these results within the broader context of the international literature on the subject. By investigating the similarities and differences in the experiences of family members in three parts of the world, the authors reveal results which have far-reaching implications for professional intervention and prevention. Subjects covered include: models of understanding: how families continue to be pathologised and misunderstood. how family members cope. an integrated view of alcohol and drug problems in the family. ways of empowering family members. This book aims to demonstrate the possibility of a constructive alliance between professionals, substance misusing relatives, and the affected family members by thoroughly investigating the dilemmas that face family members and the lack of support they experience. This fascinating insight into the impact of alcohol and drug problems on family members will be a valuable resource for all those who are interested in substance misuse in family and cultural contexts, and particularly those who are interested in the treatment of alcohol and other drug problems.