Page 234 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

Ventriglio et al., 2021). According to Ventriglio et al. (2021), urbanisation

affects mental health through social, environmental, and economic factors.
Under these three main areas, issues of social disparities, social insecurity,

poverty, pollution and minimal access to green spaces are the root causes for

the high prevalence of common mental disorders in cities. Similarly,
Sahadevan and Mathews (2023) observed that mental disorders such as

anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia have increased in urban areas
compared to rural areas due to bad urban planning. According to the

descriptive analysis of Trivedi et al. (2008), poverty and mental health have a

multidimensional relationship due to the fringe population. This review is
cognizant ofthe causes of urbanisation on mental disorders in urban areas.

A study by Hilario et al. (2014) highlights that most Southeast Asian youth

face mental disorders with migrations, such as depression, due to a lack of
social connectedness. According to its findings, the family connection appears

to have the most substantial effect on emotional distress. Furthermore, studies

show that people with high perceived insecurity report social isolation, face
difficulties in making relationships, and report suffering from mental disorders

(Dean, 2017; Earnshaw et al., 2016). Thereby, social disconnection and fewer

social networks caused by urbanisation are the main social factors that cause
mental disorders.

High rates of mental problems are caused by environmental variables in urban

areas. Increasing levels of urbanisation increase the risk from environmental
variables for more immigrants, such as increased levels of air pollution, lack
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