Rhode Island has racked up a series of depressing rankings over the last year - it has been named the state with the highest rate of serious mental illness, illicit drug use and suicide attempts in the nation. While the results indicate Rhode Island may be one of the bleakest states to live in, local health care experts say that these rankings alone may not tell the entire story.
Robert Swift, associate director of the biomedical alcohol and addiction department, recently took part in a panel about the rankings led by WRNI reporter Megan Hall. The state's older population and high unemployment rate could be partly to blame for these high rankings, he said. With 11 percent unemployment, Rhode Island currently has the second-highest rate in the country, only behind Nevada.
Young adolescents do suffer from "blips" of serious depression, Swift said, but those over the age of 65 - a significant portion of the state's population - can suffer from illness on a more permanent basis. The unemployment rate can also be a huge impetus behind depression, mental illness and illicit drug use.
Swift also attributed results to the survey methods and modes of measurement used to collect and analyze data. The survey that was used to determine the mental illness ratings was mainly a "symptomatic survey," not a "diagnostic survey," he said. A symptomatic survey question may ask: Have you ever had thoughts of suicide? A significant number of responders would answer "yes" to this question, Swift said, but many of those responders could be average people who have had thoughts of suicide at one time in their life. These types of questions can "set up maximum shock factor" by boosting poll results indicating depression, Swift said.
Jim Gillen, manager of the Providence Center's Recovery Services - one of the largest mental health and addiction centers in the state - said the rankings could be largely linked with the state's high unemployment rate and high rates of military redeployment. But he also said it is partially a result of Rhode Island's small size. "Because our state is so small," he said, "we have excellent accessibility and availability of services, so reporting of mental illness is really good." Swift also said that particularly with Rhode Islanders, "it's hard to get off the grid, it's hard to hide when you have these problems."
Gillen also noted that Rhode Islanders are "good at asking for help," adding that the state may have "the highest rate of suicide attempts, but a low rate of successful suicides." Swift also said admitting problems with substance abuse and mental illness "was less stigmatized in Rhode Island."
The rankings are in contrast to those measuring happiness at the University in recent years. The University's student body has consistently ranked in the top of "happiest students" polls, ranking third in the Princeton Review Poll last year.
Gillen was baffled by the inconsistency, but Swift said that, though it seems bizarre, it makes sense since typical stressors for students are not consistent with those of other Rhode Islanders. Brown students are young, making them less likely to experience consistent mental illness or depression, Swift said.
In addition, "Brown students don't have to worry about the 11 percent unemployment rate by and large," Swift said. Students who need jobs to pay for their education can easily get them through student employment, he said, sparing them from the dismal employment opportunities in the rest of the state.
