Anxiety and Depression in Contexts of Social Precarity: A Review from Behavioral Sciences
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: anxiety and depression are highly prevalent mental health conditions whose distribution is consistently associated with structural factors such as poverty, inequality, deficiencies in urban planning, and violence. However, predominant explanatory models focus on individual-level variables, with less attention to the social and environmental contexts in which behavioral repertoires linked to psychological distress are developed.
Objective: to analyze empirical evidence on the relationship between social precarity and behavioral patterns associated with anxiety and depression, and to integrate this evidence within the framework of the science of behavior.
Method: a focused narrative review of scientific literature and technical documents was conducted using a systematic search procedure (February–June 2025) across international databases. A total of 34 key studies and documents were included, comprising epidemiological research, reviews, and theoretical contributions addressing social determinants and behavioral repertoires.
Results: environments characterized by limited availability of socially relevant reinforcers, high uncertainty, prolonged exposure to aversive stimuli, and restricted opportunities for interaction are associated with behavioral patterns consistent with anxiety and depression, such as avoidance, activity restriction, hypervigilance, and reduced behavioral variability.
Discussion and conclusions: conceptualizing these conditions as context-sensitive behavioral configurations expands strategies for assessment and intervention and allows the integration of clinical procedures with actions aimed at modifying contingencies and relevant environmental and social conditions.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
Allen, J., Balfour, R., Bell, R., & Marmot, M. (2014). Social determinants of mental health. International review of psychiatry, 26(4), 392-407. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2014.928270
Deacon, B. J. (2013). The biomedical model of mental disorder: A critical analysis of its validity, utility, and effects on psychotherapy research. Clinical psychology review, 33(7), 846-861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.09.007
Demirkan, A., Penninx, B. W. J. H., Hek, K., Wray, N. R., Amin, N., Aulchenko, Y. S., van Dyck, R., de Geus, E. J. C., Hofman, A., Uitterlinden, A. G., Hottenga, J.-J., Nolen, W. A., Oostra, B. A., Sullivan, P. F., Willemsen, G., Zitman, F. G., Tiemeier, H., Janssens, A. C. J. W., Boomsma, D. I., & Middeldorp, C. M. (2011). Genetic risk profiles for depression and anxiety in adult and elderly cohorts. Molecular Psychiatry, 16(7), 773–783. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2010.65
Estes, W. K., & Skinner, B. F. (1941). Some quantitative properties of anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29(5), 390–400. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0062283
Gutiérrez-Moreno, I. A. (2018). Elementos teórico-metodológicos de la psicología interconductual. Una reflexión metodológica de la salud mental en el Hospital Psiquiátrico Morelos [Tesis de maestría inédita]. Instituto Politécnico Nacional. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380530980_Elementos_teorico-metodologicos_de_la_psicologia_interconductual_Una_reflexion_metodologica_de_la_salud_mental_en_el_Hospital_Psiquiatrico_Morelos
Hettema, J. M., Neale, M. C., & Kendler, K. S. (2001). A Review and Meta-Analysis of the Genetic Epidemiology of Anxiety Disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(10), 1568–1578. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.158.10.1568
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. (2021). Encuesta Nacional de Bienestar Autorreportado (ENBIARE) 2021. https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/enbiare/2021/
Lattal, K. A. (1995). Contingency and behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 18(2), 209-224. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392709
Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet, 365(9464), 1099–1104. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71146-6
Mechner, F. (2008). Behavioral contingency analysis. Behavioural processes, 78(2), 124-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2008. 01.013
Medina-Mora, M. E., Borges, G., Lara-Muñoz, C., Benjet, C., Blanco-Jaimes, J., Fleiz-Bautista, C., Villatoro-Velázquez, J., Rojas-Guiot, E., Zambrano-Ruíz, J., Casanova-Rodas, L., & Aguilar-Gaxiola, S. (2003). Prevalencia de trastornos mentales y uso de servicios: Resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de Epidemiología Psiquiátrica en México. Salud Mental, 26(4), 1–16. https://revistasaludmental.gob.mx/index.php/salud_mental/article/view/956
Nevin, J. A. (2011). Contingencies of Reinforcement and Behavioral Momentum: Research and Applications. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 21(3), 107–122. https://revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmac/article/view/25419
Ochnik, D., Buława, B., Nagel, P., Gachowski, M., & Budziński, M. (2024). Urbanization, loneliness and mental health model - A cross-sectional network analysis with a representative sample. Scientific Reports, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76813-z
Padgett, D. K. (2020). Homelessness, housing instability and mental health: Making the connections. BJPsych Bulletin, 44(5), 197–201. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2020.49
Patel, V., Saxena, S., Lund, C., Thornicroft, G., Baingana, F., Bolton, P., Collins, P. Y., Cooper, J. L., Eaton, J., Herrman, H., Herzallah, M. M., Huang, Y., Jordans, M. J. D., Kleinman, A., Medina-Mora, M. E., Morgan, E., Niaz, U., Omigbodun, O., Prince, M., Rahman, A., Saraceno, B., Sarkar, B. K., De Silva, M., Singh, I., Stein, D. J., Sunkel, C., & Unützer, J. (2018). The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development. The Lancet, 392(10157), 1553–1598. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31612-X
Ribes, E. (2008). Psicología y salud: Un análisis conceptual. Trillas.
Ribes, E. (2018). El estudio científico de la conducta individual: Una introducción a la teoría de la psicología. El Manual Moderno.
Ridley, M., Rao, G., Schilbach, F., & Patel, V. (2020). Poverty, depression, and anxiety: Causal evidence and mechanisms. Science, 370(6522), eaay0214. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay0214
Ruiz-Tagle, J., & Urria, I. (2021). Household overcrowding trajectories and mental well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 281, 114051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114051
Skinner, B. F. (2014). Science and Human Behavior (Orig. 1953). Harvard University Press.
Wang, R., Hartman, C. A., & Snieder, H. (2023). Stress-related exposures amplify the effects of genetic susceptibility on depression and anxiety. Translational Psychiatry, 13(27), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02327-3
World Health Organization & Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. (2014). Social determinants of mental health. WHO. https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/539fec7f-eadc-43ea-b12a-8dba1793381b/content
Xu, J., Liu, N., Polemiti, E., Garcia-Mondragon, L., Tang, J., Liu, X., Lett, T., Yu, L., Nothen, M. M., Feng, J., Yu, C., Marquand, A., Schumann, G., & the environMENTAL Consortium. (2023). Effects of urban living environments on mental health in adults. Nature Medicine, 29(6), 1456–1467. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02365-w