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Social inclusion and exclusion. Part 1
by Jakub Chełminiak
According to scientific resources, prejudice is ‘bias that devalues people because of their perceived membership of a social group‘ (Abrams, 2010). It may constitute a premise for social exclusion. For this reason, a questionnaire revolving around the aforementioned matter has been carried out over the course of past weeks for the purpose of gaining insight into the actual status of the issue in communities taking part in the Social Inclusion/Exclusion project.
A total of 83 participants from seven secondary schools in Greece, Moldova, Poland and Turkey as well as two primary schools in Greece and Poland were engaged in completing the survey. As many as 55.4% of the respondents stated they were worried about what their peer circle said about them. At the same time, 47% answered in the affirmative when asked whether or not they sometimes look upon a person through the prism of certain prejudices. That is a natural human behavior, though. Apophenia is an innnate animal precondition to categorize in order to avoid danger. It cannot be removed in its entirety, nevertheless, aiming to mitigate social ostracism, numerous multipronged approaches may be implemented. However, the concept of spreading equality ought to concentrate on promoting social integrity and raising awareness of the issue only insofar as it does not disregard the right of certain groups to remain excluded from some aspects of social or political life, nor de-emphasize the significance of negotiating the terms of inclusion so it does not become unconditional (Beall et al. 40).
The dimension of inclusion has a non-negligible impact on multiple levels of today’s life, including the economy. It gives the incentive towards building social capital. As indicated by another research published by a consulting agency Korn Ferry, companies working in diverse teams were 87% more likely to make better decisions and 75% faster at bringing products to market in comparison with homogenous ones. On this basis, it is adequate to state that social relationship itself is a cornerstone of any action taken by human beings whatsoever. That being the case, it ought to be scrutinized respectively as it inherently constitutes a matter of concern for every individual in the society.
Dominic Abrams (2010). "Processes of prejudice: Theory, evidence and intervention". In Equality and Human Rights Commission. Research report 56, p. 8.
Beall, Jo, and Laure-Hélène Piron. "DFID social exclusion review." London: Overseas Development Institute 32 (2005), p. 40.
KORN FERRY, The Importance of Inclusion in the Workplace, accessed 30 March 2023, <https://www.kornferry.com/insights/featured-topics/diversity-equity-inclusion/the-importance-of-inclusion-in-the-workplace>.
Social inclusion and exclusion. Part 2
The most common reasons for prejudice
by Jakub Chełminiak
Race, religion, gender, clothing style and parent’s social status – these are the factors most often enumerated in response to the question: What are the most common reasons for prejudice against others in your community? As stated by the United Kingdom Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, social exclusion is what can happen when people or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime, poor health and family breakdown (United Kingdom Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2004, p. 2). Undeniably, the motives of prejudice appear to be non-uniform and multifaceted, oftentimes touching upon transgressively intimate spheres of life.
It is worth noting that detrimental elements buttress one another. In the usual run of things, the uncharitable preconceptions accumulate and the individual becomes excluded. Despite progress in this regard, as of 2013, 124 million children and young adolescents "were estimated to have been out of school worldwide" (DESA, 2016). It has been supported by research that even after diverging from the apartheid system of social stratification in South Africa, its influence is still distinct. Analogous conditions persist in Indian rural areas after official abolition and outlawment of the caste system in 1950. A non-trivial remark is that material situation in which people grow up and live redounds long-lastingly on molding their identity in the social and economical dimensions (Manstead, 2018, Abstract). As a direct consequence, those members of society autonomously impose restrictions on themselves. That being said, they disenable themselves to commit any change in respect to their socioeconomic status imminently slipping into social isolation or exclusion.
Prejudice embedded in society is capable of inflicting severe damage encompassing undermining equality, aggravation of domestic conflicts and fueling resentment. The elaborateness of these aspects does not let the socially aware stay idle. The contemporary global movement ought to take measures aiming at inclusion, which is, however, on no account understood as homogenizing societies into one group, but rather integration premised upon respectful interrelations.
Bibliography
United Kingdom Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2004). The Social Exclusion Unit.
London. Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.
cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/social_exclusion_task_force/assets/publi-
cations_1997_to_2006/seu_leaflet.pdf (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2016). Leaving no one behind: the imperative of inclusive development. Available at: https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/rwss/2016/full-report.pdf (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
Manstead A. S. R. (2018). The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behaviour. The British journal of social psychology, 57(2), 267–291. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12251 (Accessed: 20 June 2023).
Social inclusion and exclusion. Part 3
Mental illness and its impact on social inclusion
by Jakub Chełminiak
As it has already been adverted to the multiplicity and multifariousness of social exclusion motives, it seems expedient to distinguish and dwell upon the issue of mental illness as a cause of social ostracism. This concept has been enounced by Peter Huxley and Graham Thornicroft (2003): “It has been argued that people with a significant mental illness are among the most excluded in society. Sayce (2001), for instance, has proposed that psychiatrists should directly embrace social inclusion and recovery as treatment goals”. Mental illness is of paramount importance for the prediction of inclusion and affects both social as well as economic aspects of life.
In point of fact, social interaction in itself is generally regarded as the most fruitful method of therapy besides pharmacological treatment. Giving voice to emotions and casual conversations contribute to the reduction of anxiety and tension. Clear-cut boundaries of reality are to be tested in practice and taper off succumbing to psychotic distortions. Patients suffering from mental health sequelae, such as the fear of rejection by society on account of their psychiatric histories, are in dire need of social contact and finding self-approval. Social isolation is a method employed to torture captives of war – to drastic effect. It’s a Gehenna no human being would be able to endure in the long-term perspective.
Although less severe psychiatric conditions, such as depression and anxiety disorders, may also be the trigger point for social and occupational alienation, particularly the disorders like psychosis, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic-depressive illness) are proving to have the most detrimental aftermath. As noted by Julian Reff and Richard Warner in their book titled “Social Inclusion of People with Mental Illness”, “Members of the public wish to distance themselves from people with such illnesses, as shown by their reluctance to work with them, marry them, live close to them, and have them as friends”. It is worth noting that elderly people tend to be more prejudiced than the younger generations, and women to a larger extent than men.
The health issues adumbratively covered above unequivocally indicate that mental condition shall in no case be made light of. Otherwise, it will become not only a psychiatric burden but also a pecuniary one. “Lost productivity as a result of two of the most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression, costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year” – that is a trustworthy estimation unimpeachably going to additionally charge each and every of the citizens this way or another. Not by any means might such a conjuncture be relieved if pro-inclusive behaviors are not promulgated in society.
Bibliography
Huxley, Peter, and Graham Thornicroft. “Social Inclusion, Social Quality and Mental Illness.” The British Journal of Psychiatry 182, no. 4 (2003): 289–90. doi:10.1192/bjp.182.4.289.
Breier, Alan, and John S. Strauss. "The role of social relationships in the." Am J Psychiatry 141 (1984): 949-955.
Julian Leff and Richard Warner. “Social Inclusion of People with Mental Illness.” (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 1-3.
Health, The Lancet Global. "Mental health matters." The Lancet. Global Health 8.11 (2020): e1352.
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